# Feeding for Muscle not weight gain



## Event_girl (15 April 2013)

What can I feed my mare to help her gain muscle, not fat. She is a very good doer on restricted grazing and gets literally a handful of feed just to put a vit and min supplement in and that's it. 

She is a good weight at the moment but I would like her to build up some more muscle. What can I add to her feed that will work alongside correct work?

I have heard lysine might help but I don't know how much I should be adding?


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## NeverSayNever (15 April 2013)

what vit supplement are you feeding? It might be worth ensuring its a good spec one or changing for a balancer with a good level of protein.


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## Event_girl (15 April 2013)

I feed the NAF general vit and min supplement


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## rvpeary (15 April 2013)

Im my experience its more work that builds up muscle than feed. My pony is prone to laminitis so need to keep weight down but she has good muscle tone. She is only on happy hoof but is worked 6 times a week either ridden in a working outline in the school for 30mins, hacking in an outline up and down hills or lunged in a pessoa. Its working for me


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## Event_girl (15 April 2013)

Thanks, I will be working her but wondered if there was a supplement that would help alongside.

Does anyone feed lysine? If so, do you think it makes a difference?


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## unbalanced (15 April 2013)

Equitop myoplast which you get from your vet. It works wonders and costs about £75 a month so it should do.


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## Event_girl (15 April 2013)

unbalanced said:



			Equitop myoplast which you get from your vet. It works wonders and costs about £75 a month so it should do.
		
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I have heard of this supplement before, but not keen on spending £75 on a tub of something that might not work!


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## travelmad (15 April 2013)

I feed lysine - I was going to try equitop myoplast but it was so expensive. Only been on lysine 3 weeks but I have noticed quite a difference, but horse is being worked hard in conjunction with it.


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## NeverSayNever (15 April 2013)

rather than feeding lysine , you could just look at a balancer with a good level of protein! Even Baileys Low Cal has a decent level and my last horse was very well muscled on it, without being fat. Yes, you need to work them in the correct way but they in turn need the correct nutrients to build muscle. I feed a just grass chaff which i chose as it is low in sugar and high in protein, plus forage plus balancer.


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## Event_girl (15 April 2013)

travelmad said:



			I feed lysine - I was going to try equitop myoplast but it was so expensive. Only been on lysine 3 weeks but I have noticed quite a difference, but horse is being worked hard in conjunction with it.
		
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Interesting, thanks.

How much do you feed and how much work/what work are you doing?


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## Goldenstar (15 April 2013)

I asked my physio about myoplast she said you would get as good as a result by feeding some oats and Linseed.


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## Event_girl (15 April 2013)

NeverSayNever said:



			rather than feeding lysine , you could just look at a balancer with a good level of protein! Even Baileys Low Cal has a decent level and my last horse was very well muscled on it, without being fat. Yes, you need to work them in the correct way but they in turn need the correct nutrients to build muscle. I feed a just grass chaff which i chose as it is low in sugar and high in protein, plus forage plus balancer.
		
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She was on Baileys lo cal over winter and managed to gain weight on it (fat)!


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## NeverSayNever (15 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			She was on Baileys lo cal over winter and managed to gain weight on it (fat)!
		
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 have a look at Forage Plus? 

forgot to add i also feed linseed...


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## Event_girl (15 April 2013)

NeverSayNever said:



			have a look at Forage Plus? 

forgot to add i also feed linseed...
		
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Thanks will take a look at forage plus 

I thought Linseed what for weight gain?


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## NeverSayNever (15 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			Thanks will take a look at forage plus 

I thought Linseed what for weight gain?
		
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yes it promotes condition but you can vary the quantity you feed of course and its a good protein source.. my Sec D mare hasnt put on any weight with it over winter. How much work is your horse actually in, it may be that if he/she put on even on the lowcal that simply upping the work, or type of work might achieve what you want?


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## Fintan (15 April 2013)

Myoplast is based on an algae and as far I know it is Spirulina.

Lysin is essential for muscles but now there is the big BUT..........

A horse in realy work will need about 40 - 45 gramm of lysine per day and then again lysine is an ordinary aminoacid and with this a part of the protein or a buildingblock of protein. There is many others as well like methionine and many others.

But protein is nothing else than aminoacids.

Now 1 KG of this algae Spirulina will contain about 40 gram of lysine.

The daily recommended meassure for a horse of the myoplast is 50 gram. And these 50 gramm are not pure algae, there is some other ingredients in as well for to make it more tasty.

