 |
| Probably carrying a little too much weight |
Once Courage came to join us, I needed to be careful with money. I can afford two, but I spend more time then I used to watching the budget. As such, I decided that Courage would get put on supplements if/when he demonstrated a clear need and not before.
 |
| Three months post-track |
And you know what? I haven't bought a single supplement. Both the boys are healthy and holding weight. Their coats look good, their feet are staying together, and they're as happy as I can expect them to be.
When I ran across this article lately, it all sort of made sense to me, especially when the author says:"If horses couldn't fill their nutritional needs from good forage, and water, they wouldn't have survived. There's no way that a biological system thrives since prehistory if it has such a precise requirement for, say, cobalt, that it can’t get it in the stuff it normally eats."
I know that some supplements help some of the time--Cuna can't hold his weight in hard work without a weight builder. That said, I feel even better about my choice to save money for now and let the boys tell me when they need something, instead of buying in to the latest cool advertising.
How does everyone else pick their horse's feed? I know I have readers from all over the spectrum and I'm curious how your horse keeping style changes the way you fuel your sport horse.
When I got Fiction he was a good 300 lbs underweight and had absolutely no muscle. We tried him on Omegatin and Rice Bran for months and months but the weight gain was super slow and he was where I wanted him at all. So I put him on Platinum Wellness after a recommendation from my trainer. He immediately filled out and gained muscle. Still, he carried a bit of rib that was unattractive despite 5 lbs of beet-soaked feed twice a day. So, I put him on SmartOmega3, thinking it was a gut issue. Sure enough, within a month the ribs disappeared and he is large, muscular, and beautiful. Recently I had a woman ask me if he was a warmblood and my saddle fitter was so impressed with his growth and development that she inquired as to what supplements I had him on (she also asked if he was mixed with something and not just a thoroughbred - his change in a few months was that drastic!). I recently switched him to Platinum CJ for joint support and he feels floaty, amazing, and full of energy. He may be carrying a bit too much muscle now, so based on an evaluation with my trainer I may scale back his Platinum intake, but for now he looks stunning and I honestly don't feel I would have achieved this without supplements.
ReplyDeleteFor reference: Fiction is on 8-10 hour turnout, 4-5 lbs of pelleted feed, several flakes of hay, and riding workouts 4 times a week. During the spring and fall when the weather is nice and not too hot/not too cold, Fiction is out 24/7, coming in only to eat breakfast and dinner. He has an abundance of wonderful grass.
Every horse is different. Fiction is a hard keeper & a high performance sport horse. He needs the extra attention. Oh how I wish I could save the $100+ a month I spend on supplements, but after seeing the results I really don't mind. I think it's great your boys can get along the way they do!
egads I wrote a novel o.O
DeleteWhen I bought Miles I took him off all of his supplements -- I wanted to feed what he needed. It's so easy to get sucked into ALL THE SUPPLEMENTS... and I just don't think they're quite necessary.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I did recently put Miles on ProBios due to some lingering diarrhea. I'm also thinking about a joint supplement because most of the research I've read indicates they are most effective as preventative measures... but I haven't acted on that yet.
I'm in the middle of the spectrum - while I completely agree that horses can do just fine without supplements out the wazoo, I believe that adding some can be beneficial to their health. I have Beauty on E-Se-Mag, since my area is low in selenium content, and E and magnesium are helpful for muscles. She is also on SmartMare because she gets lovely heat cycles of bitchdom, SmartDigest because she is prone to gas and used to have ulcers, and I just added a tiny bit of biotin to help her hooves stand up to living outside on relatively hard ground.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for feeding, Beauty lives outside 24/7 with a roundbale and 5 acres to graze on. She is an easy keeper, so she is on barely any grain. Seems to be working for us!
I use what the BO suggests and what all the other horses are on, and go from there. Have never used supplements for condition, but to spot treat specific areas.
