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Post by VeronicaF on Feb 2, 2006 23:14:09 GMT 1
Question & Answer SessionAsk the Metabolic Horse expert Jackie JA Taylor Jackie JA Taylor is kindly giving up her time to answer any questions for IH's charity the Equine Market Watch. Jackie JA Taylor has worked as a technical writer for the Equine Feed, Supplement and Veterinary Products industries over the past 15 years. The last 5 years she has focussed on study and research into Equine Metabolic Syndromes and Cushing's disease, and their management.' Jackie has also now set up a company to supply all the nutritional products that field research has shown over recent years to be beneficial to such horses - like pure Magnesium for metabolic function, Yea-Sacc for gut stability, or specialist antioxidants and herbs for hoof circulation. She is also putting together unique blends of herbs and nutritionals where there are needs that are not being covered - like a joint supplement without glucosamine - which can cause real problems for laminitics. You can post a question to the charity email box -- ihcharity@yahoo.co.uk and upon the receipt of a donation, Jackie JA Taylor will answer your questions. How to pay your donations: Any cash / cheque donations can be made directly into any HSBC bank:- HSBC Bank Wantage Branch A/C 81248715 Name: Intelligent Horsemanship Charity donations. Sort Code: 40-45-36 Credit / Debit card payments can be made through: www.paypal.co.ukThe payment reference is: ihforsale@yahoo.co.uk
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Feb 3, 2006 21:04:04 GMT 1
Hi there, I had a question about supplementation for my horse. My horse is a 22 yo TB who is currently being switched over to Simple Systems feed. I would like to make sure that his diet is suitably balanced in terms of its vitamin and mineral content and had a specific question relating to magnesium/tryptophan; can magnesium help with a horse that is finding it difficult to 'let go' after a stressful situation? My horse has responded well to products containing tryptophan - is this a safe/appropriate option to feed long term and what would be the best way of doing this is if it is. Background Info. Current Diet Ad lib hay (unanalysed) fair pasture (unanalysed) Simple Systems Luciebix, Blue Grass, Beet, Instant Linseed (he is only just changing over and has been on Badminton High Fibre Nuggets, Baileys No4 and Speedibeet until yesterday) Supplements- currently Benevit. carrots & other succulents Current Workload light Behaviour Has just been through a very stressful period during which he stopped eating and behaviour changed dramatically. Although much improved in a new yard he is still jumpy, strung out and finds it hard to concentrate. I realise that he is insecure and that this may well improve with time and appropriate handling however I would like to make sure that his diet is not having a negative impact on the situation. Physical Health No known problems. Hello Poster, Thank you very much for your question and donation. I do think you are heading in the right direction with your diet. It is well worth checking the whole diet for mineral balance once in a while, and although there is a little expense involved, it can save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run. Firstly I would weigh out all the new feeds you intend to give, and ask Tim at Simple Systems to tot it up and give you the total analysis. I'm not sure if Simple System have a computerised system for this, many companies do, but if not you may have to spend the evening with a calculator adding up all the different amounts. It isn't hard, just requires a little application. Then get your hay analysed for minerals, which costs about £25.00 - many of the feed companies will organise this for you, some for nothing, or you can speak to www.directlabs.co.uk. The macro minerals you'll need to know most are calcium, phosphorus and magnesium plus the trace elements zinc, copper, iron and manganese, so ask for a test which includes these. As hay normally forms by far the largest portion of the diet it is impossible to know it is truly balanced overall until you know what is in the hay. Low magnesium in the diet can indeed make a horse 'jumpy', or leave them finding it 'hard to let go' when something upsets them, as well as causing some nerve and muscle problems. Also as magnesium should be balanced to calcium and phophorus in the diet, feeds which are high in calcium like alfalfa and beet pulp often need balancing up with magnesium, and sometimes phosphorus. All three are 'macro minerals' which means the horse requires an intake of a set amount of several grams each day. Once you have all the totals, then you can see what extra is needed, and which supplements are most appropriate - I can help you with that if you like. I would definately put your horse on Alltech Yea-Sacc too. Stress often has a negative impact on the hindgut of a horse, and Yea-Sacc is very good for stabilising the gut flora, which often helps settle the horse. Tryptophan is an amino acid - it is the substance that relaxes you in a warm milky drink (or indeed a Christmas lunch, as turkey is high in tryptophan). It is not usually fed long term, and there is virtually no research into it's use in horses. But, there are a few supplements which contain both magnesium and tryptophan which have been available from reputable companies for some time, and you could certainly feed one of those for the time being if they seem to help. I hope this helps, Jackie JA Taylor
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Feb 25, 2006 15:29:31 GMT 1
Question from Lisa:
I have a new mare whose previous owner (my YM) had her about two months and said she was fat when they got her so has been just fed on hay ever since. I've only had her a few weeks and have carried on as they have. Her paddock is overgrazed so very short (presumably she's nibbling new shoots). I now feel she doesn't want to lose any more weight, but likewise doesn't need to gain weight either, but she is lacking in muscle (particularly 2nd thigh & across back). She is however, very lively and bouncy and can be a bit on edge so certainly doesn't appear to need more energy. However, one or two people have said a) that she could be getting a bit stressed simply because she doesn't get feeds (most of the others do, but I give her hay when they get hard feeds, generally - although she does try to find any scrap of hard feed going and b) that in order to put on muscle she's going to need some protein intake above & beyone the grass/hay. Obviously, the grass is already starting to come through & things will change with spring (I suspect she'll have to be restricted one way or another) but I also wonder about her mineral/vitamin intake - can't imagine it's very balanced/comprehensive atm. So, I'm wondering what to give her/ whether it is indeed true that she won't put on muscle without something extra. I was thinking of giving her ALfa-A for protein and then a supplement to ensure she gets a good spectrum of vits/minserals (if she's a bit Mg deficient that's not going to help her be more relaxed is it?). Also, what can I give her in terms of succulents that aren't going to fizz her up - i.e. if carrots have high sugar content what about all of the other fruit/veg I could feed? How does it compare? Sorry this is an essay! I want to get it right for her and me. Btw, she's a 15.3hh ID x TB (apparently) although more on the ID side and she's quite 'mareish'!
Hi Lisa,
I think you are thinking along the right track, and the comments made to you do have some validity.
Building muscle, or indeed excepional 'repair and renewal' after injury or illness, could be described as 'nutritionally expensive.' It is easy to imagine that bone growth requires plenty of the right macro-minerals to lay down, but both bone and many other tissues - ligaments, tendons, hoof horn and muscle, are all built onto a framework of connective tissue which has a high amino acid requirement.