You will end up with about 25 gram of this algae and this will contain 1 gram of lysine.

This is the same amount of lysine like in 250 gram of oats and it would not make any difference to have it or not to have it.

At the same time you will have 6 gram of lysine out of one KG of beet pulp or you will have about 30 gram of lysine out of one KG soybean meal.

Soybean meal is a very common ingredient for many horse feeds.

If you feed 100 gramm of soybean meal you will have three times the amount of lysine like with in one recommended dose of myoplast.

And that is about 4 or 5 Cent. 

But again, muscles don´t grow from this alone and also not from 1 or three gram.

Either the diet fits and the way of training as well or not.


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## maccachic (16 April 2013)

Alfalfa also has good levels of lysine.


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## Tnavas (16 April 2013)

NeverSayNever said:



			rather than feeding lysine , you could just look at a balancer with a good level of protein! Even Baileys Low Cal has a decent level and my last horse was very well muscled on it, without being fat. Yes, you need to work them in the correct way but they in turn need the correct nutrients to build muscle. I feed a just grass chaff which i chose as it is low in sugar and high in protein, plus forage plus balancer.
		
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Lysine is the most important supplement that you can feed - It's the first limiting Amino Acid - basically if there is insufficient you can feed protein till the cows come home with no benefit.

The best way is to ensure that you have a good balancer that contains Lysine and no carboydrates! Feed it with Meadow Chaff to assist digestion.

Work in a correct outline along with the correct balance of protein - most horses need no more than 8 - 10% protein builds the best muscle. Excess is excreted in the urine - if you are feeding too much protein you'll notice a very strong smell to the urine.


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## tallyho! (16 April 2013)

unbalanced said:



			Equitop myoplast which you get from your vet. It works wonders and costs about £75 a month so it should do.
		
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It doesn't do a thing!!!

Waste of money.


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## Goldenstar (16 April 2013)

tallyho! said:



			It doesn't do a thing!!!

Waste of money.
		
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I think your right however I think it will do something but just not anything more than feeding some good quality protein sources in the diet.
I went to talk by the people who make it the rep actually said in the talk I was I pearls ie its little round things and dressage ladies like to feed their horses pearls .
What was interesting was that they did echo the last nutritionist I had here in saying that horses in hard work and those on strict diets can lack protein in the diet if they are turned out a lot and on forage type diets but her advice was cheaper and simpler feed some oats and some linseed or alfalfa .


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

Thank you for all the info.... but now I'm confused!!

Will adding lysine to her feed help? Will it do any harm if I try it?

Or would it be better to feed some alfalfa with some linseed?


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## Goldenstar (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			Thank you for all the info.... but now I'm confused!!

Will adding lysine to her feed help? Will it do any harm if I try it?

Or would it be better to feed some alfalfa with some linseed?
		
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Lysine is naturally present in most proteins I think but oats is a good way to get them into a horse ( something to do with the digestion of the grains starting in the gut directly behind the stomach where fibre sources are broken down further back I dredging up what the nutritionist told me )
I have no idea how much lysine you would feed I avoid supplementing like this preferring to get things into the horse in food.
However the progressive earth e bay shop sell lysine I think,  so contacting them might help.


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

Goldenstar said:



			Lysine is naturally present in most proteins I think but oats is a good way to get them into a horse ( something to do with the digestion of the grains starting in the gut directly behind the stomach where fibre sources are broken down further back I dredging up what the nutritionist told me )
I have no idea how much lysine you would feed I avoid supplementing like this preferring to get things into the horse in food.
However the progressive earth e bay shop sell lysine I think,  so contacting them might help.
		
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Thank you I will try contacting them


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## Tnavas (16 April 2013)

Goldenstar said:



			Lysine is naturally present in most proteins I think but oats is a good way to get them into a horse ( something to do with the digestion of the grains starting in the gut directly behind the stomach where fibre sources are broken down further back I dredging up what the nutritionist told me )
I have no idea how much lysine you would feed I avoid supplementing like this preferring to get things into the horse in food.
However the progressive earth e bay shop sell lysine I think,  so contacting them might help.
		
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Unfortunately Lysine is not present in sufficient quantity in any horse food - it is also the first limiting amino acid - basically means it limits the use of all the others. It is the one amino acid that needs to be given as a supplement.