ReplyDeleteAmen! And huge cudos to your vet for thinking that supplements may have an impact on this condition. I think we, horsefolk (and humans in general) rely too heavily on supplements and rarely question why or understand the impact. One of my main pet peeves is that no one is looking at the contraindications of multiple supplements. A pharmacy will do that with a person taking many medications and a good doctor will ask but far too many horse folk get caught up in the marketing of supplements without questioning its outcome. Thanks for bringing this up.
ReplyDeleteNot a huge supplement fan. Charlie is currently on a foot supplement but once that runs out, I'm not getting more. He also gets loose minerals instead of a mineral salt block and apple cider vinegar. If he starts to drop weight, I'll put him on cocosoya oil but I'm going to try very hard to maintain his weight with high quality hay.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I think supplements are a waste of money. They just have really amazing advertising that makes you think your horse is going to die if you aren't using them. ;)
I'm quick to ditch supplements if I don't think they're working. That said, I'm also quick to try them, Bobby is on joint (for his sticky stifles), foot (for naked tootsies), and fat/digestive (because he likes to get ribby when in work) supplements. My checkbook would love to have a low maintenance horse, but he really does do better on what he's currently getting.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty skeptical of most supplements. I took an awesome class last semester senior year of Equine Management and the professor basically said the same thing that quote does and spent a lot of time making SmartPak the butt of his jokes, which were pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteThat said, all our horses have eaten Senior over the years, except for a brief period where Skye was on some growth formula feed. Senior was the only thing that would keep weight on the TB's, when they had them.
Ashke was 550 lbs underweight when I got him (almost starved to death). He was supplemented with Amplify and Lysine until he was at weight (a little heavy, actually) and then moved to Strategy.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, he gets six flakes of good grass hay, fed over four feedings, 2 lbs of Purina Strategy ( one lb in am, one lb in pm) and is on a joint supplement (glucosomine/MSM) for his hip rehab. I might add biotin in the spring to counteract the thin soles we dealt with this year.
After studying equine nutrition in college, I have never supplemented. It's one of the reasons I'm so happy with the feed I feed, Tribute, because they too believe in no extra supplements and design the feed for that. Get a well-put together horse, feed him good quality feed and hay, and that's that. Things like hoof supplements especially drive me crazy, because it's just wishful thinking to believe that a feed-through supplement can improve poor feet - that's on the breeder to improve. I do think some joint supplements make a difference, but Tribute adds a bit to their feeds already and doesn't recommend supplementing further.
ReplyDeleteEveryone in my barn gets a scoop of ground flax with every meal, that's the only add Connor gets to his diet.
Great post, and Courage is looking awesome!!
See, and I'd go with "some hood supplements make some difference but joint supps are a bunch of snake oil". Interesting. Do you have any non-smartpak-sponsored research about joint supplements? I'd love to read it.
DeleteI'm with you on simple is best for horses. I haven't read the article you shared yet, but I will. My horses are out 24/7, but it's only five acres so they have access to hay 24/7/365. They have a pond to drink out of, which they prefer over our clean well water, yeah weird I know. They have salt. I feed a ration balancer since I don't know if our hay covers all of their vitamin/mineral needs, but that's all. In the winter I feed oats and beet pulp if they need more calories. I also started feeding Amplify recently because Chrome lost weight (I think due to a growth spurt). Okay so that doesn't sound simple, but it is. They aren't on any other supplements, just grass, hay, salt and the ration balancer (which is like a multi-vitamin I guess). When I find a reliable source of hay I will probably have it tested and see if they even need the ration balancer. :)
ReplyDeleteShy gets grass hay. No grain. Magnesium and a multi-vitamin supplement to make up for the deficiencies in our soil. But she is in hardly any work. She is outside usually 24/7, sometimes she comes in late at night to eat.
