Short answers:
1) If he's not losing weight, then you don't
need to up his concentrate ration. Forget what the nutrition books are
telling you---the extra concentrates are only to provide enough calories to
maintain body weight, if he's doing it without high grain, then you don't
need it.
2) He's probably getting more than enough
vit/mins just from the ration without the added supplement---but as long as
you don't go overboard with it, that's fine, but don't increase
it.
Thanks, Susan. I needed
to make sure. You've eased my mind.
3) The oil won't make him hot, just the
opposite in every sense of the word. It doesn't create glucose spikes
and because it doesn't make the body 'work' to digest it, tends to lower the
core temperatures, very handy in hot weather. If he does start to lose
weight, increase the fat, not grain.
I found that linseed made him
hot, but sunflower oil didn't. However, he became a bit fat on it,
which is why I cut it out. If he loses weight, I'll add the oil
again.
4) Cut the lucerne. You don't need
it, and excess protein does make quite a few horses loopy, probably as often
as grain does.
I'm doing it now.
The bad news is that if he's a perfect
gentleman on the lunge line, then this really isn't a nutrititional
problem---there are a few things to minimize dietary goofiness (mentioned
above), but they aren't going to turn Toc into a rent-string pony.
He's just fit as hell, having a fine time and making you hang on for dear
life to go along with it.
Mmm, and it's such
fun!
Tracey