For more info see http://www.thehorse.com/articles/25092/horse-lysine-requirements-focus-of-study


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

Tnavas said:



			Unfortunately Lysine is not present in sufficient quantity in any horse food - it is also the first limiting amino acid - basically means it limits the use of all the others. It is the one amino acid that needs to be given as a supplement.

For more info see http://www.thehorse.com/articles/25092/horse-lysine-requirements-focus-of-study

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Interesting article thanks.

Do you feed lysine?


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## Fintan (16 April 2013)

Alfalfa is very often overrated.

The marketing about this is the saying good protein source and some times as well low in sugar.

But this is spottet too much on these two points and not considering in the other effects.

The amount of lysine in one KG Alfalfa is about the same like with in one KG of beet pulp. It is about 6 gram per KG and with this nothing special.

But alfalfa has a horrible calcium - phosphorous ratio and feeding this can kill the ratio in the whole diet. Depending on how much we feed.

As well alfalfa is a great donor of phytin and this can suppress the uptake of zinc.

As well an overamount of calcium can do this. 

But zinc again is essentiell in the metabolism of protein and carbs, as well in over 300 enzymatic processes in the horse. 

And zinc is also essentiell for the DNA and with this cell dividing process.


I believe there is a hype about alfalfa because it is easy to plant and harvest but it will sell for the multiple money of hay. So it is a cash cow but not really a wonder plant.

It was more or less used as a cheap protein plant for to fatten cattle and others but now we have the well paying and believing horse market.


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## criso (16 April 2013)

Both forageplus and progressive earth on Ebay will sell you straight Lysine as well as balancers that contain, it is difficult to find it naturally occurring in reasonable quantities in most feeds.  I believe Soya bean meal is a reasonable natural source.

Lysine isn't expensive to buy if you want to try it.  I feed a 10 - 15 ml supplement scoop daily to  a big horse.


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

Protein promotes good muscle development.  So work the socks off her, then you can start feeding her more protein.

It's as simple as that really.


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## NeverSayNever (16 April 2013)

well i never - i didnt realise before this thread but the forage plus balancer i feed contains lysine anyway

http://shop.forageplus.com/Forageplus-Winter-Equine-Balancer
_Each 100 grams contains: Oil 7.43%, Protein 16.73% and DE 6.98 MJ/kg
21 grams of micronised linseed, 10 grams lysine, 5 grams phosphorous (mono-sodium phosphate), 12 grams magnesium (magnesium oxide), 400 mg copper (bioplex), 1200mg zinc (bioplex), 1 mg selenium (yeast), 5 grams salt, 2000 iu vtamin E._


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

criso said:



			Both forageplus and progressive earth on Ebay will sell you straight Lysine as well as balancers that contain, it is difficult to find it naturally occurring in reasonable quantities in most feeds.  I believe Soya bean meal is a reasonable natural source.

Lysine isn't expensive to buy if you want to try it.  I feed a 10 - 15 ml supplement scoop daily to  a big horse.
		
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Thanks. So feeding it to see if it makes a difference won't do any harm?


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## Goldenstar (16 April 2013)

amymay said:



			Protein promotes good muscle development.  So work the socks off her, then you can start feeding her more protein.

It's as simple as that really.
		
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TBH  that works for me protein from several sources and the right sort of work programme.
These things can be overcomplicated.


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## NeverSayNever (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			Thanks. So feeding it to see if it makes a difference won't do any harm?
		
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i really dont know about feeding it on its own, maybe ring forage plus or pro earth to see what they say?

they sell it afterall..
http://shop.forageplus.com/L-Lysine


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## Tnavas (16 April 2013)

NeverSayNever said:



			well i never - i didnt realise before this thread but the forage plus balancer i feed contains lysine anyway

http://shop.forageplus.com/Forageplus-Winter-Equine-Balancer
_Each 100 grams contains: Oil 7.43%, Protein 16.73% and DE 6.98 MJ/kg
21 grams of micronised linseed, 10 grams lysine, 5 grams phosphorous (mono-sodium phosphate), 12 grams magnesium (magnesium oxide), 400 mg copper (bioplex), 1200mg zinc (bioplex), 1 mg selenium (yeast), 5 grams salt, 2000 iu vtamin E._

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Those levels of protein are far to high for the average horse and are the levels you would feed a racehorse.

Feeding to much protein is a waste of your money and is detrimental to your horses health - making the kidneys work too hard to clear the excess.

Your average horse only needs between 8 & 10% to work to a good medium level of work load.