ReplyDeleteMy two TBs live out 24/7. They're on about 7 acres of good quality pasture with one other horse. When the grass starts to die off in the winter, they share a round bale of prairie grass hay. They eat a small meal (~1 lb) of sweet feed twice a day, when all of the other horses are fed- that way, they don't get angsty and cranky when everyone else eats breakfast and dinner.
ReplyDeleteI had my gelding on a SmartPak that consisted of MSM, biotin, and a probiotic, but canceled them a couple of months ago. My farrier thinks his hooves are super, I'm not riding him enough to merit a joint supplement (and he gets around the pasture very comfortably), and I can't imagine his gut health isn't good with all the turnout and the forage.
I'm not against supplements, but I do think we horse owners have a tendency to get a little overzealous sometimes!
I have sport ponies. I give them a whiff of 12% grain and all the timothy rich hay that they can fit in their round pony bellies.
ReplyDeleteThey have a 50# mineral block that they like to use as a toy.
The new young TB will probably require more grain when in work, but at the moment everyone is barefoot and supplement free.
The only supplement that I have used and will continue to use next spring/summer was the BugOff anti fly supplement from SmartPak.
Welcome to SmartPak where your horse will never have bad feet, a bad coat or a bad attitude. He wont colic, gain too much weight, lose weight, be dehydrated or stiff ever again. He'll have strong bones, joints, tendons and muscles. He wont have ulcers, chew wood, be too 'up' or too 'down' ever again! Your smartpak has 27 daily wells and costs $498 per month, but your horse will become a magical unicorn and live forever! Pongo has 6 smartpak wells currently and working on growing his magical unicorn horn...He gets SmartCalm Ultra, Smartgut, SmartLytes and Cosequin ASU. I really do see a difference with the SmartCalm, he's less jumpy. I havent seen a hint of colic in a while with Smartgut, Electrolytes are a must most of the year in CA and my vet recommended the Cosequin ASU for his joints issues. When he was a little tyke he was on MSM. I read some studies that it's good for young horses' tendon development. Who knows, but knock on wood, that kid has some sturdy legs so far! We eats it all with a pound of Natural Glow rice bran pellets (wet). 1alf/1grass in the AM and 2 alf in the PM. We dont have grass here, we have dry weeds with no nutritional value. He's been keeping a very nice weight, we'll see how it goes this winter!
ReplyDeleteLoki is on two supplements. Glanzen 3 and Tractgard. The Glazen I use for Loki's coat and I have to say it has made a HUGE, visible difference in his appearance. Does he "need" this supplement, not really but I do like the way it makes him shine. The TractGard is probably not necessary either but since he's been on these two supplements his coat and hooves have looked amazing and he has held his weight really well so far. We'll see what winter brings.
ReplyDeleteHe is also on Tribute Kalm Ultra (I love this feed!) and alfalfa mix hay. He has access to clean water at all times and usually has access to salt/mineral lick but I need to get that replaced.
My horses are out 24/7 with not very good grazing. They get fed 3X a day. My older guy gets a complete feed, low carb and sugar because he has Cushings. My younger guys get a pelleted hay stretcher. In the AM, everyone gets some alfalfa cubes. At each feed they get two flakes of a grass hay mix. At the late night feed, at least during these colder months, I add a small scoop of bran mash made with lots of water to the feed. Water is available at all times and there is a salt lick out there for them
ReplyDeleteIt's a little harder to keep weight on my old guy, but he looks fine and the young guys are chubby. All coats shine, all feet are good, and everyone seems to have plenty of energy and good health.
My vet suggested a supplement for the young guys on the hay stretcher and I've used one off and on, but honestly I am not at all convinced its worth the money. They continue to do fine without anything extra.
I obviously pick my own feed since my horses are home. I have a certificate in Equine Nutrition and the course really helped understand my horses needs, what is good, what is bad, and what is unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI will add also that salt licks are no good for horses, they aren't bad but they do not give them hardly any salt. They are designed for cows with rough tongues, not horses. Loose salt is always the way to go. A few pinches with every meal will ensure the water gets delivered throughout the horse as it needs.
