Answer

By Your Horse

Nutritionist Clare Lockyer replies:

Many people don’t realise that energy and calories are the same thing. The energy or calories found in food are used to maintain all bodily systems and then to fuel activity and movement. Any extra is stored as fat. It is, therefore, very easy to see if your horse is receiving enough energy by her body condition. If she’s putting on weight, she is eating more calories than she’s burning. If she’s losing weight, she is using more calories than she’s receiving. How much energy she uses during her work will be down to her temperament.
Sometimes you can increase work energy levels in laid-back horses by feeding a cereal based feed that’s high in starch. This provides instantenergy and encourages a more enthusiastic performance. However, in some horses this approach simply doesn’t work.
I know you’ve tried Horse and Pony Mix without success, but you could try a competition mix that is higher in cereals and contains oats, such as those made by Spillers or Dodson & Horrell.