Help me streamline feeds/supplements

mavandkaz

mavandkaz

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So my supplements seem to have gotten a bit out of control, and the number of different feeds I'm using is slowly creeping up too 🙈 any ideas on how to reduce the number of different things, or do I leave as is?

Little bit of background:
Horse is a 5yr old 'irish'. Unknown breeding but presume some sort of ID x cob x clyde. I very light work due to his age, he's still growing and has had a few health set backs since getting him 11 months ago.

What he's currently fed:
Saracens releve mix - he was on fast fibre but has been on antibiotics for a couple of months and was refusing to eat them in the ff. Not sure whether to switch back once antibiotics are over.
Hifi molasses free - just to bulk it out and give him something to chew.
Oats - these are a new addition, to help him as I increase work load.

Supps:
Milk thistle - blood work shows he has a 'stressed' liver, it's improved since arriving but likely permanently compromised.
Vit E - boost his immune system. He's had sarcoids and canker which are caused by a virus and weakened immune system.
Oliy herbs - as above
Marigold and cleavers - he has CPL, mild at the moment, but still further along then I would like in a youngster. Have just started this.

Any thoughts on if I could change anything, so I'm not feeding so many different things?
He's about to come off the antibiotics, so will also be adding gut balancer for a few weeks too!!

He's doing well and looks good. But then he also looked good last winter on just the fast fibre and milk thistle.
 
You could get a blood test or hair analysis done to see what the horse actually needs and then just supplement those minerals. I'm currently feeding Global Herbs Restore for liver function and flax Oil, along with specific minerals my horse was deficient in after having her hair analysed and these where recommend. Once I've finished the course and her stores are up to normal I will try and locate an alround balancer to feed instead. The hair analysis will also advise if the feed your feeding also agrees with your horse too so that's quite interesting.

For the sarcoids I've had really good success with Global herbs Sarc-X - I promise I'm not on commission with them! I just had good results with this previously so chose them again when I needed supplements this time around.:)
 
See what works. I feed balancer and chaff with water in summer. He gets the same with beeetpulp/alfalfa/grass pellets mixed and soaked in winter.

Since his Lami episode he gets cinnamon boswellia and Turmeric powder and I have just bought marigold and cleavers to be added to his feed when he comes in for winter in a couple of months.

Streamlining things that aren’t needed yes but when things are used for a reason then I wouldn’t care what’s going in the feed .
 
Absolutely not an expert, but IMO you are feeding targeted supp;ements for a reason. Perhaps the oly herbs aren't needed with everything else? If you fed a proprietory mix for his various conditions, there would be a lot more ingredients, it's just it would be combined in to one tub.

Definitely consider whether he actually needs the FF/HIFi and oats alongside the Re-Leve. You don't say how much of each he's getting, but if he has ad-lib forage , he doesn't need the extra, and unless he's cantering/jumping a lot I'm sure the Re-Leve would supply enough energy.

Again, dependent on the volumes of the bagged feed, but might be worth checking his broad spectrum vits and mins intake? Is he getting enough Cu/Zn/Se for example?
 
Feedmark do bespoke supplements but it is basically just mixing your supplements you want together so you only have one to feed. If you are happy enough doing separate scoops then I would just stay that way.
 
Personally I'd keep to what you're feeding as it seems to be working for your lad :)

If he were mine, the only thing that I would change is the Saracen's Re-Leve as it has molasses and a few other questionable ingredients in it (molasses, soya oil/hulls/flakes/ mix of flavouring compounds) that I personally wouldn't feed.

The main reason that I personally avoid these ingredients is that my lads are barefoot so I try and keep their diet as simple as possible. I have an extremely fussy part native (who hots up on anything apart from plain alfalfa, a tiny bit of oil and unmolassed sugar beet) and a 2 year old that does not need any more energy in the tank as he's currently going through the terrible 2 stage/is also an absolute unit at 16 hands already.....so I have naturally become careful as to what I feed, in order to avoid any undesirable behaviour aha!

I do feed a fair few supplements (turmeric, boswellia, msm, seaweed, biotin, rosehips and a broad spectrum vitamin & mineral supplement) so I wouldn't worry on the supplement front. The ones you feed are for targeting specific issues so I wouldn't change them at all x
 
Tend to agree with others I think, the saracens + oats is the only thing that might be overkill, but as you say the Saracens is serving a purpose atm to get him to actually eat the feed. The supplements all serve a purpose.

You could probably combine the marigold & cleavers and the oily herbs in one big tub without compromising anything to save yourself one scoop! Maybe the milk thistle too, so all the herby things are in one tub.

I'm currently doing speedi-beet, chaff, powder balancer, joint supp, a new ligament supp experiment, salt, anti-histamines so a lot of white powders, place looks like a pharmacy (or... another facility with a lot of white powders...), but it's all to a purpose! Previously mag-ox, agnus castus, two different gut support powders and mint were in there too so I'm gradually stream-lining! 😂
 
Thanks all.
He will come off the antibiotics in the next few days, so will use up the Saracens and then I think I will switch back to fast fibre. He is also barefoot, so am aware it's not the best for him (or his mallenders) but it served a purpose. I don't mind doing extra scoops for his different supps, it's a good thing I have a big feed bin!
 
Orangina said:
Feedmark do bespoke supplements but it is basically just mixing your supplements you want together so you only have one to feed. If you are happy enough doing separate scoops then I would just stay that way.
Click to expand...
Yes I was going to suggest this, you can go online and make your own mix, probably work out cheaper!
 
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