box rest and feeding advice!

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xoxellaxox

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Hi guys, my mare has a rather large hoof cast on . So far she has had 3 weeks on box rest, she has another 4 to do :(

So far shes been an angel and really seemed to cope with the big change. My vets advised me to get her on a high fiber feed. I have got her on Allen and page fast fiber . My vets said this was great as its a probiotic and as she cant move much its a good way to help prevent stomach ulcers from forming, and as its soaked it will help to keep her hydrated. She has two large hay nets, one in the morning and one at night and they are both soaked. So after 3 weeks I have noticed shes losing condition, her coat does not look as nice, she has lost a lot of muscle, and shes seizing up . Shes also piled on the pounds and looks pregnant . ive cut her hay and shes one unhappy mare! Id like to give her some feed that will help her joints and foot health as shes got fracture in her pedal bone. but at the same time keep her healthy with out the energy and sugar. she is also becoming quite sharp and lively so if anyone can recommend a good calmer for her while shes on box rest id be grateful

thanks guys :)
 
xoxellaxox said:
Hi guys, my mare has a rather large hoof cast on . So far she has had 3 weeks on box rest, she has another 4 to do :(

So far shes been an angel and really seemed to cope with the big change. My vets advised me to get her on a high fiber feed. I have got her on Allen and page fast fiber . My vets said this was great as its a probiotic and as she cant move much its a good way to help prevent stomach ulcers from forming, and as its soaked it will help to keep her hydrated. She has two large hay nets, one in the morning and one at night and they are both soaked. So after 3 weeks I have noticed shes losing condition, her coat does not look as nice, she has lost a lot of muscle, and shes seizing up . Shes also piled on the pounds and looks pregnant . ive cut her hay and shes one unhappy mare! Id like to give her some feed that will help her joints and foot health as shes got fracture in her pedal bone. but at the same time keep her healthy with out the energy and sugar. she is also becoming quite sharp and lively so if anyone can recommend a good calmer for her while shes on box rest id be grateful

thanks guys :)
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I like magic calmer the only one that works for my horse
 
Can you get her a basic feed balancer - one that is just vitamins, minerals and oils. She will lose muscle regardless of what is or not fed as its movement that keeps muscles developed. They will come back once in work again.

HAs she really put on weight or is she developing a real hay belly?

We always feed adlib hay to those on box rest and a pretend feed when others get fed to prevent bad behaviour like door kicking. Its just chaff with a handful of sugarbeet in it.

The weight will also return to normal once back in work.
 
Hi,was just wondering how come yours is only on 7 weeks box rest?mine is on week 6 of 12,atm for a fractured pedal bone ,mine just has hifi and nuts and thankfully is staying sane so far
 
Do don't cut her forage they need to be fed add lib to keep them happy on box rest .their systems are under stress you have do everything you can to prevent ulcers forming .
Things to try .
Hi fibre bloks I use ones made with straw and hay .
Hay chop .
Plain chopped straw .
I don't rate fast fibre because I loath feeds that are pre mixed and you have to feed them x amount to get them their rdi .
I normally feed a good balancer , 150 grammes of linseed mixed with a little chopped straw and some speedibeet and some protexin to my horses on box rest .i add a mug of oats if feeding drugs if I think they are picky , these feeds are just enough to get their balancer and drugs down them .
I feed lots of different types of fibre some hay some haylage some hay chop some chopped straw I pull grass twice daily if it's summer .
Thin horses get alfalfa bloks
If have to choose between having something in front of the horse for it to eat or it gaining weight I will let the horse gain weight .
Muscle loss is inevitable I am afraid you might discuss with the vet feeding myoplast when she's back in work to help you out rebuilding her muscle mass .
I like to keep giving them different types of forage through the day and it keeps them interested in life when someone's always popping in with a scoop of chop or a blok however we do have people of the yard all day .
I make sure they are never without a friend in the stable next door .
Box rest is hard work I hate having horses on box rest .
If she able to weight bare on three legs you can get a routine of passive stretches going I always do hock flexions as well as stretches twice daily for horses on box rest to try and guard against the dread box rest induced spavins .
You should also do abdominal lifts and neck stretches a physio will teach you a routine but you must check out the weight baring thing with the vet first.
We also equiassage them daily after their grooming session .
These things help to fill in their day and stop them getting bored and tatty .
I don't give toys I tried it and found it made them silly rude and fractious .
 
more or less this! ^^

it does sound like she's just developed hay belly, and that it'll soon go once she can be out again, and back into some work. That said, it's not a problem to adjust to a mix of hay and straw if you're concerned. The lack of muscle is because she's in and not moving much and will soon come back once she's out and about again.

HackUp do a muscle builder which has some really good reviews for when she's back out too...

a good lo cal balancer (like top spec lite, or baileys lo cal) will make sure she's getting everything she needs, and a little linseed and speedibeet will help her coat return to shiny and help keep her full too, with a gastric supplement to help keep everything moving.
 
What Goldenstar says! Mine was on box rest for 3 weeks following an accident and we are now into a small pen for part of the day. Its hard work isnt it?!
 
I am a livery on a rehab yard and fast fibre is what they feed most of the horses on box rest there and it is what my pony had when he was on box rest for 10 weeks when he broke his splint bone. They do tend to get fat when on box rest as they are standing in active and you need to feed them enough fibre to prevent ulcers and and keep them occupied.

If you are soaking the hay then you may need to speak A&P about how much fast fibre to feed as if the nutrients in the hay are being soaked out you may need to feed a large quantity of fast fibre to make sure they get the vitamins and minerals they need or top up the fast fibre with a vit and mineral supplement. The RDA of fast fibre for a horse on box rest on soaked hay is going to be different to one that is having either grass or dry hay.

I have not used it myself but global herbs have a new product called box rest which is a calmer designed for horse on box rest.

http://globalherbs.co.uk/products/boxrest/
 
My 6 yr old Trak x Arab has just gone out after 7 weeks box rest for a fractured pedal bone so I feel your pain.

The routine I had for him was:

A mug of pony nuts scattered across my spare stable floor for him to pick at whilst I mucked his box out & a bucket feed of the "good stuff" which was a mug of Baileys Lo-Cal, a mini-trug of Micronised Linseed, a handful of Agrobs Muesli, Relax Me, Gastric Comfort & a splash of Valerian Cordial.
Once I had his box all done I would hand graze him for 20-30 mins then put him back in his box with a huge haynet, a salt lick & a Hublicks Calm lick.
Just before I left I would give him a bucket with Fast Fibre or Soaked Agrobs Weisencobs & a big handful of Graze On.

He had this twice a day & he came out of it looking really well & stayed pretty calm the whole way through.

Sue
 
We're on 4 weeks' box rest following KS surgery & have just started the 3rd week so started our 10 mins twice a day walking out in hand this morning, yippee!

Mine is an ex-racer who has previously had ulcers, so he has constant hay, plus 2 feeds a day which are alfa based. He is grazed in hand twice a day to keep his grass-digesting bacteria ticking over, and I cut him a small amount of long grass & a few thistles twice a day to give him some variety. He also has a hay brick thing to gnaw.

He dropped condition from the trauma of the surgery, but I'm not worried about his weight or top line atm - more concerned with trying to make sure that he doesn't get ulcers! Would rather he was fat & comfy!

T x
 
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