Confusing myself with feed and supplements, any advice?

[gothdolly]

Hi there

This is my first post, so hi. I have driven myself almost dotty trying to work out the best combination of supplements for my cob. Its all so mindblowing and bewildering... theres so much choice these days. Any advice greatfully recieved.

He is an 18 year old currently at rest following a period of box rest for bruised soles. He has arthritis and has bute for occasional use. He has very bad feet - crumbly and soft and casts shoes easily. He also is prone to getting very fat and although he has never had laminitis, I am always concerned that he might get it.
He also has very sensitive itchy skin and burns easily, gets mild sweet itch and mud fever.

Currently he is on Dodson and Horrells' 16 plus, Dodson and Horrells Fibergy, Dodson and Horrell's Mobility, Garlic, Biotin and Cider Vinegar. He also gets 1/3 bale a night of hay and although has 12 hours a day turn out, there is no grass in his field to speak of.

Any ideas on how I could tweak his feed to better suit him, or do you think he is on a good combination?

 

[SydneyB]

Hey!

Welcome to the forum!

No advice really except to say contact D&H and see what they say.

http://www.dodsonandhorrell.com/index.phtml?detailsMode=helpline-horse

 

[lucemoose]

Heya, you sound like D+H's best customer! The fibergy is described as a high oil straw and alfalfa mix I think? Your cob doesnt sound like he needs either the energy/weight gain aspect of the oil or the extra bulk of the straw seeing as he is fed a nice amount of hay. For his feet the best you can do is change the fibergy to their alfalfa(lovely big bags they do!) as the nutrients in the alfalfa are excelent for the quality of their feet, thus possibly removing the need to add biotin? Also theres a lot of interest on this site about Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, again a myriad of plus points about these but they are great for feet - search this forum for threads?
Sorry this is long, I carried away!
Apologies if my reply is way off the mark, as Im not the worlds best supplement user either I like to work out how to avoid them, as you can see..

 

[K_T]

Hello again Cassandra. I also have an 18yr old and I feed a broad spectrum vit&min supplement during the winter only as well as biotin for bad feet and garlic for her immune system. I have just started feeding sunflower seeds with this and her handful of fibergy and speedibeet. She has 8hrs turnout during the day and about 8kg of hay at night. I couldn't possibly feed her recommended levels of compound feed as she would be huge as she is a very good doer!

 

[gothdolly]

thanks very much, thats helpful. Prittstick I would also like to reduce my use of supplements, my tack room is very full

K_T - I have never heard of sunflower seeds but Im intrigued now, - Im going to investigate! Thanks
Cassandra

 

[AmyMay]

The past year my little mare has been on no hard feed, just good quality haylage and grazing. I fed Feedmark Benefit Advance in Hi Fi. She looks wonderful on it.

 

[benji_beaver]

i would keep on the 16+ my lad is one it aswell, you sound as though you've got it covered!!!! if there is no grass put some hay in the field! or it is up 2 u! ma lad suffers from lamitis n he gets calm n condition, hi-fi lite, hores n pony nuts n 16+ n hes gr8!!! WELCOME!!!!

 

[aran]

As he is an elderly man, prone to getting overweight i'd see whether you could do without the hard feed.
Ad-lib meadow hay 24 hours, with 2 small feeds a day (as a bit of a treat and to get the supps and bute in to him). I'd feed something like happy hoof as it is laminitus trust approved and so designed for good-dooers but they really like it. to this i'd add the joint and hoof supplements plus a general multivit (like equivite) and I'd add linseed or codliver oil for his arthritis. if you feel he needs more feed as he's dropping off then you can add un-mollased sugarbeet and hard feed for oldies.

but on the other hand - if he's the right weight and happy - leave his feed as it is!

 

[Gentle_Warrior]

I know what you mean about supplements...... my lad has glucosmine in the winter as he gets very stiff, farriers formula for his awful feet, garlic for coat and everything else it does and codlevine for joints and suppleness

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

How is he doing on what hes on atm? I'm a big fan of the saying 'if its not broken dont fix it' and if hes doing well on the feed and supplements hes on i'd be inclined to leave him.

However i would suggest adding a multivitamin supplement such as equivite as it just makes sure they get everything they need.

 

[Chex]

Mine sounds like yours, apart from the bad feet. I've found he seems to do the same no matter what I feed him, so now he just get a big handful of Dengie Hi-fi and little handful of hi-fibre cubes, with a vit and min supplement and cider vinegar.

 

[gothdolly]

thanks for the advice. I do think he is doing well on what he has but I was worried about over-dosing him on something by adding supplements to a feed thats already got various things added... also there are so many feeds with different things in them and so many supplements available that its easy to get overwhelmed and realise theres so much on the market. Of course everything is marketed as being the "best" and I want the best for my horse.....

Cassandra the Confused

 

[texel]

Yes supplements can be confusing and dangerous if you end up giving your horse something he does not need. I use a Rockys mineral lick, it has a good combination of minerals and salts and the best thing about it is the horse chooses to lick it when he needs to.