little help with feeding / possible epsm |

twinkle11
Novice Poster

Posts: 12

little help with feeding / possible epsm Feb 26, 2009 22:34:21 GMT 1

Post by twinkle11 on Feb 26, 2009 22:34:21 GMT 1

well i currently feed my mare friesian 8yrs mare

pink powder feed balancer (have tryed topspec and baileys local and she lost it to say the least)
alfa.a lite 1 heaped scoop morning and night
mint
riaflex (joints)

she has just had an operation on her suspensorys lig in november (she fell on the road) we are just coming back into work just started trotting doing well at the moment . she is very sore and is being treated by a bowen therapists with fantatsic results and only on her 3rd treatment.she has lost alot of muscle but has always had a problem with getting muscle on her shoulders even when she was doing hardish work. alway been tense in her shoulders even with constant osteo/massage.

at the moment turnout wise at our yard they go out in what i can only describe a menage with hardstanding all have one each and go out all day with hay there is no grass in there so its just adlib hay that i soak, i cant really test my hay as it seems to be diffrent hay with each delivery so i choose to soak her hay for about half and hour to an hour.

my quesion is im woudering if giving her a vit e and selenium supplement it might help make her a bit more comfy muscle wise would i be overdosin if i added naf vit e and selenium to pink powder? am thinking of changin her to hifi as she is getting a bit of a belly. she wil be going back on grass in april.

thanks

Last Edit: Feb 26, 2009 22:39:00 GMT 1 by twinkle11

Azrael
Grand Prix Poster

Posts: 2,733

little help with feeding / possible epsm Feb 27, 2009 23:32:13 GMT 1

Post by Azrael on Feb 27, 2009 23:32:13 GMT 1

Selenevite E is really good for EPSM diets, has plenty of selenium and vitamin e and other vitamins as well so you wouldn't need pink powder as well. I've tried that and the NAF vitamin E and selenium on Mia and the selenevite works so much better. I feed it to Mia as part of an EPSM diet and she's fine with it, she was horrible on TS and quite grumpy on LoCal. Adding oil is a big help as well and it often doesn't make horses with EPSM gain weight.

Amanda (S Yorks)
Advanced Poster

Posts: 402

little help with feeding / possible epsm Mar 5, 2009 11:52:30 GMT 1

Post by Amanda (S Yorks) on Mar 5, 2009 11:52:30 GMT 1

My mare is on the EPSM diet, haven't had her tested but she's responded so well that it's fairly evident that EPSM is her problem.

I don't add Selenium as a general rule, primarily because it's present in her diet from other sources. I do generally add Vit E when I think she needs a bit of a boost, when the grass is poor or I'm deliberately restricting her grazing. I buy 1000iu capsules and she has one per day, works out quite cheap (£7.50 for 50 capsules from http://www.zipvit.co.uk).

I also feed Equimins HoofMender, not only as a hoof supplement but as a general vit & min top up. The balance of nutrients it provides seems to suit her better than a more broad spectrum balancer or supplement. In addition she has salt & magnesium, plus oil. At the moment I'm feeding about 300ml of oil per day, split between veg oil and Olive oil. She can manage on less in the summer. I also feed alfalfa pellets for protein, she's noticeably less well in herself when I cut them out.

My mare has always been a very good doer but since putting her onto an EPSM diet she's bloomed. She maintains a very good weight easily now and it's stayed consistent through last summer and this winter. Restricting her grass intake certainly helps as well, but she does get much larger feeds than she has had in the past and looks far better on it.