So, your friends are right in that protein supply needs to be adequate to meet this, but protein quality may have more bearing on that than protein quantity. Let me explain - protein in the diet is made up of amino acids, some of which can be converted or manufactured within the body, others which are 'essential', ie they must be found within the diet.
That is why the usefulness of protein in feed is governed by it's 'quality', the amount of essential amino acids it contains. If some of the most essential are in short supply in a particular food source they can limit the utilisation of the rest, for instance for horses the first two limiting amino acids are Lysine and Methionine.
The protein in Copra meal is therefore considered very low quality because it is low in Lysine, whereas the protein in soya is considered high quality because it is a good source of Lysine. 100g of protein from soya is therefore going to be of much more use to the horse than the protein in copra.
So, that gives us three options when we want to make sure a horse has enough protein to build muscle - we can supply more protein overall, a higher quality protein, or we can specifically supply more essential amino acids.
It's always as well to ensure a good 'background level' of protein in the bulk of the horses diet, from his grass and hay. In spring, grass protein may be something like 20% and ensure a plentiful supply. But in winter especially protein content falls, grazing often become sparse, and that leaves a horse very dependant on his hay. Hay cut in June often has a good protein content, but much hay baled for horses is cut in July for maximum yields, and it's protein content can fall below the adult maintenance requirement of 8%, even as low as 3% in perfectly respectable looking, sweet clean hay. So, it's worth asking for June cut hay if you can, and checking the protein content of hay if you buy in bulk.
Alfalfa I believe is a very useful source of quality protein in a safe, fibre based feed, so I definately think that is worth including in the diet, especially in winter. If your horse is a little excitable you would do better to go for one of the low sugar versions - Alfa-A Lite, or unmollased alfalfa pellets available from Dengie, D&H, DrGreen or Simple System.
Feed Balancers like TopSpec are made on a soya protein base, so there is a lot of quality protein packed into each cupful you feed, and several of the hoof supplements are formulated to contain high levels of essential amino acids too, boosted with synthetics sometimes.
Obviously a good supply of all the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements a horse needs is essential for optimum utilisation of all this lovely quality protein, and I do think a good balancer fed in some alfalfa is probably your simplest option. As spring arrives, and grass protein increases, you can cut down from a balancer to a supplement, or cut out the alfalfa and feed the pelleted balancer alone.
It's probably worth trying some magnesium in some form - from either a straight product or a calmer supplement. In my experience, there are no feeds on the market that can make up the deficit if the diet is short, and the horse is showing signs of nervousness or metabolic problems because of it, and that is one slight disadvantage of alfalfa - because it contains a generous supply of calcium, it can make any lack of magnesium that much more significant.
The other thing that is always useful for a nervous horse is yeast to settle the hindgut. I prefer Alltech Yea-Sacc, though many balancers and supplements contain a full ration of live yeast and that will be siufficient for many horses.
I find that with a bucket feed of juicy soaked alfalfa pellets my horses don't really need succulents, but vegetables that taste less sweet to you, like swede, can fulfill that role if you like to feed something. I doubt the odd brussel sprout or stick of celery will give you a problem if you want to feed a treat, but I don't have any information on the suitability of such vegetables in bulk, so I would just keep them to a minimum for a treat.
I hope this helps, let me know if you need anything clarified.
Jackie JA Taylor
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Mar 5, 2006 20:16:56 GMT 1
Question
Hello Jackie - I hope you will bare with me over this hopefully not too long e-mail to you about the comparison between these 2 feeds I have found. What I am trying to achieve, with 4 horses and absolutely no choice at all other than extremely, extremely expensive brand names that I a) can't afford to feed 4 horses with, and b) they are never the sort that would be suitable for my horses. Here is a rough profile, I promise to make it all as short as I can!
They all live out 24/7 on a rough and windy Tuscan hillside, about 20 acres, with trees, shrubs and natural forage and plenty of mud right now... Between the 4 of them they have ad lib hay, and 1 hard feed in the middle of the day. I am trying to find a feed which is non-heating ie. that won't blow their brains out BUT at this time of year gives them that adequate inner warmth they need in very, very cold temps. (sometimes it reaches minus -11 degrees, that and a strong north-easterly, they need all the warmth they can get - oh, and they do have the choice of field shelters, which they hardly ever use except in the summer) Sometimes they don't get ridden for weeks and weeks, depending on the weather, and all seem fine with this, what with living out etc, so again, they don't need anything to hype them up...... so I have done some research on this a bit - talking to my local seed merchant to see what is available and basically there is very little.... Here are two examples I was quite taken with and would like your opinion on what you think would be best for them. The break down is as follows: (I am translating it all, so please excuse the strangeness of somethings!)
For Sports Horses : (these are flakes)
Rolled Oats, Carube Beans, Rolled Beans, Rolled Mais, Rolled Barley, Rolled Soya, Wheatgerm, Sunflower flour, Molasses, and a mixture of minerals and vitamins.
Analisis:
Humidity 12.7% Protein 12.5% Fats 3.6% Fibre 6.6% Starch 45.3%
..and then there's a whole breakdown of what Vitamins and Minerals and their percentages but I don't think you need that? Anyway, here's the second -
For Rabbits, Horses, Cows, Pigs, Goats, (this is a pelleted food)
Ground Corn, Ground Barley, Beans, Carube, Peas, and various minerals.
Analisis:
Humidity 13.6% Protein 13.6% Fats 2.5% Fibre 4.1% Ash 2.6% Starch 50.3%
I normally give 3 kgs of hard food each per day when not working, and less in the summer. When they are working hard, up to 6 kgs per day. Which out of these two would be sufficient for their needs, or would mixing them perhaps together provide adequate nutrition?
Hi Nikki,
Well, this is a bit of a choice between a rock and a hard place!! I assume your horses are all healthy, because you certainly would not want to feed either of these to a horse with metabolic problems.
Firstly, don't worry about providing warmth from hard feed - it is actually the digestion of fibre that provides the most warmth, all those millions of bacteria busily fermenting away in the hindgut, so your hay will be doing that job better than anything that comes out of a bag. If you could find some alfalfa hay, a flake or two per horse per day will provide a bit more energy (calories) from a fibre source, and reduce your dependance on grain. You could also add some oil for extra calories - extra virgin olive oil would be good if you can get it cheaply locally?
6kgs grain mix, in my opinion, is too much to feed any horse. 40% by weight grain and 60% forage is as high as I would ever want to see, and I would be much happier if it were a lot lower.
With warmth covered by the hay, the only reason you'll need grain mixes is to provide 'calories' to keep their weight up. If they use more calories keeping warm than they are getting from the hay then they may need grain to top that up - but bear in mind there are many laminitics in cold parts of the US like Colorado and Canada who manage well without, it is not always necessary.