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## NeverSayNever (16 April 2013)

Tnavas said:



			Those levels of protein are far to high for the average horse and are the levels you would feed a racehorse.

Feeding to much protein is a waste of your money and is detrimental to your horses health - making the kidneys work too hard to clear the excess.

Your average horse only needs between 8 & 10% to work to a good medium level of work load.
		
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even baileys lowcal is 16%...  so are you saying most of these companies include too high a level? 

eta - i used to use formula4feet which is 22% !


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)




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## NeverSayNever (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:





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got me thinking now EG as years ago i was feeding formula4feet and that particular pony had fab muscle tone


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

I want to feed extra protein to help muscle gain, but I don't want to feed too much and damage her kidneys


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## Oscar (16 April 2013)

To build muscles we need protein not fat, and actually we build muscles by tearing/damaging them and they repair, hence getting bigger stronger - but to repair the muscles also need rest.

Red Mills full fat soya is 33.5% protein, and 19% oil, so I feed this to mine.

ETA. I pay £17 for a 25kg sack


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

Oscar said:



			Red Mills full fat soya is 33.5% protein, and 19% oil, so I feed this to mine.
		
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It says it's high in fat and protein? Surely this will make her put weight on?


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## tallyho! (16 April 2013)

You can feed any kind of protein you like but most of it is excreted.

Protein is used for muscle repair, tissue repair and growth. In adult horses, unless used up, you are literally making the horses liver and kidneys work much harder than it needs to and the wee will be yellow and cloudy because the body cannot store protein.

Foals and mares and possibly geriatrics need 16% protein and racehorses but a normal working horse does well on 10%.

It's such a waste of money but feed companies know people will buy it.

At our beef farm... The stores get 16% and they are being grown for steaks and roasting joints! Wy on earth would an adult horse need that much??


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

How much work does the horse get op?


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

amymay said:



			How much work does the horse get op?
		
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She is worked 6 days a week, mixture of schooling (about an hour each time), jumping (30 mins each time) and hacking (up to 2 1/2 hours)


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## Tnavas (16 April 2013)

NeverSayNever said:



			even baileys lowcal is 16%...  so are you saying most of these companies include too high a level? 

eta - i used to use formula4feet which is 22% !
		
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Yes - that's just it - far too much protein - does absolutely nothing for your horse except overload its kidneys and make its box stink of ammonia.


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			She is worked 6 days a week, mixture of schooling (about an hour each time), jumping (30 mins each time) and hacking (up to 2 1/2 hours)
		
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How is this divided though?

What is she currently fed?

What is her weight like?


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## Tnavas (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			She is worked 6 days a week, mixture of schooling (about an hour each time), jumping (30 mins each time) and hacking (up to 2 1/2 hours)
		
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This is Light level work and would be fine on a 8% protein ration. 

Feed companies just see horse owners coming with open purses! 

Sometimes I wonder how our horses survived working 6 days a week, trotting steadily for an hour on each ride, being hunted twice a week on oats, barley and sugarbeet and meadow hay - no supplements bar salt and limestone flour.


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

amymay said:



			How is this divided though?

What is she currently fed?

What is her weight like?
		
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For instance -

Monday - 1 hour schooling
Tuesday - 30 mins jumping
Wednesday - day off
Thursday - 20 mins pessoa
Friday - 1 hour schooling
Sat - 2 hour hack
Sun - 2 hour hack

Currently on restricted grazing, fed handful of chaff to put general min and vit supplement in

Weight is perfect, but needs more muscle.


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

If you increase her hacking, and drop the jumping and the pessoa, you should find her muscle tone improves.

Long, slow, steady work (with a goodly amount of trotting) into the contact and you should see a difference quickly.

She's not working that hard at present.  So increase the work (hacking) and then you can increase her feed.  I love Alpha A Oil and D&H Build up cubes.  Never had anything look bad on it.  But the horses do have to be working hard to be on it (in order not to become fat).

Remember, you're not feeding anything really to her at the moment, so she doesn't have the opportunity to put muscle on.

But this can only be done with a proper work and feeding regime.


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

amymay said:



			If you increase her hacking, and drop the jumping and the pessoa, you should find her muscle tone improves.

Long, slow, steady work (with a goodly amount of trotting) into the contact and you should see a difference quickly.

She's not working that hard at present.  So increase the work (hacking) and then you can increase her feed.  I love Alpha A Oil and D&H Build up cubes.  Never had anything look bad on it.  But the horses do have to be working hard to be on it (in order not to become fat).

