Best feed for horse on box rest.....

Spike is due home from his KS surgery on Thursday. Prior to going he was on pony nuts and Alfa A oil ad lib hay and had turnout every other day.
He is now going to be on box rest for at least 6 weeks so would like advice on what to feed. He is quite an anxious horse so would appreciate advice on supplements to help him aswell - I have heard that Global Herbs box rest supplement is quite good. Any advice much appreciated.
 
pinktiger

pinktiger

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mostly fibre diet with vit supplement or balancer i would say would be best..
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Personally i would just drop down to alfa A and the pony nuts-that way he is still getting the fibre and the nuts normally have an all round vit and mineral added.
Ad lib hay wont hurt either.
 
I too would change to Alpha A and give fewer nuts, mine has a vit and min supplement all the time anyway as don't feed the maximum quantity of nuts, he also has Alpha A and ad lib haylage.

Edited to say: Have found most supplements by Global to be very good.
 
Some horse (mine included!) can go a bit off their rocker on alfa a...
I would be more inclined to feed one of the chaffs eg. happy hoof, that can be fed in largish quantities as has a really low calorie content, but also provides all the vitamins and minerals!
Also, as you may be thinking of ways to combat boredom, it may be worth buying one of those nut balls that roll about, seems to keep them occupied for a while!
Ad lib hay is a must, and also maybe one of the big vit/min licks they have in a tub thing on the floor might be a good idea!
Ohh also maybe dangling swedes and carrots around his stable will give him something else to think about!
As regards the anxiety, Global Herbs looks good, I've also used NAF Tempralax with good results, but Im not sure if this would be ok to use in the long term! It may also be worth looking into something like pink powder as a balancer, especially if he has had a stressful time undergoing surgery.
Hope the operation was a success, and he's on the road to a speedy recovery!
 
Our lad that was on box rest had ab-lib soaked hay to keep him munching, then hifi and baileys lo-cal balancer and this suited very well.
 
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ab-lib soaked hay to keep him munching, then hifi and baileys lo-cal balancer

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That's what I'd use too,
 
The local veterinary clinic put my last boy on Fibre Pencils when he was in there on box rest, basically a high fibre nut, think its made by Spillers or Saracens....I used to also put them in his snack ball to keep him amused instead of normal nuts......new neddy is now on a feed called Fibre Care by Falcon Feeds and it is high fibre low energy so stayed on that on box rest just in different quantities. Good luck and hope your horse recovers soon.
 
Mine was on adlib hay and a handful of hifi lite and bran (just to make him feel like he had had something when others were fed!)
 
Mine was on box rest for 3 months after a fracture. He was on ad lib hay and high fi lite plus a balancer. This all kept him in great shape and as happy as he could be in a box.

If i were you I'd call the feed company who's feed you use and ask their advice, it's free advice and they'll tell you straight away what the minimum amount you need to feed to get all the vits and mins he needs. Every horse and pony is different and they'll know scientifically what yours would need.

Good luck.
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