Interesting about the salt licks. I was unaware of that.
DeleteIt is true that horses do not get as much salt from a lick as they do from loose salt and I do feed loose salt if I want to increase a horse's water intake, but I would not say "no good." Solo LOVES the pink salt and licks the round chunk on a rope in his shed quite a lot so he does ingest it. Yes, I have read the studies and yes, I am a zoologist, so I would say...it's a grey continuum, not black and white.
DeleteAny horse I've had will spend quite some time on just hay and water with a salt/mineral block available. Once I've established a baseline and I get to know them better I'll decide if I feel a supplement will help them.
ReplyDeleteWith Pie I put him on a joint supplement and it made a huge difference in his hind end. Buddy all he ever got was a ration balancer. With Cash he got a ration balancer for awhile until I decided that it probably wasn't the best thing for him (not saying that ration balancers are bad, just that that particular one was not ideal for him). He was not on anything for awhile but now I've started him on a hoof supplement and SmartCalm to see if it'll help with his nervousness.
Overall, I feel that less is more with supplements and if you DO give one, to do your research first to make sure that you pick the right one. And, always ALWAYS look at the base diet first to make sure that something isn't off there. For things like weight gain I love flax or black oil sunflower seeds :)
Mexi is in a situation like Cuna: 24/7 turnout with good grass and ad lib access to good quality hay, sometimes haylage in the winter. I am blessed with an easy keeper (*knock wood*), and at this point in her life, she does not need anything else.
ReplyDeleteThere have been times when I've wondered if her current nutrition needs improving, especially given her small stature. Then I tell myself to stop looking for problems, and to start thinking rationally. If my horse is fat and healthy, and the 2yo in the exact same situation is nearing 17hh, it's proooobably just that she's going to be a small horse. Wishful thinking, maybe?
When I had her at one of the two different boarding facilities I've use, she was on a high protein (due to her age) ration balancer calories added as necessary through oats, soy beans, etc. And of course, lots of good quality hay. That's always my first concern.
I have looked into joint supplements (MSM, glucosamine, etc.) as I would ideally like to have a happy, healthy horse for a long time, but numerous vets have told me it's a waste of money. Certainly won't hurt her, but won't really help her either.
I've done the same as you, really cleaned up and gone to minimal feeding as in: 24/7 turnout on grass. Hay supplied when needed. TONS of it. Soaked Tim/Alf cubes in winter as extra moisture/food. Free salt/min 24/7. Grain is 50/50 mix of TCLS with black oil sunflower seeds in shell.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that less is more and I only add something if they NEED it. Currently we are forage limited and there is only so much I can do (hey, I bought a damn farm, it has a TON of great forage!).
ReplyDeleteSolo does get some grain (both get TC Complete) but because he does not get the recommended amount, he gets a vitamin/mineral scoop so his diet is balanced (I can't afford my own supply of fancy hay).
Encore gets extra fat due to his workload and metabolism, salt because his spring mild colic when he randomly quit drinking scared the crap out of me, and a tummy soother because something like 60% of all horses in work and 90% of racehorses have ulcers to varying degrees at varying points.
It LOOKS like a lot, but it really isn't and it will be less when they move to the farm and have tons of grass and hay!
I wanted to add, after reading the article, his quote that you used should be qualified with the fact that horses living in the wild have a life span of 6-10 years, are often ridden with parasites, DO get crappy feet (those die sooner), oh and they don't have to do XC courses or balanced, cadenced, connected canters with a rider on their back.
ReplyDeleteSo a sporthorse often WILL need more than just "hay, oats and water," to maintain his weight and be able to do his demanding job. A pleasure horse in a good pasture who "comes out and trots around a while?" Lower nutrition demands.