Out of the two mixes I would choose the first at first sight. Firstly because it is designed specifically for horses, so hopefully will have a mineral profile more suitable for them, and because it is a lower starch feed, with slightly more oil and fibre.
However, could you clarify if the first one is in fact micronised flakes, or simply rolled? I ask because if the first is simply rolled, and the second is ground and cooked in order to make it into a pellet, it may well be the safer of the two.
Out of the three grains, if all else is equal, I would always rather use a feed based on oats. Oats are about 47% starch, barley 53%, and corn a whopping 70%. Oats are also the highest in fibre, though they have a reputation for hotting horses up because they are digested the most quickly of the three, so can give horses a bit of a 'sugar rush'.
However, faster digestion has it's benefits if you are trying to make sure undigested starch does not reach the hindgut, causing colic or laminitis. Barley is more likely to reach the hindgut undigested as it is slower to break down, and corn considerably more so. That is why these two grains are nearly always processed before feeding to horses - steam flaked, micronised, boiled, or ground and extruded, whereas oats are often fed simply crushed or bruised.
If you could confirm the processing that would help you choose, but I would definately get the best hay you can afford, and look into the availability of some alfalfa hay and oil to keep their grain consumption down as low as possible. I would not feed more than 2kg grain at a time either - research has indicated that larger feeds tend to cause problems more often.
I would also put them all on Alltech Yea-Sacc. This will maximise their digestion of fibre, so the amount of nourishment they do get from their forage, and also help prevent acid swings if grain does overflow into the hindgut.
I hope I have not caused you more problems and questions than you came with! Do let me know about the processing and questions arising.
Jackie JA Taylor
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Mar 15, 2006 14:49:25 GMT 1
"Dear Jackie I've been asking the odd question about my boy's diet and a few of the girls here have recommended I contact you. TC is 1 17.1HH Suffolk Punch X and currently weighs 889kg (weigh tape). He lives out 24/7 and last week moved into a field that had been rested all winter, so at present the grass is good. He gets no other food. According to his previous owner (I have had him a little over 3 months) he has arthritis so I have purchased some Cortaflex, I also bought a sack of Safe & Sound in which to feed the Cortaflex but have not yet fed it. TC is overweight so I am very aware that I need to be careful of what I feed, but I am concerned that he is not getting all the vitamins and minerals he requires from just grass. So my main questions: 1. Do you think that a 1/2 scoop of Safe & Sound + Cortaflex and carrots would make him gain weight? 2. Does he need a broad spectrum vit & min supplement if he is living only on grass? 3. I have read accounts of magnesium oxide helping horses that are overweight, do you know anything about that? 4. What do you suggest I do about grazing when the spring/summer grass comes in? I can't restrict the space (approx 7 acres), will a grazing muzzle work? We are just Happy Hackers and go out about 3-4 times per week." yours, Sarah :0) Hello Sarah, Thank you for your donation, and what a lovely big chap you have there! I do think you might have some problems with unrestricted grass if he is overweight coming out of winter, and has been holding his weight doing the work you want without much supplementary feeding over winter. Yes, I do think you would be wise to feed a broad spectum supplement to him when he is living on grass. Grass kept horses usually get a good supply a vitamins from their grazing, but can be woefully short of minerals if the grass they are eating is deficient in something. The best idea of all is to get it analysed for mineral content - you can talk to the ADAS labs: www.directlabs.co.uk about that. Then you would know precisely what he needs to make up a balanced diet. Meanwhile, a good broad-spectrum supplement like TopSpec Compehensive, Benevit or Surelimb would be a good idea. I would just feed this in a little chaff like Hi-Fi Lite so you are feeding as few extra calories as possible. The Safe and Sound is not too high in calories, so you could use that up first - use as little as you can to get a supplement in. You can get some low sugar field licks, but in my experience they never take enough of them - or they gorge themselves, and of course every owner would have to agree to buy their share. However, I think your biggest problem is going to be finding a way to reduce his intake for the next 3-4 months. Grazing muzzles work well to reduce intake, but in my opinion they should only be used for a few hours at a time, so if a horse is living 24/7 out they can just eat more all the other hours of the day. I really think you ought to find some way of getting him off the grass for at least half the time - either by coming into a stable by day or night, or preferably spending a period on a grass free pen or paddock of some kind. I assume he has never had any laminitis or anything similar? Draft horses are interesting because quite a lot of them have a tendancy to insulin over-sensitivity, rather than the insulin resistance we see as the root cause of much laminitis. In the case of the normal fat, cresty necked laminitic pony, insulin resistance means they have trouble getting blood sugars into their muscles and tissues, so lay down strange fatty deposits. Drafts on the other hand sometimes get conditions like EPSM where they actually pack too much stored sugar into their muscles, and start to get problems with cramping. Both of them have a problem coping with high sugar grass - but with two totally opposite consequences. As carrying extra weight tends to cause insulin resistance, I'm not quite sure where that leaves a portly draft horse - it might be worth having a chat with your vet one day and having him check his insulin level just to make sure he is not going one way or another. Magnesium is required in the diet of all horses, and particularly so for the insulin resistant ones, to whom it can make a big difference in metabolic function, reducing their cresty necks, and even improving hoof health according to some reports. Nervous, spooky horses are sometimes so because they are short of magnesium too. If you did a grass analysis, that would tell you for sure how much is in your horses diet, though in spring grass potassium levels often rise significantly and this can 'compete' with the magnesium that is there. That's why cattle get 'grass staggers' in the spring - and farmers often feed extra magnesium to prevent it. My own opinion is that it makes logical sense to do the same for horses, especially if spring grass starts to make them silly. Of course the other answer to excess grass intake might be to take up endurance training and ride a lot, every day! Difficult for a lot of people to fit into their busy lives I know, but it's good to remember the more 'wet saddle bankets' our good doers produce, the more time they can spend eating without gaining weight! Let me know if you have any questions, Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Mar 31, 2006 19:31:20 GMT 1
Question from Cathy:
What do you feed a laminitic that now has COPD too?
Current regime all based on management of laminitis. My horse is a 14.3 welsh X, 11 yo. He is a very good doer, regularly exercised, condition score 3.5. He is in at night, out 8-5, less if ridden. He is on Formula 4 Feet supplement recommended dose, 3 soaked haynets at night fed off floor. Handful of hifi cubes with his supplement am and pm.
He has had a progressively worsening cough over the winter. He had to be in for a day and a half this week due to muckspreading and field reorganisation and his cough got much more frequent. When I rode him yesterday, after 15 mins of walk his breathing was laboured. He is a fit and well horse and has had no problems with breathing before. I’m guessing he has COPD and will get the vet to confirm today.
