Nutrition Focus: Yard Focus Max Hutchinson

Lorna Edgar – specialist equine nutritionist

Yard Focus

Max Hutchinson

What a couple of weeks of amazing weather we have had, and I have another Yard Focus for you all, with 4 goal player, Max Hutchinson, and his string. Max also has a successful young horse programme consisting of ex-racehorses and homebreds coupled with some broodmares. Both his father and sister have a string of playing ponies each making a very busy setup which is overseen by Leah Tuck with Emily Pearce, Janine Coetsee and Nico Landivar.

Already this season Max has played in Cirencester, Beaufort, Guards and Cowdray in 10, 12 and 15 goal, and has quite a few more to go!

I first met Max a few years ago when we discussed the best feeding programmes for polo ponies to enhance their performance and well-being. However, the last couple of years I have been visiting more frequently and working closely with yard manager, Leah, to try and get the best diets for the variety of horses on the yard. Max is mindful of gastric ulcers and wants his horses to be managed in a way to reduce the risks of ulcers occurring, particularly in those individuals that are likely to be more susceptible.

When the horses first come in from the winter they start work on just a balancer, with some beet pulp, and will remain on this for a month or so before calories are gradually introduced in the form of Conditioning Cubes, for the majority, whereas those that need a lower starch diet switch to Ease & Excel Cubes, either because they don’t need the energy or they’ve either had gastric ulcers or are susceptible to them. Some of the horses also receive the prebiotic, Digest Plus, at the beginning of the season and most of the main string will continue to receive it throughout the season.

All the horses live out at night on grass in selected groups, they don’t come in the night before a game as Max doesn’t feel it makes a difference to their performance. They are stabled during the day where they will have 2-3 feeds per day depending on the requirements for the individual. When stabled they all receive ad lib haylage.

Leah and Max are always willing to try the suggestions I make – those annoying ones of hay in the lorry and alfalfa before a game – small ones that make more work, but they feel the horses benefit in performance and recovery. The changes we have made are…. • Hay in the lorry TO & FROM polo • Water as they are unloaded, during the game and at the end of chukkas, and again before loading. • Every horse receives two handfuls of an alfalfa chaff 30 minutes before playing games and chukkas. • A ‘slop’ of beet pulp and electrolytes is made after the game for the horses to have before they are loaded. • Should they be playing and travelling a lot in the hot weather, the ‘electrolyte slop’ will then be offered before they play – to help reduce the onset of fatigue and to maximise performance.

A big thank you to Leah, Emily, Janine and Nico, for putting up with my ideas and congratulations to you all on the horses looking so well and going well too!

The FOUR CHOSEN ones from Max’s string are as follows:

Billion

Billion is seven-years-old and a homebred (Millenium X Stuart) who has really begun to establish herself in Max’s string. She is easy but very powerful, and of course knows she is good looking! She is a big mare that was not thriving at the beginning of the season, so we kept her overall daily feed intake the same but split it over three meals with sugar beet in each feed and a prebiotic added to her diet.

Current Diet 3 heaped scoops of Conditioning Cubes per day 2 measuring mugs of Balancer ½ a scoop of sugar beet in each feed

As she is a big mare, we are using heaped scoops of cubes rather than a level scoop and should she require more calories we will go back to three feeds per day and possibly add Outshine, the oil supplement, which would also assist in increasing stamina.

Photography courtesy of Lorna Edgar

Tornado

Tornado is a 12-year-old English bred by Zorro and a firm favourite on the yard with a very sweet personality and is a mainstay of Max’s string. Last year he was awarded ‘Best Playing Pony of the Season’ at Cirencester Park Polo Club. As soon as the camera appeared he grew in stature and puffed out his chest, knowing how good looking he is!

Current Diet 3 scoops of Conditioning Cubes per day 2 measuring mugs of Balancer per day ½ a scoop of sugar beet in each feed Protexin Gut Balancer & Digest Plus

Because Tornado is so reliable he plays a lot of polo. Last year he was on the prebiotic, Digest Plus, and this year we have introduced Protexin Gut Balancer to give his hind gut a little more support when travelling and playing a lot, which in turn will help him to hold his condition over the summer and to hopefully reduce the amount of hollowing in his flanks.

Angel

Angel is an eight-year-old homebred, Firmlass X Open Xavier and also a favourite of Max’s and getting better every year. She never needs extra energy and generally holds her weight well, but she did have an episode of tying up last year, so we changed her diet to minimal starch and she hasn’t looked back. She is a nice character and easy to deal with on the yard.

Current Diet 5 measuring mugs of Balancer per day 2 measuring mugs of Outshine per day ½ a scoop of sugar beet in each feed

Should Angel require more calories during the season we can increase the Outshine by another two measuring mugs per day. Leah ensures that Angel receives her electrolytes before and after polo, especially during the hot weather, to try and reduce the risks of tying up re-occurring.

Replay

Replay is a 13-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred who can at times be a little hot but so far this season she has been calm and going really well. Leah confesses that Replay is her favourite, with her quirkiness winning her over, but with a very kind nature too! She is straight forward to feed and easy to handle.

Current Diet 3 scoops of Conditioning Cubes per day 2 measuring mugs of Balancer ½ a scoop of sugar beet in each feed