Feed/supplement suggestions

Lissie2

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After tips and advice as feeding such a potential con/mine field. So new horse:

Veteran horse - 21 years old. Still very fit and active in light to medium work. No ailments or vices. Nothing overheating - hes a sharp Arab, nothing fattening - very much a good doer.

He's mildly athritic - bit clicky and stiff at times but no obvious pain and never lame. Brittle hooves, mane and tail....slow growth and very tufty/dry. Never gets long. Hooves can be cracked at certain times of year.

Just looking for feed/supplements that will support an older boy and keep his joints mobile. Want his name to grow better and hooves less brittle. Any ideas? Feeds that actually WORK - don't want to fork out loads for expensive feed etc that actually so nothing! TIA
 

MuddyTB

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I'd start as I would with most horses with some micronised linseed. Will potentially help skin, hooves and joints. Certainly not expensive and won't do any harm. In smallish quantities it shouldn't be fattening.

Then keep everything else low sugar/starch and high fibre. Add in a good balancer such as Pro Hoof or Equimins stuff and then see how you go.

See if you need a joint supplement after that.
 

Pinkvboots

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I would definitely add micronised linseed I think 50g to 100g is all you need to use as a supplement for coat and hooves it will help is joints as well, you only feed more for weight and condition, my Arabs have up to 2 mugs a day in the winter and I find it doesn't hot them up.

I often put mine on equivite for a few months it's just a basic vitamin and mineral supplement but they don't have it all year round just if I think they may be lacking and need a boost.

I just feed graze on chaff which is just chopped grass and unmolassed sugar beet neither are expensive, chaff is about £9 I think the sugar beet is even less and it lasts a good few weeks.
 
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acw295

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I like the Topspec Senior Lite balancer. My 19 year old looks fab on it!

I just feed that with chaff, hifi molasses free in my case as that is all the fussy but fat one will eat.

it is about £32 a bag which lasts me a month. With the small amount of chaff I don't find it expensive and saves faffing with other supplements.
 

tallyho!

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Good grass or grass pellets (alfalfa too high protein for an old horse and that's what can cause the scurfiness/itching (liver)) and micronised linseed/black oil sunflower seeds/copra. All high oil.

I would give progressive-earth or forage plus a call. Their minerals are tailored to UK soil samples so you're not giving your horse more than it needs.
 

amandaco2

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copra is great, I fed it for years. however I fed it wet and it was a bit messy....plus I added linseed etc so it was multi bags of feed.

I use pure fibre including balancer and it is great, the horses love it, it can be fed wet or dry and they look super on it. it has linseed in it and I just feed it as the sole bucket feed.
 

PoppyAnderson

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I'd start as I would with most horses with some micronised linseed. Will potentially help skin, hooves and joints. Certainly not expensive and won't do any harm. In smallish quantities it shouldn't be fattening.

Then keep everything else low sugar/starch and high fibre. Add in a good balancer such as Pro Hoof or Equimins stuff and then see how you go.

See if you need a joint supplement after that.

This ^
 

NOISYGIRL

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Topspec fibre plus cubes and senior lite balancer soaked into a mash, for weight gain 5 feeds a day, now maintaining on half the amount plus micronized linseed.

Saracen Releve is also good along with their equijewel, out of the 2 I prefer the micronized linseed
 

coss

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I agree with those that have said micronised linseed and equimins. All my horses are on the linseed and the pro-bio vits and mins from equimins. You could get biotin to top up too for the hooves but you may find the first two do the trick. All mine have arab blood (purebred and partbred) and don't show any signs of being hot.
 
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