It seems to me that the management of COPD and laminitis conflict. I’m sure haylage would be better for COPD but not for laminitis. Being out 24/7 would be good for COPD but not the laminitis. So I’m not sure what to do for the best. I have just put his grazing muzzle on and by the end of April I will be able to graze him out at night (6-8) rather than the day (8-6) and could have him out 24/7 if I wanted.
I would appreciate any thoughts and comments and suggestions re feeding and management.
Answer:
Hi Cathy
Well, this is something of a dilemma. I assume your horses in on shavings, but what bedding and forage the horses either side of you have, andthe proximity of your stable to the haystore or muckheap may be relevant too - you might want to check those out.
If it is definately your own soaked hay that is causing the problem, I wonder if you are soaking it long enough? They do say 20 mins or so is enough to swell the spores, but it might be worth trying an hour or two.
If you have to go to haylage, it depends very much on the analysis of the particular product as to whether or not it will be suitable for a laminitic. Some brands, eg Horsehage are tightly compressed in small bales and have good fermentation, so they claim that nearly all the sugars are fermented, and residual levels are only 2% or so - which is obviously safe for a laminitic. They also do a Timothy version which should have contained less sugar to start with.
Sugars in locally grown haylage may vary considerably, so it would be safest to find a large supply baled all at once and test it - D&H can do that for you very reasonably.
But, the problem is we don't know exactly why some laminitics cannot take some haylage - it could be down to it's acidity rather than the sugar levels, and again, that can vary quite a lot. So, I am afraid the only answer is to something of know analysis, use caution and see how he reacts.
It may be that he would benefit from a spell living out 24/7, so is there anywhere you can get access to or make a 'drylot', a paddock with no grass in whatsoever? That can work well when the ground dries up in May and enable you to keep him outside for for or five months or so anyway, until it gets too wet. You can let him out for periods of grazing as you would normally do.
I have actually managed one Cushing's case with mild laminitis, COPD and teeth problems which meant he could not eat long fibre! I penned him into a very small area with virtually no grass at all until the laminitis settled down. When he could graze a little again I kept him very short of grass, and fed him a LOT of unmollased beet pulp to fill his tummy and keep his grass consumption as low as possible, together with a good balancer and a top-up of magnesium.
This worked well for this particular little chap, and horses can thrive on a mixture of beet pulp and soaked high fibre cubes without any hay at all. They have hay cubes in the US and we could really do with them over here - though I understand Simple System have a low sugar hay replacer cube, so it might be worth asking them. It would need to be below 10% sugar to be safe for a laminitic.
Anyway, that gives you a few options to consider - if your lad can eat grass all day he is not too desperately susceptable to laminitis, so he may just be fine with the right haylage anyway.
I hope this helps, and good luck,
Jackie JA Taylor
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Apr 6, 2006 14:16:09 GMT 1
Question:
Hi Jackie
I have 3 horses at the moment who all live at home with me.
1 x 10 year old Irish Sport Horse 15’2” who I compete
2 x little rescue ponies or do nothing much apart from make me laugh!. Although they are both started and coming along.
They all live out on 8 acre field 24/7 with natural spring water in the field, stone walls and edged with the whole way along one side with varying tree’s for shelter. (In summer I move them to a 3 acre field with less good grazing).
I do give them a hard feed in winter twice a day made up of, Speedibeet, Alpha A, a teaspoon of Magnesium (1/2 a tsp for the ponies) and some carrots.
They have either good quality hay or small bale haylage just depending on market prices and availability.
I provide a Rockies 5 Star Mineral Lick in the field.
I was out riding with Pie the other day and someone had dropped their orange peel just where we happened to stop to talk to a friend. Pie ate this orange peel up like it was the best spring grass he’d ever had!!! So, I’ve started giving pie and ponies any “old” fruit & vegetables I can find, including oranges, satsuma’s, melons, cabbages, sprouts etc. etc. Also, a friend who has a veg market stall has started giving me the cut off leaves from the cauliflowers, which they seem to love also. So, eventually, my question/s is:
Are they lacking something to love citrus fruit & varying veggies & fruit so much? Is there any kind of fruit or veg which you know would be “bad” for a horse? Is it actually Ok for them to eat these things? Oops forgot to say that I also give Pie Yea Sacc in his feed 1 day before and 1 day after any event, or even if we’ve just trailer’d somewhere for a hack. In any situation which I think could have his gut I’d give some Yea Sacc in his feed.
Thanks
Jo
Answer:
Hi Jo,
What was it our Grandmas used to say - "A little of what you fancy does you good".
I would not feed large quantities of any unusual foods to horses, and some brassicas in particular (that's the family that includes cabbage, sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower) contain a goitrogen. That means a substance that can interfere with thyroid function, usually by preventing the normal use of iodine, which is essential in thyroid hormone, so I would tend to avoid those other than the odd taste.
I think you are on far safer ground with fruits as long as they are not getting too much sugar from them. Citrus fruit pulp is actually used as an animal feed and contains lots of a slowly digested fibre called pectin, like that found in beet pulp.
Horses who live on fresh grass should be eating or manufacturing a good supply of all the vitamins they need, and the trouble with horses is they tend to eat whatever they like the taste of as well as maybe selecting what they need. Research has shown they are not really reliable in this though.
At the end of winter however I suppose it is possible they may be feeling a little short of fresh vitamin-rich foods, and several fruits do contain a range of substances like antioxidants and flavonoids that work together with vitamins to promote good health. That's why you will find antioxidant or detox supplements containing a range of fruit and fruit by-products - citrus peel, rose hips, grape seed extract, bilberry etc, so I don't think offering a few bits and bobs will do them any harm, and it may do them some good.
Rockies 5-Star is a good lick, but I am of the opinion that horses never really take enough of such licks (except when they go mad and take too much!) so I prefer to feed a good all-round supplement or balancer 'just in case' to horses not getting compound feed. In my experience they usually need the trace elements even if they don't need the vitamins.
I am a great believer in Alltech Yea-Sacc to keep the hindgut happy, but it is normally fed continually or for a period of several weeks at least, so I do not think that you will be getting much benefit from just using it on the odd day.