Remember, you're not feeding anything really to her at the moment, so she doesn't have the opportunity to put muscle on.

But this can only be done with a proper work and feeding regime.
		
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Thank you for this info, really helpful.

However, I'm not feeding her anything because she lives off fresh air, that's why I was asking if there is anything I can add to her feed that will help her gain muscle but not weight. 

Surely upping her workload but then feeding her more defeats the object of her being on restricted grazing?


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			Thank you for this info, really helpful.

However, I'm not feeding her anything because she lives off fresh air, that's why I was asking if there is anything I can add to her feed that will help her gain muscle but not weight. 

Surely upping her workload but then feeding her more defeats the object of her being on restricted grazing?
		
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If you want a fit, trim horse you have to work it and feed it.

If you want a trim horse, that is not fit and lacks muscle - continue as you are.


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

amymay said:



			If you want a fit, trim horse you have to work it and feed it.

If you want a trim horse, that is not fit and lacks muscle - continue as you are.
		
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I was just asking.


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## Roasted Chestnuts (16 April 2013)

I feed also have a good doer who needed muscle and not fat and I've went for alfalfa in various forms, linseed and oats and she's looking muscled and fit.

I do alot of hill and interval work also to help build her up.


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## TwoStroke (16 April 2013)

Tnavas said:



			Those levels of protein are far to high for the average horse and are the levels you would feed a racehorse.

Feeding to much protein is a waste of your money and is detrimental to your horses health - making the kidneys work too hard to clear the excess.

Your average horse only needs between 8 & 10% to work to a good medium level of work load.
		
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I agree that you shouldn't overfeed protein... However, I think saying a balancer such as forage plus is over supplying protein is misleading.

It has 16.73% protein yes, but is only fed at a rate of 100g per day. The protein percentage you quote is for the entire feed consumed by a horse per day (so about 10kg dry matter for a 500kg horse). 16.73% of 100g is 16.73g... compared to between 800g to 1kg of protein required by a 500kg horse per day - such a small amount as that provided by the Forage Plus balancer is NOT going to overload a horse's kidneys!


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			I was just asking. 

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You were.  And that in a nutshell is your answer


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

Black Beastie said:



			I feed also have a good doer who needed muscle and not fat and I've went for alfalfa in various forms, linseed and oats and she's looking muscled and fit.

I do alot of hill and interval work also to help build her up.
		
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Thank you. What oats do you feed and how much linseed?


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

Black Beastie said:



			I feed also have a good doer who needed muscle and not fat and I've went for alfalfa in various forms, linseed and oats and she's looking muscled and fit.

I do alot of hill and interval work also to help build her up.
		
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This is really good advice.  And I would agree about the oats and linseed especially, as it's cheaper than say a build up feed etc.

The hill work and interval work is key - and is what I also meant in my 'upping' your hacking work.


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## Roasted Chestnuts (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			Thank you. What oats do you feed and how much linseed?
		
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Just bog standard oats and linseed meal she gets roughly half a mug daily. 

She does and looks well on this and if she drops I up the linseed and alfalfa.


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## Event_girl (16 April 2013)

Black Beastie said:



			Just bog standard oats and linseed meal she gets roughly half a mug daily. 

She does and looks well on this and if she drops I up the linseed and alfalfa.
		
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Thank you, and thanks amymay


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## criso (16 April 2013)

Event_girl said:



			Thanks. So feeding it to see if it makes a difference won't do any harm?
		
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You can overfeed anything but if you are not currently feeding a balancer or pre balanced feed in the quantities required, you are likely to be short in Lysine.
If you were you would want to check you are not double dosing.

Talking about protein, the levels is a scoop of supplement even if they are high in percentage are not an overall problem.

To give an example - Speedibeet has 9% protein, you may be feeding half a stubbs scoop daily, that is going to have a much higher impact on the protein levels of the overall diet than a 50ml supplement scoop of balancer even if the percentage is higher.

The forageplus balancer has Linseed as a carrier which is high protein but a good addition to feed in moderation nonetheless. Nothing else in it will supply protein as it is only minerals.  

As Amymay says, nothing will create muscle without putting the right work in and you do need to feed an adequate level of protein

I also agree that Oats and Linseed are a good place to start, with these Lysine is a good addition because it helps with muscle building and is difficult to supply with feed; however I might also be tempted just to go down the balancer route which will not only add lysine but also other things.


