
Equine Nutrition
Which supplements can give a sluggish dressage horse more energy?
Hi, I have a 12-year-old dressage horse on the rather sluggish side. Is there a supplement that could give him more energy? We have tried oats but it mostly just makes him stroppy. Has anyone got experience of other options?
Answers from HayHay's experts
Hi! The first step is to check that the whole ration meets all of his needs. You can do that using the feed-ration calculator on hastsverige.se (Swedish feed-ration tool). After that you can experiment a little with energy sources. Oats are the energy source shown to affect reactivity, so perhaps feed a smaller amount than you have tried. You could also adjust the work a little and add canter intervals once a week, perhaps outdoors, to boost his motivation.

Malin Connysson
Equine Nutritionist