And I will qualify all of THAT by saying that I DO agree that many supplements are akin to "snake oil" (she says, suspiciously eyeing the currently trendy Platinum Plus, wtf even is that?) and if your horse does need grain, you DO need to choose a quality feed designed for what your horse does need and READ THE BAG. A 1/4 scoop of grain does nothing but give your horse something to do with his mouth.
All VERY good points, as usual! :-)
DeleteAt my last boarding barn, the BO kept complaining to me about the amount of grain that Salem ate. I just could NOT get it through to her that, according to the bag, he was eating the minimum amount and if he ate any less he would not be getting the required amounts of vits/mins/etc. She just did.not.get.it. She kept saying, "But he's not ACTIVE!!!!" Her little Western air-fern Paint and her husband's air-fern Belgian draft were on a tiny amount of grain (most likely not enough for required vits/mins and they probably should have just been on a ration balancer or vit/min supplement) and she thought my big built-like-a-WB TB should eat a similar amount!
I completely agree to the point that I might edit my post to mention this. "Wild" (feral) horses are not exactly the picture of health AND their exercise levels have very little to do with the modern sport horse.
DeleteThat said. Of all the domesticated horses I've ever met, less than 10% of them actually do anything that I'd consider work. W/T in an arena once or twice a month in the summer really doesn't count.
OP, well said
DeleteI've always just had my horses on a single broad-spectrum supplement. In Australia, the most important feed requirement (in my opinion) is the Calcium:Phosphorus. Our pasture is seriously deficient in calcium and can effect growth and development. As long as the supplement I'm feeding is high calcium (Oh, and has some selenium in there too- we're deficient in that as well!) then I've found my ponies to flourish.
ReplyDeleteI use salt in summer (loose salt mixed into the feed- I find a salt lick doesn't give enough salt in Aussie heat) and I've used biotin for a few horses.
My current pony is on 'equilibrium' mineral mix http://www.equiaustralia.com.au/ , a protein pellet and 24/7 good quality grass. He looks pretty good to me!
I find Australia fascinating. I'm glad you're addressing the local concerns and supplementing as needed.
DeleteI am LOVING all these comments! Super interesting! Bohemian does not have access to any natural grasses to graze on whatsoever. He gets 3 flakes alfalfa and 2 flakes oat hay (oat, wheat, barley mix), spread over 3 meals each day. He has a Redman rock on a rope that he loves to lick. I also feed him beet pulp and rice bran to help with weight (his ribs really like to show because they know it bugs me), and he gets a supplement called California Trace which is a multi-mineral and vitamin supplement specifically designed to supplement what west coast hays lack. It came highly recommended by several people, and my chief purposes in feeding it is (a) neurological support, and (b) hoof support, since he goes barefoot.
ReplyDeleteI have heard GREAT things about California Trace! Although I also hear that it's $$$
DeleteThere's definitely not one feed that's right for every horse. I worked at a local feed store for about 10 years and it was amazing to see the people who stuck with feed like B. Seal Trotter and Charger for 20+ years and those who were always in looking for the next best thing. Every time we had new feed I would get my hands on all the information and dabbled in changing feeds with my OTTB. A lot of time though we actually do more damage always switching feeds instead of just sticking with the one we started with and worked fine. Why change something when it's working? Sometimes less is more :)
ReplyDeleteIf you have your hay and/or pasture tested and it can provide all the vits/mins in required amounts, you're golden. However, that is *usually* not the case. And some vits/mins are required for, ya know, living--for example, did you know that calcium is absolutely essential for muscle movement? I learned that one the hard way (long story!).
ReplyDeleteSo, while I do agree that a forage-based, simple diet is often the best, you do have to do your due diligence and make sure that your horse's diet is balanced. Maybe that means a pelleted vit/min supplement, or a ration balancer. Maybe Courage will need more fat once he is working harder. But the most important thing is making sure that they are getting enough vits/mins as well as protein, and the only way you can do that is by testing the hay and pasture, and supplementing accordingly if necessary.
