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Post by kirsten on Jan 8, 2011 15:53:40 GMT 1
Please Molz find someone experienced near you, even asking in your local tack shop and find out what to feed your horse!! Call one of the feed helplines even! I am AMAZED that you are asking how to ride her when you are not even sure she is getting the right amount to eat!
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Post by tomrabbit on Jan 8, 2011 20:02:22 GMT 1
Molz, don't panic, feeding horses is a minefield, and many new owners struggle to get it right. In my experience, more harm is done by over feeding/supplementing than under feeding, so unless you're giving her huge meals every day, grass supplemented with plenty of hay if there isn't much of it is a good start, and if she is keeping her weight, she may not need much else. As Kirsten says, you really should try to get some help from a more experienced horse owner to keep you on the right track. There are even courses at many livery yards for horse/stable management which might help you. Ask the other people at your livery yard how they manage their feeding to get an idea of what others do. Perhaps your yard owner would give you a little personal tuition? Is it a teaching yard? Maybe there is a resident instructor who could help you? Or you could ask your regular instructor for a non-mounted horse management lesson. I remember when I was learning how to manage horses in preparation for buying one, I asked my instructor to give me my lesson unmounted, and he showed me how to muck out, feed etc...! If your horse was better behaved after eating for a long time, my guess is she was too full to be bothered misbehaving! (I'm guessing she was eating hay, as I'm sure you will be aware that you shouldn't exercise a horse who has just eaten a big meal!) Just to repeat what I said before, an RA would be a really good investment for you at this point. Better to sort the behavioural issues you are having with your horse now before they become so difficult that you feel you can't cope.
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