Hope this helps,
Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Apr 8, 2006 13:04:20 GMT 1
Question, "Having recently moved to a house with fields adjoining the garden, I'm very aware that the horses can reach over fences to garden plants. I'm a little concerned at how much they are choosing to eat some of these plants, including various ornamental roses, varieties of dogwood, pampas grass and other probably non-native trees and shrubs I don't even yet know what they are. The obvious danger of a yew tree has been removed, as has vast quantities of ivy, but short of very high fencing or digging up the entire garden, it will be difficult to prevent access totally. Is there a rule of thumb at all on this or, alternatively, a good source of information? I have a booklet on plants poisonous to horses but none of those of immediate concern appear in there. I'm not sure if that means they're safe or just not in there. Along similar lines, I was also wondering what, if any, kitchen peelings, etc. may be ok to feed. I know potatoes and tomatoes should not be on the menu, but what about cabbages, broccoli, lettuces, herbs, etc.? In the winter, my horses are mainly restricted to a large non-grassed area and I would like to give them small quantities of scraps to forage for if I knew this to be ok. At the moment, I just do this with carrot and swede peelings. Thanks in advance for your advice." Liz Pitman" Hi Liz and thanks for your donation, thanks to you all ( I missed thanking a couple!) I don't know if I can be an awful lot of help to you. As you say, the obvious concern with garden plants, which may be unusual or exotic, is that they may be so seldom exposed to livestock that their dangers are not known. If you knew the names of them all you could look them up, I would guess most would state if they were known to be toxic. The most comprehensive online database I have ever seen is this, from Cornell University: www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/alphalist.htmlThis is quite a long list too: www.anapsid.org/resources/plants-hn.htmlBut again, unless you know their names that might not do you a lot of good. Perhaps the best thing would be to put a strip of electric tape along the fence to keep the horses out of nibbling distance? You can get some thin green tape which is very inobtrusive. As for scraps, you should avoid the brassica family (see above post) but I think most fruit is fine in moderation. Why not give them a few large winter vegetables to knaw on - swedes are fine, and I would assume turnips and parsnips are too, and they could have a good play with those also. If your horses are fine with sugars you could always investigate hydroponic grass, but the set up costs are pretty high. It is ususally made from sprouted barley, and there may be a way to do a 'home made' version. I'm sorry I cannot be of more help, but this is really outside my area of study. Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Apr 15, 2006 23:52:41 GMT 1
Question
My horse Finnigan has been diagnosed with a severe allergy to the creepie crawlies the habit straw beds, timothy grass and mosquito bites.
At it's worst he was self harming. He is now on megazorb bedding, has no hay nets on which to self mutilate, but still has a good bite at himself when he can and it's as if I haven't quite got rid of everything?
He has undergone skin scrapings, skin biopsies and patch testing, to which he had the most awful of reaction to.
He is now on Top Spec leisure and literally a hand full of Alpha a to carry the TP.
I was reading in "Your Horse" issue 280 page 84 about the benefits of Ride and Relax for itchy horses and wondered if you had any other pearls of wisdom to try to get rid of the last of his itching?
Thanks in anticipation.
Regards Margaret D
Hello Margaret,
I have asked that this question be pssed on to one of the vets as it is really out of my area of knowledge.
With regard to feeding, I would not feed any compound manufactured feed to a horse with such severe allergies as they contain so many ingredients it would be impossible to know which might be causing a problem, an increase the chances of there being something in there to perpetuate his problem.
Have you been through an exclusion diet process - restricting him to hay and grass only, and then adding simple feeds one by one to make sure he does not have a problem with them? I must admit if he were mine I would start with unmollased beet pulp and a high quality broad spectrum supplement, and one without yeast, garlic, herbs or any other additions. I think D&H Surelimb would be one, maybe Benevit.
I would do that as a starting point and then add Yea-sacc separately, or one of the supplements which contain yeast. I am afraid I do not agree with the longterm feeding of probiotics which seem to be in all Allen and Page feeds. Probiotics acidify the gut, and I feel that is rarely a benefit. If I felt a horse needed a course of probiotics - that it might have a small intestine pathogen problem causing diarrhoea, I would use a short course of a product called EquiProPlus by Univet, available through your vet (and not expensive).
One thing I would try is a course of a good ayurvedic liver and digestive tonic like Restore, if your vet has no objection. These are very mild and 'calming' to over-excited or sluggish, 'toxic' systems in my experience, though my experience is with a different category of problem.
Linseed has been shown in research to benefit sweet itch, so that might be worth trying introducing after beet pulp. At the very least if he could tolerate that no problem it would help supply Omega 3 fatty acids to keep his skin in as good a condition as possible. Unless you feel like boiling up your own I would use Simple System Instant linseed so you can feed reasonable amounts.
If you can find good June cut meadow hay that may be all the feed he needs - if not then I would try alfalfa or plain oats I think (assuming he has no metabolic problems). Naked Oats are a high fat oat from Dengie which enable you to get calories in with as little grain as possible.
I feel feeding straight feeds would be the best way forward, until he is better at least - if that seems to suit him it would be worth having a nutritionist check over his diet analysis to make sure it is broadly in balance for the long term. Getting the diet in balance is always the major concern with feeding straights.
I hope this helps, good luck with getting him fully right again.
Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Apr 16, 2006 14:12:16 GMT 1
NB I thought it worth adding that you might try him on a bit of extra magnesium oxide too, or a simple calming supplement that contains 5g or so magnesium. Lack of magnesium does not cause allergies to my knowledge, but it can make them generally hypersensitive and twitchy and you want your boy to be as calm as possible. My horse for instance finds flies change from an irritation to a complete torment if he is short of magnesium, so I think it worth making sure a lack of magnesium is not making it harder for him to cope.
Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Apr 18, 2006 23:30:37 GMT 1
Question:
I have a three year old chesnut arab that is highley strung and has a chip on his shoulder. at present he is on ltd turn out. but is to go out for the summer with a very large herd on not such a big field. so the grass will be supplemented with haylidge. At present he is on allen and page calm and condition and ultd haylidge. should i continue to feed him through the summer. he also has carrots and apples in his feed. he is a very dominant horse and can be skitty but that is in his breading. i am hoping to get him on turn out in the day in the winter and out in the night so would like some advice for now and later on. He is all round in good condition but his coat is a little dull. thank you so much holly
SAnswer:
Hi Holly,
Thanks for your question and donation. As we are just coming up to the period of the richest grass growth, and you are going to continue feeding haylage, I would simply swap your feed for a feed balancer. I am afraid I do not agree with Allen and Page that feeding probiotics daily is a good idea anyway - they acidify the gut and that is the last thing we want with a horse in general - I prefer products which contain a yeast as a rule as these tend to do the opposite.
Also during the summer months as a horse starts to gain weight people cut down on the hard feed, quite rightly, but if they do not make up the difference with a broad spectrum mineral supplement, their horse could be left short of key nutrients. This is particularly important for a youngster who is still growing and maturing, and laying down tissue and bone for what we hope will be a long working life.