As in everything with horses, there is no "one size fits all" approach.
Salem has free-choice orchard hay and/or grass in front of him at all times, since horses are meant to graze almost 24/7. But he is a huge calorie-burning TB, so he also gets Seminole Senior (enough to fulfill vit/min/protein requirements) and some soaked T/A cubes. He DOES get a few supplements--salt so he drinks enough, whole flax for omega 3s (anti-inflammatory), and currently Daily Calm (mainly panax ginseng) because of his recent MASSIVE freak-out episode. That is what works for him. :-)
I feed what my BO offers (a mixture of oats and Tribute grain). My horse is on 24/7 turnout with nice pasture for three seasons, and round bales all year. I supplement with a scoop of flax seed, a multivitamin, a joint supplement, and a hoof supplement. Here's why:
ReplyDeleteFlax: Makes his coat shiny, and I think it adds some extra Omegas in the wintertime. That's really all. It's stupid cheap and doesn't hurt.
Multivitamin: I started this after realizing that my horse was a bit slow to heal superficial scratches, and a few other little things. This is still in the experimental stage (I just started it a few weeks ago). I worry that without getting the full serving of Tribute grain, he's missing out on the full dosage of needed vit/min, in the winter especially.
Joint Supplement: He has advanced arthritis. I'm not sure this really does anything & I'm slowly phasing it out. The only joint supplement I've personally seen do any good was pure HA, and I'd rather see it injected directly into the joint. So ....
Hoof Supplement: I feed Farrier's Formula Double Strength. This stuff has actually made a huge difference in my horse's feet. Since he's barefoot and I care for them, I can tell you with absolute certainty that this stuff helps him. I'm never taking him off.
In the summer I also sup. an electrolyte. My horse eats salt, so I'm not so worried about that. He is a heavy sweater, though. I worry about the other minerals lost during sweating (like potassium and the like). I notice an increase of energy in the summer when he is fed the electrolytes regularly.
In summary? Shiny coats = good. Joint supplements = pretty useless. Hoof supplements = awesome. Electrolytes = as needed.
I feel like supplements are one of those things I use as insurance. Sure, he doesn't REALLY need weight gain, biotin and joint supps...but why not. I use the "compare" box thingy on smartpak and it lets me compare ingredients and price and usually the off brand has almost the same stuff as the name brand. Cheaper=better and I have a piece of mind.
ReplyDeleteHe is a hard keeper and I firmly believe the weight gain keeps him from dropping weight, even with all the hay I give. Sadly not free choice or his buddy would eat it all, and we pay separate for our hay...whomp whomp.
He does pretty well with 10% fat 14% protein mixed sweet feed and supps. Plus 4 flakes hay at night. IN all I spend about $160 a month on feeds and such. Not too bad for a prissy lil TB who's a hard keeper
At least 1/2 the year my horse is not on grass due to weather conditions, ie. mud. So he's on Timothy and local hay throughout the day. He gets 2cups rice bran pellets 2x day (free from barn). His SmartPak which I started the day I bought him is 1x day and has always included at least a joint supp.
ReplyDeleteHis SP is Matrix 5 H/A (joint) and Daily Omega Plus for all the goodies like Flax seed and the Omegas and multi vitamins. It's $113/m. I tried to get the best combination of ingredients (joint and multi-vit) at a decent price and that he would actually eat (he didn't like SP brand supps).
I could live without him getting the Daily Omega Plus, but I would kick myself every he was lame if I stopped giving the Matrix 5 H/A. He's 15yo with X-rays showing mild to severe (depending which vet you ask) changes in both front lower pasterns (from 2 years ago) and I haven't had to inject yet.
