Thunderbrook - standing the test of time??

[Deleted]

I know a few members have said they're trying Thunderbrook feeds, but has anyone been using it for 6 months or more now?

I'm interested in how people get on with it longer term.

Ta

[BJMM]

I shall be interested too, my trimmer gave me a bag of Thunderbrook feed to trial. She had found it too high in starch for her EPSM horse. Mine have been on it for 2 weeks. Jasmine was not very keen at first (unusual as she eats anything!!) but she is ok now.

[tomrabbit]

I've been using it for just over 3 months now, so I'd be interested in others experiences too.
My metabolically challenged pony didn't like it at first, but he's fine with it now. My horse (who has no particular reason to switch to this feed) loved it from the first mouthful.
I've cut out all other extras and supplements, and they have the minimum level of Thunderbrook base mix as well as hay and grass, with chopped up hay as a chaff.
For me the real test is going to come in spring, when the new grass starts, and I will have been using it for 6 months by then. If I can keep my pony pulse free, I will be thrilled to little tiny bits (and amazed). The bumps above his eyes have definitely shrunk a lot, but we don't have dips yet - still looking out for that!

[daisysp8]

Mine is on order and will be starting them on it next week .. so i`ll keep you all informed of our findings ... but i`ve heard nothing but good so far

[bertie666]

Mines been on it a couple of months now, her coat is really glossy, her feet are much better according to the trimmer (iv never seen anyone so excited by a new line of growth!)

Shes never hesitated over eating it, but i think she finds it quite hard going because its the basemix with bran so when you add water goes into a gooey paste. It does mean she cant bolt it however and keeps her tongue busy whilst the oldies eat theirs ;D

[Deleted]

Thanks guys I'll look forward to hearing more when everyone's been on it longer. I've only heard good things but have only really heard from people who've only just started on it.

I like the idea of being able to drop all the supplements but my main concern is that it is very high in oil and quite high in starch for an LGL horse. I currently feed linseed, MagOx and yea-sacc and like the fact that I can vary the amount of linseed he gets without varying the yea-sacc and MagOx

[bertie666]

Have you rung them? You need to ask to speak to Debbie and explain your horses requirements etc. Shes a qualified nutritionist and very helpful. You will need a pen and paper as I couldnt remember all the info she gave me!

[Bay Mare]

Only been on it a month but so far so good even living out, unrugged, in this horrendous weather. I've had to up the base in the worst of the weather (minus 12+) but she's been doing well on it. I'm not feeding the bran or oats at the moment as we feed as a herd so I don't want to over complicate things for the others.

She literally licks her bucket clean, something that she's never done before, she always left scraps of food splattered around the edge.

I'm looking forward to seeing the long term results too

[mags]

For those who are testing the feed, can I ask what your motivation is? Are you looking for improvements in a certain area (e.g. put on condition, better feet...), or are you looking for an alternative to a balancer you've previously used? A feed without unwanted "extras"?
Just curious.

[bertie666]

I got my horse in june so was looking around for the best feed I could afford for her. This ticked all the boxes in that its organic, its not full of fillers and crap, no sugarbeet etc. I just really liked it. My DAEP recommends it also and has seen huge improvements in clients feet on it. Debbie is lovely and really helpful and her husband is hilarious if you are placing an order with him ;D

[tomrabbit]

I am using Thunderbrook because I have struggled for over a year to get on top of my pony's metabolic issues, and tried numerous 'schemes', including supplements of magnesium and Yea-sacc, and top-spec balancers - all to no avail. He was already being treated like a laminitic, so there wasn't a lot of room for manoeuvre in his diet other than changing the supplements.
In a lightbulb moment, I realised that I shouldn't be feeding a native pony amazing levels of every vitamin and mineral around, because he should be scavenging for sparse grass, and scratching for nutrients where he could. I spoke to debbie for over an hour on the phone (I think she is a human nutritionist who owns horses rather than a horse nutritionist). What she said made a lot of sense, and matched where I was with my thinking. She has made the cross over from her knowledge of human nutrition (partic diabetics) to how to fix her broken horses, who were suffering from metabolic disorders after moving home to new pastures. She described how a horse with a 'leaky gut' (her term) moves and functions, and that fitted my pony to a tee. He had tender hooves despite a year out of shoes and almost grass free diet, and had fat deposits in the 'classic' areas for metabolic horses, espec over the eyes, and was stiff in his hind quarters, espec on one side, despite daily exercise.
So I decided to give it a go. I don't know for sure if it will work, but the next stop is getting the vet in to test for insulin resistance, and as far as I'm concerned that is a last resort, because this condition is largely managed by diet, and I am doing that already. I don't want to have my pony on huge doses of metformin for the rest of his life if that can be avoided - he's a young horse, and that's a long time to treat, and he will be uninsurable from that point. I'm noticing a difference in his shape. He is losing the fat deposits. It's hard to say if the Thunderbrook feed is the difference, because he has been on a very restricted diet with lots of exercise for many months now.
The acid test will come in the spring with the new grass. I would expect him to get footy immediately, and to have to take him off grass. It there is an improvement in that, I will be very happy. Fingers crossed.

[BJMM]

Mags, mine were on Simple Systems but I was a little concerned that the Total Eclipse maybe didn't have all that they needed and Lucy, my trimmer, suggested that Jasmine might need a probiotic. Anyway, last time she came, she had a bag of Thunderbrook Base Mix in the car. She had tried it with her mare, who has metabolic issues, and found it too high in starch. As Lucy is very interested in nutrition and had travelled to Norfolk to have a long chat with Debbie re the feed, she suggested that I had the bag and tried the girls on it.
We are only a couple of weeks in, but I can already see a lot of difference in their coats, which are much glossier and they are both now tucking in. Time will tell...................

[daisysp8]

My 2 absolutely love this feed ... they both tuck into it with gusto, it is finished in no time at all, and the bowl is completely licked clean

They`ve only been on it a couple of weeks, so i haven`t seen a difference in their coat/hooves yet, but i`m 100% sure i will.

I`m feeding the base mix, with a scoop of graze on and the organic Bran ... I`ll be strating them both on a course of Gut Restore and Gut Cleanse too .. just for a bit of a kick start to their metabolism

[bertie666]

Whinney is doing so well on it I have dropped her down to one cup of bran instead of two as she is getting a belly despite the -5 and below temps we have had the last few months!!!