I recommend TopSpec balancers as they have one of the best specifications on the market, particularly for horses with metabolic problems. With a healthy young horse there would be others you could choose too, D&H Ultimate balancer is another high quality product with a little more starch, or Bailey's Lo-Cal is a good budget version. You'd only have to feed a couple of cupfuls a day, which sould not take long if you need to pull him out to prevent interferance from other horses. D&H Suregrow is a mineral dense feed designed to be fed in small volumes, sort of half way between a feed and a balancer, which is also very good value but higher in sugars.
Many horses do go through a dull coated phase as they shed out, but I have to say check your worming programme, perhaps get a count if you are not sure, as nothing ruins a horses coat like a spring worm burden.
Making sure he gets a full dose of vits and mins and a little quality protein boost from a balancer may get his coat looking good, together with 'Dr Green', but you might just add a handful of fresh ground linseed to his balancer feed, or a gloop of linseed or cod liver oil. These two supply omega 3 fatty acids which are the most beneficial and the most likely to be short in the diet after winter.
Come next winter you have two choices really - to stick with the balancer and add fibre feeds to it for extra calories - things like beet pulp or alfalfa with a little bran have served me very well over the years, for all kinds of horses. But, if he starts to lose weight and you really feel you need to add a 'proper hard feed' in reasonable amounts I would go for a low starch pelleted feed over grain. TopSpec have one called Cool Condition, or Spiller's Response Slow release cubes are another good product, even good old Spillers Horse and Pony cubes do an excellent job.
There are some very attractive 'hybrid' feeds on the market containing a little grain and lots of fibre energy sources if you prefer a coarse mix, but I do believe horses generally do best with as little starch as possible, and that means as little whole grain as possible.
I hope this helps,
Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on May 23, 2006 0:21:13 GMT 1
Question:
Hello
I have two ponies to deal with here, both very different! The first one is an overweight grey 13.2 arab x connemara, aged 8 ish. Out of work currently but just about to be returned to work through lunging/work in hand and then onto some gentle ridden work. According to the weigh tape he weighs about 367kg. He has slight guttering along the spine. He came out of winter looking rather too good. He is in a fairly small paddock which is rapidly running lower and lower on grass ( thank god!) although there is still plenty there at the moment. I have been feeding him top spec anti lam for his vits and mins, with some naf magic and naf garlic. Is this ok? We have only recently started this diet and I plan on it being a year round thing now, with no increase in winter so that hopefully he will come out of next winter looking better!
The second pony is a baby and has been with me since the end of march. He was a little bit poor then, and I had hope he would have picked up a little more than he has, hence the questions! He is an arab x welsh pony, will be two on the 23rd of august, is about 11.1hh and according to the weigh tape about 190 ish kg. He is a nervous chap, and worries about things. Shivers in the rain too! I can feel the back end of his spine approaching his hindquarters and he is quite hippy. He is in a large grass paddock with plenty of grazing.Lush in fact. He is currently on hi fi lite ( just because it was the chaff the others are on and I assumed he'd gain weight once being fed and wormed and looked after!) saracen yearling mix for up to 2year olds, speedibeet, naf magic and naf garlic. I was considering swapping the hi fi lite for a richer chaff, alfa a oil maybe? and swapping the speedibeet unmollassed for a proper mollassed beet? But I admit I am a bit out of my depth here as I have only ever had good doers and older ponies that need watching so they don't explode! Hence me asking the expert!
I hope you can help. I will enlose a small photo of each taken this week. I am sure you can tell which is the chubster and which the scrawny baby!
Thank you very much in advance, I'm off to make a paypal donation!
Tara
Answer:
Hi Tara,
Thank you very much for your donation!
Firstly your arab cross - yes, that is a pretty good base diet. The TopSpec will provide a good allround base of minerals and vitamins, with a little protein top-up which may well be neeeded in the winter months especially, and the calmer contains magnesium which I always think is worth covering with a bit extra for a good doer. Many diets are short of magnesium nowadays it seems, and it is essential for good metabolic function.
I would quit the garlic though. Garlic is more powerful an 'antibiotic' than people realise, and can actually wreak havoc with the digestive flora. By all means feed it for a short while if your horse has had a respiratory infection or something, but I would not feed it continually. herbs of that family have also been implicated in a specific type of anaemia, so all in all I believe it can do more harm than good.
As for the youngster - I assume you have double checked the obvious, but please do make sure his worming programme is up to date and effective, and that his teeth are not causing him any problems.
Bearing in mind that we are only just at the beginning of summer, and the weather has turned quite cool again, I would not overload your youngster too much. the Saracen yearling mix seems to be a well considered product - I don't have the exact analysis but they say they are aiming to keep starch levels down as much as possible, and I think that is good. Research has shown that we can all too easily overdo it with youngstock too and cause problems when we give them wide blood sugar swings etc. I also like the fact they have included Yeast culture and bioplex minerals.
I would not add Alfa-Oil myself - I am not really a fan of oil-coated chaff open to the air. Oil does oxidise quite readily and has to be manufactured with extra preservatives to stop it from going rancid, and whilst I am sure a reputable company like Dengie have done this in the best possible way, I just don't see the need.
If I want to add a little fat, I would rather add some fresh ground linseed, or a little cold pressed feed grade linseed oil. And if you want more calories from the chaff, Alfalfa is a fairly low calorie plant - something like Readigrass is far more calorific.
But, with youngsters, you need to be very careful not to unbalance a balanced ration too -their mineral balance is more critical than older horses, and it is possible to overload them with starch or protein - these too really should be fed 'in balance'. Are you feeding the recommended level of the youngstock feed? I think I would be inclined to do that first and check with Saracen rather than adding large amounts of straight feeds. It may be that for a part-native they would recommend higher levels of a 'lower octane' ration anyway, they would be the best people to advise you if their yearling feed is suitable for ponies at the full ration.
I would not use a lot of beet pulp as it is very bulky and could 'fill him up' with fibre rather than more nutrient dense food.
I think actually giving him a little more time might be your best bet before doing too much. In another month the weather will hopefully be a lot milder, and the grass will have peaked. I would just tweak your diet a little now, give him another month, and then reassess the situation.
The other thing that might be worth asking is if Saracen do a pelleted version of the Yearling feed? Pelleted feeds are often more easily digested, and horses tend to 'do better' on them.
I hope this helps - remember the old adage 'Feed 'em low, and grow 'em slow'.
Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Jun 26, 2006 15:07:57 GMT 1
Question: Hi I could really use your advice on how best to feed my husband’s horse. He’s 15.1hh, 11 years old, and allegedly Dales, although not registered, and has been with us on loan for just over six months. He is best described as, well, a bit manky! He’s got no top line, no neck to speak of and has fairly major muscle wastage across his withers. He was previously used as a driving pony and has a very poor back end but very big shoulders. He’s still got most of his winter coat and as a result gets very sweaty. He also seems to have almost constantly runny eyes, although they are much better in warmer dryer weather than they were in winter. According to his owner he has been tested for Cushings and liver problems and there have been no problems shown, but he has always been this way. He currently weighs just under 500 Kg, and is out at grass 24/7 on fairly good grazing on a steep hill, and is being fed simple systems grass nuts (soaked), a small handful of hi-fi, about a kilo of soaked whole oats, a scoop of surelimb and about 100g of ground linseed (the Hilton Herbs one with Fenugreek) He’s a very fussy eater and refuses to eat his feed if we add oil to it. Any suggestions would be very welcome, we would so much like to see the poor lad looking a bit more normal! Thanks Louise Answer: Hi Louise, I would remain very suspicious of Cushing's in such a horse, despite his age, he should definately be putting on weight on the diet you describe unlss he is working extremely hard. The first thing I would do is endeavour to get hold of a hard copy of his blood test results - get your vet to request them if need be. Testing for Cushing's is not very reliable and open to interpretation some of the time. Please email them to me or post them on my yahoo group at groups.yahoo.com/group/TheMetabolicHorse Cushing's cases often have runny eyes, and there are very few other reasons for a failure to shed the coat. Worm infestation is one - have you had a worm count and a tapeworm blood test done on him? Very low thyroid levels is another reported cause of coarse, heavy coats, but you would have an obviously lethargic and ill horse too. The only other cause I have heard of anecdotally is lack of magnesium - I do know of one case of two horse who apparently showed several signs of Cushing's, including coat abnormalities, who came right with magnesium supplementation alone. So, while you get hold of the blood tests I would change the Surelimb for TopSpec balancer to give him slightly higher vit/min levels, a bit of a protein boost, and some live yeast. You could even add some Alltech Yea-Sacc to that to make sure he was getting every last ounce of goodness out of his diet. I would also give him a course of an Ayurvedic liver tonic such as Restore as a general pick me up. To that I would add some magnesium, 10g a day for a month, then 5g a day, and a tablespoon of seaweed to make sure he is getting plenty of iodine for thyroid function as well. Depending on what the blood tests say, or if you cannot get them, I would be wanting to get my vet to pull at least an insulin, glucose and cortisol to double check on Metabolic function. There are some cases who are so insulin resistance they are bordering on diabetic, and they can lose weight, and I would want to make sure that that is not so. If there really was no metabolic problem I would investigate feeding a raised fat ration - even oats come in a 10% fat version called Naked Oats from Dengie. In general I would rather feed a low starch pellet though - either Spiller Response Slow Release cubes, which deliver a good 'calorie' level from fibre, or D&H ERS Pellets which are a specifically high fat, low starch pellet. I believe Saracen also stock one called Releve - but I would not feed a high fat ration at all until I had checked that there was no problem with his insulin. I hope this helps. Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Jul 5, 2006 22:55:02 GMT 1
Question Hi Jackie, I wonder if you could help with a suitable feeding and turnout regime for my two boys. Khan is a 9 year old Arab, 14.1, and I would say he is in light to medium work, having done very little before he came here 3 months ago. He is approx 410kg and in good overall health but his skin is a little bit scurfy and his coat is not as shiny as I think it should be.Also his mane seems very dry.He is up to date with vaccinations, has had his teeth done by the vet recently (fine) and his only past health problem has been some kind of mud fever type thing on his white legs as there is an exclusion on his insurance policy for this.His weight has been stable since he's been here. I feed him Bailey's LoCal at half the recommended level together with a small scoop of Speedibeet twice day, adlib hay and they are turned out for around 5-7 hours a day on about 1 acre of grass. The rest of the time they are on a woodchip paddock. The field used to be for dairy cows but has not been fertilised for about 3 years.He also has 5mg of magnesium because of the fresh grass growing. I am thinking of changing him onto Top Spec and feeding it at the suggested amount for a few months, hoping that this would get his coat and mane into better condition. Also, I plan to feed NAF MudGuard as soon as the ground starts to get wet later in the year.What do you think? The other one is an 18 month old miniature Shetland cross. He is finely built and about 40- 50kg (he doesn't like the weight tape so it's hard to measure a wriggling baby!).He gets a tiny handful of Speedibeet and an even tinier sprinkle of LoCal twice a day, (in total about a mugful) although the vet told me when I got him he didn't really need anything apart from hay/grass.He came in the other day with a noticeable pulse in his forefeet so I have kept them both off the field in the meantime on vet's advice. The pulse went right down after 48 hours and he now seems back to normal. I am seriously concerned about this happening to such a young pony and now think he will have to be muzzled if he is to go out on grass at all, plus taped off in a small area, as I would like to be able to put them in the field every day even if only for a short time. The vet also said he is advising everyone to muzzle all their horses this summer so I think I'll have to muzzle the Arab as well, just in case although I don't think he is especially at risk I don't want to take any chances. Is the baby getting enough nourishment at the moment with no grass? What should I be giving him now and in the future to ensure that he doesn't become laminitic? Thanks for your help,Jackie - much appreciated! Answer: Hello there, and thank you for your donation. I am afraid I may appear to disagree with your vet - depending on what exactly was in his mind when he spoke of course! Yes, I agree that these little tiny folk don't need any extra 'food' in the way of calorific condition boosters or starchy mixes, but all equines need a basis of good micronutrition - vitamins, minerals and trace elements to keep them healthy. That applies to metabolic health particularly in my opinion, research is showing that horses and ponies prone to laminitis may actually need MORE of some nutrients than a healthy horse - and unfortunately many of them get less. I think your idea of feeding a balancer is a good one - Bailey's Lo-Cal is a good value product and I have had good results with it, but I use and recommend TopSpec as it has a higher vit/min specification, which I feel is beneficial. Whatever balancer you use, I would feed it at the full dose recommended by the manufacturer. Your vet is right in that, in an ideal world, all any of our horses in light work would need is grass and hay, but if you look at enough hay mineral analyses, you soon see that the world is far from ideal. If you have one load of hay that will last you for a good length of time, it is always best to analyse it for minerals and balance the diet accordingly. But as a lot of people cannot do that, the quality brands of supplements and balancers are designed to make up the most lilkely shortfalls, without adding large amounts of unecessary 'food'. I would add some supplementary magnesium for them both - it is one nutrient that is particularly essential for good metabolic function, and most often found to be short in the diet, so in my opinion it is crucial in the diet of any potential laminitic. Aside from diet, exercise is a huge factor in the prevention of laminitis. I don't know if your mini is destined for life as a companion, but when he is old enough if you can give him regular exercise it will help enormously in keeping him healthy. I am rather concerned by your description of your pasture as dairy cow pasture. Pasture for cattle is often seeded with ryegrass, and I am afraid this is totally unsuitable for a mini, IMO it is really unsuitable for any horse. Ryegrass you see has been selectively bred for high sugar content to fatten cattle, and it is just too rich for horses. Horses really need old native species ideally, or at least a broader mixture of the 'less productive' (read lower sugar) species of grass, of the type that might normally be used to graze sheep. I hope your paddock is not ryegrass, but if it is, I can only urge you to find alternative pasture. It would be a shame if such a young pony had to be muzzled for the rest of his life, though I believe you will always have to strictly limit any access to pasture in the growing season just because of his breeding. Have a look at www.safergrass.org for more information on working out the safest times to graze. I would have a word with Nicola Tyler at TopSpec about whether the pony's protein needs will be met with restricted grazing at 18 months of age - I would have thought so with decent hay and a balancer, but as youngstock of pony breeds are not my speciality I would consult someone with a lot of experience in that area, like Nicola. As for your arab's skin, a full dose of balancer will help with minerals like zinc which are particularly important for the skin, but I would recommend 50g of fresh ground linseed daily - it works wonders. You can grind it in a coffee grinder, and as long as you keep it dry until it is fed, and make sure it does not hang around in the manger wet, it is quite safe to feed in small amounts. The problem with linseed only occurs when it gets wet, so if you don't soak it, there is no need to boil it. Lastly I would also make sure there is no clover in your pasture - clover is notorious for causing photosensitivity that can result in endless mud fever on white legs. I hope this helps, and good luck, Jackie
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Post by JackieJATaylor on Aug 11, 2006 15:24:07 GMT 1
Question:
I have a 16 year old TB (mostly) x ID. He is very uptight. I have owned him for 4 months and he came from a livery yard and a kind home. He has evented in the past but was sold cheaply to his previous home – where he was for 6 years.