He jumps about 3x/wk (up to 2'3"), ridden 3-6x/wk anywhere from 30-60mins. He never breaks a sweat, so it's hardly 'work'. ;)
While I agree for the most part with that article, the line about them not surviving in the wild- well, they aren't wild horses. They are sport horses. Wiz is a thoroughbred who has been bred and bred NOT to survive in the wild. He gets unreasonably cold in the winter. He's hard to keep weight on. Versus the mustang at our barn that can survive anything- he's bred to survive. So I wouldn't say that's necessarily true.
ReplyDeleteWiz does fine in the summer on nothing, but as soon as winter hits, his weight drops. Last year he contracted EPM, which I think was a mix of being cold/weight loss=low immune system. So my supplements for him really just focus on bolstering his immune system and weight. In a few years, I'll probably add joint maintenance because, again, we'll be doing work that is NOT natural in the wild, and it'll be nice for him to have that support.
That being said, I'm not a fan of brand names necessarily. I believe you use what works. I tried smartpak's smart gut or whatever it's called for Wizard's runny poo- it was expensive and did nothing. (Wiz basically has pony irritable bowel syndrome lol). A 30$ bucket (160 day supply) of Animed Anigest gave me results immediately. I use a Dumor (Tractor Supply's brand) omega supplement to help balance his omegas (which we do tend to throw out of balance when they're eating oats) which also includes a lot of anti-inflammatory/immune boosting qualities which helps with his EPM. But that's also 30$ a bag which lasts me about three months, much less expensive and just as/if not more effective than the more expensive brand names. And then I buy a 10$ bottle of vitamin E at walgreens and throw it in there for it's anti-inflammatory effects- again, I just put a lot of attention on that because EPM relapses are usually just a re-triggering of the inflammatory pathways that EPM messed up in the first place.
But I definitely think it's fine to just 'wait and see' with your boys. No need to add supplements until they need it! I don't know where you live, but I do wish I had been a little more proactive about supplements/feed with Wiz last winter. He was fine and fat and then in late February just dropped it all suddenly. Just something to consider with the winter coming! :) (which you may not have much of!)
Definitely good points to consider. We sort of have winter and I have bulked up Cuna's feed a bit, adding beet pulp and cool calories and some rice bran to get him some extra weight before the temps drop too much. That said, he's looking good and it's really better for him to be thinner instead of fatter (yay rehabbing feet).
DeleteCourage is younger and has a stall, so I'm less concerned about his weight. We'll see how he does and I'm happy to change things as needed.
Speaking as someone owning a crew of woolly native bush monsters, I have never had to use supplements apart from a salt lick and sometimes a general mineral supplement if they start doing silly stuff like eating sand. Even my new OTTB, who was unceremoniously thrown out into a pasture with no shoes, no stabling and minimal blanketing and consequently thrived, does just fine on a medium-quality riding horse feed and ad lib hay.
ReplyDeleteHarley is a hardkeeping QH who used to work hard in the arena. During that time, I failed to find an affordable supplement that helped him maintain or gain weight. Senior feed and beet pulp did not work any magic. Ultium was the high fast feed that finally made a difference, but I had to feed a lot with his hay (24/7 turnout). Last year, he looked great with alfalfa cubes added on work days and is currently maintaining nicely with haystretcher pellets and less grain, but he also basically on vacation so that factors in heavily.
ReplyDeleteMy SmartPak includes ABCsPlus probios and CoughFree. He also gets sandclear each month which is a must in our sandy region.
I used to feed a joint supplement, Mg, and e-lites, but decided that it was a waste after my vet said I was paying for really expensive horse urine. ;)
I would recommend using something like Feed XL to check and make sure the diet is balanced and providing the proper levels of nutrition. I believe a month of using the program is something like $15.
ReplyDeleteMy horses are on 24/7 and are perfectly healthy and in good weight on just grass and a salt/mineral lick.
ReplyDeleteHowever in the competition season October - March when they are working and competing hard I will feed them grain twice a day.
In the winter they get extra hay and if its really cold they get beet pulp to help them hold their weight :)
Glad your horses are doing well without supplements.