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## honetpot (16 April 2013)

I think that the idea that if you feed the right food will give you or your horse a better body ludicrous I know this poster wants to build muscle but its the same idea that showing people have that food builds 'top line' what ever that is.
 I good diet that supports general health will enable you to exercise the muscles  to either make them larger or work for longer. Some people and horses have larger muslces to start off with , with horses the draft breeds were devloped for pulling heavy loads over a long periods were as racehorse have be developed for mainly sprinting, no matter how much food and protien and exercise you put in the racehorse will develope more muscle but it will not turn into a draft horse.It has to have the muscle groups and the confirmation in the right place first.
 So thinking of it is like looking at a body builder, what muscle have I got, what do I want to atcheive, with a horse why and then what exercises do I need to do to get this.
 Yes the right protein is important in a balanced diet but any excess is not stored and can put strain on the kidneys. This pony has the problem that it stores calories well so protein that has a fat source or high starch content will make it put on more fat weight unless the excercise given burns off the excess calories. I would go for a good quality balancer if its getting fat on it more work or cut the roughage with straw 50/50. I would ring a couple of feed companies for their free advice.
 I would also caution making a horse that main use is for leisure too fit, it may look well but it does have its down side, if for any reason you have to have an unplanned break it may be a devil when you restart


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## Amymay (16 April 2013)

honetpot said:



			I think that the idea that if you feed the right food will give you or your horse a better body ludicrous.
		
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No, it's pretty much scientific proof.





			I would also caution making a horse that main use is for leisure too fit, it may look well but it does have its down side, if for any reason you have to have an unplanned break it may be a devil when you restart
		
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What a ridiculous statement.

My horses have all been leisure horses, and I've taken great pleasure in having them as fit as possible.  Better for me and certainly better for them.


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## Roasted Chestnuts (16 April 2013)

I would rather have a horse that is slightly too fit for purpose than one who ended up injured due to being asked too much of.

I agree with AM.


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## NeverSayNever (16 April 2013)

TwoStroke said:



			I agree that you shouldn't overfeed protein... However, I think saying a balancer such as forage plus is over supplying protein is misleading.

It has 16.73% protein yes, but is only fed at a rate of 100g per day. The protein percentage you quote is for the entire feed consumed by a horse per day (so about 10kg dry matter for a 500kg horse). 16.73% of 100g is 16.73g... compared to between 800g to 1kg of protein required by a 500kg horse per day - such a small amount as that provided by the Forage Plus balancer is NOT going to overload a horse's kidneys!
		
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this makes more sense ^


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## maccachic (16 April 2013)

NeverSayNever said:



			this makes more sense ^
		
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Fully agree peole get too hung up on numbers, adding this and that and forget about doing an as fed analysis.  Balance is the key with any feeding regime.


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## Fintan (17 April 2013)

Hm, this discussion about protein and percentage is sorry for bad language rubbish.

The horse does not need a percentage protein, it will need the right amount and a good quality of protein.

A horse is brutal hard work and I don`t guess that here is some, will need about 1.2 gram of digestible protein per KG of bodyweight.

I write digestible because anything else is not a point of interest. Nobody is eating the package so the saying crude protein is a miss linked information.

If we go to the chipper we dont eat the package we eat the burger. So the "net".


Here is a bit about protein

http://www.ker.com/library/advances/143.pdf

and these endurance horses will work in most cases far harder than our sportive happy hackers.

If you read the article properly you will find out that you can cause a loss of essential trace elements, overfeeding protein and as well many of water soluble vitamins.

Essential for to build enzymes not only digestive enzymes for to digest protein and the rest, also for to build up tissue and to promote the DNA and RNA in regard to cell division.

Some water soluble vitamins have to keep down things like lactic acid, a by product of hard work, and they also work in cooperation with the trace elements in regard to enzymes.

Well this will explain why a proper balancer is essential.

As well, a muscle will only grow as far as the genetics will allow it and also the the work does require more strenght.
And it will shrink within weeks when there is no ask for performance.
There is a very easy reason for.   

Muscle tissue is alive and energy consuming. The nature is clever. She is on energy save.
This does mean, if there is no more need for the muscle because there is no exercise like in winter or off season, the muscle will shrink.

The body will store the energy that the muscle would consume as fat for bad times. 
It will build savings and reduce the unneccassary energy requirement of not needed muscles for to survive in bad times. 

Fat tissue is not energy consuming.


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