He lives out here 24 x 7 x 365 with company. He seems happy with the horses. He is on unfertilised ground – 15 acres, with 6 other horses which is topped, not weedkilled – so he has access to dried nettles etc when we top them (we don’t top the grass).
He is fed on Alfa A (half scoop), Top Spec Balancer and I have started to give him a pro biotic –Biotel Equine Gold. He will have haylege in the winter and speedibeet added to his feed. We have lots of grass here and he is a good weight.
Behaviour he can be SO uptight – one day he is fine and will let you touch him and is relaxed, the next day you will get nowhere near him and he will spook across the field. You can bring him out one day for grooming and a walk and he will be very fussy and relaxed, the next day he is nearly jumping out of his skin and trembling all over – if you can catch him that is. He is no pushover with other horses, infact he is a kind, gentle leader type – he will herd the others away from me if he is feeling touchy but this is improving. When you start to tack him up he starts to think “right, lets get this over with” and does everything he is asked – and then SPEEDS around the hack in order to get home as fast as poss. He’s not nappy – just knows what needs to be done and wants to do it fast. He is very well behaved when ridden. He did refuse when put at a jump and tucked his bum under waiting for the smack (which he certainly didn’t get – but we’ve taken him back to basics and he is flying over now).
He is rather like a duck – on the surface things seem calm, but underneath the water there is a ton of activity. To someone who doesn’t know him he is well behaved and does his job – but I see him as a bit of a coiled spring almost with a dual personality at times.
He has had his shoes off and has clicking joints – which have got worse with the extra exercise from being out here. His feet are good and hard and he will be able to go barefoot (perhaps the increased movement he has from being barefoot has also made the clicking worse. He’s not lame). He has been checked by a chiro and he is in good shape – he had some work on his poll and now he is happy for you to touch his ears.
I think his issues are from past treatment and management – but I wondered if there is something I can give him to help him feel a bit more relaxed. I don’t want him dopey – I just feel he is missing something and I can’t put my finger on what it might be…
Thanks!
Answer:
Hello poster, thank you for your question and donation and I am sorry it has taken me a couple of days to get back to you.
Well, you have made a good start in giving your horse lots of freedom and companionship, and making sure he has a good basis to his diet. It is always difficult to tell exactly why a horse is more nervous or neurotic than his lifestyle suggests he should be, but there are a couple of suggestions I would make.
Firstly it could indeed be that your horse is short of magnesium - we are finding a lot of hays and pastures are deficient to a greater extent than most general supplements and balancers can make up, and that is why so many horses respond well to magnesium based calmers nowadays. I prefer using a Pure Magnesium Oxide for the best results and greatest value, and I would give your horse 10g extra magnesium per day for a month, and then try reducing this to 5g and watching carefully for the loss of any improvement seen on 10g.
Feeding a form of live yeast is a good idea too - Biotal is a yeast rather than a probiotic, so should help settle the gut, and there is some live yeast in the TopSpec too. I find Alltech Yea-Sacc works best of all myself, and they are the only one who's claims have been backed up by mountains of research in horses, but the others should definately be helping. Horses can become nervous if their hindgut is unsettled, and yeast is the best thing I have found to settle them.
It will be interesting to see if your guy calms down when the grass sugar levels are lower. There is quite a high level of molasses in original Alfa-A, and though you are only feeding a small amount, some horses can react to alfalfa itself too, so it might be worth changing that for an unmollased beetpulp such as Speedibeet, just to rule that out.
The other thing that always occurs to me with a 16 yr old horse, because of my area of special interest, is the increased prevalence of hormonal problems that seem to surface around 16 yrs of age. It would be interesting to see how high his cortisol levels were one day - sometimes they can begin to go astray and produce a kind of 'Can't let go' type of worrying in an otherwise sensible horse. I have one 16yo IDxTB mare with me now who is just like that.
Another way to investigate this possibility is to try him on the herb Vitex agnus castus. We have found Vitex useful for treating the early stages of Cushing's disease in horses, but it is widely used for both horses and humans to treat various other types of 'hormonal imbalance' as well, and I have had big positive responses to it in the past in horses in their early teens who just seemed to be getting a bit neurotic as the years passed. That might be worth a go.
Failing that there are several herbs and nutrients that have a direct calming effect - like valerian and tryptophan which you could try. I always like to try and find a cause before simply treating the symptom though, so i would leave those 'til last to try.
Nervousness can always be a handling or training problem of course, and if there are specific triggers from the past the response can sometimes seem pretty random. But, those issues can take a long time to train out or compensate for, so IMO it's worth trying the most obvious nutritional fixes at the outset.
The other thing I would recommend is some fresh ground linseed or Simple System instant linseed for his joints. He should be getting enough Omega 3 from pasture, but a little extra never goes amiss, and as the joint supplements are so expensive I always recommend people try linseed first.
I hope this helps.
Jackie
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