Honey Chop Lite and Lean?

spotty_pony2

spotty_pony2

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Anyone feed it? Looking at changing the two good doers off Happy Hoof molasses free and onto this due to the Honey Chop also being alfalfa free. I’m still having skin issues with the Friesian and just read that alfalfa can cause photosensitivity and lesions. One of the things I haven’t tried is feed change.

I have narrowed it down to photosensitivity being a cause to the skin issues on his legs as I can control it to a point with UV boots when the UV rating is high. He had a liver issue but last bloods are normal, skin is better than it was but still not completely cleared up.

I already feed Honey Chop Super Senior to my old boy and he loves it so I’m definitely a fan of the Honey chop range 😊
 
I use the honeychop light because there is basically nothing in it except timothy hay and straw, if you just want to rule out alfalfa it will do the job nicely. Would be interested to hear if it helps, have a friend with a Fresian who also struggles with summer skin issues!
 
smolmaus said:
I use the honeychop light because there is basically nothing in it except timothy hay and straw, if you just want to rule out alfalfa it will do the job nicely. Would be interested to hear if it helps, have a friend with a Fresian who also struggles with summer skin issues!
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Thank you, both are good doers so need something low in sugar. I also like that it has quite a few herbs in it that contain antioxidants.

Vet wouldn’t even entertain the idea it was photosensitivity due to him being black but it’s not impossible, just not as common. It only affects his legs, mostly his back legs. He’s stayed on milk thistle long term to continue to give his liver support. The liver issues weren’t caused by anything toxic - they were caused by something immune related.

Everything has been explored including various treatments for mites and parasites. Steroids did help marginally but we don’t really want him on them long term and they didn’t help enough to warrant this. The UV boots have been the biggest breakthrough but I have been taking them off a bit lately with it being low UV and cloudy and they seem to be ‘erupting’ as I describe it, again.

What issues does your friend have? Unfortunately Friesians do seem to suffer from many health issues.

I’ll keep this post updated 😊
 
spotty_pony2 said:
Thank you, both are good doers so need something low in sugar. I also like that it has quite a few herbs in it that contain antioxidants.

Vet wouldn’t even entertain the idea it was photosensitivity due to him being black but it’s not impossible, just not as common. It only affects his legs, mostly his back legs. He’s stayed on milk thistle long term to continue to give his liver support. The liver issues weren’t caused by anything toxic - they were caused by something immune related.

Everything has been explored including various treatments for mites and parasites. Steroids did help marginally but we don’t really want him on them long term and they didn’t help enough to warrant this. The UV boots have been the biggest breakthrough but I have been taking them off a bit lately with it being low UV and cloudy and they seem to be ‘erupting’ as I describe it, again.

What issues does your friend have? Unfortunately Friesians do seem to suffer from many health issues.

I’ll keep this post updated 😊
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Hers is also mostly the back legs. Flakey skin that scabs and eventually cracks and bleeds. It is almost sallenders with the location and the skin getting scabby, but presents very differently to like, cob sallenders, so I'm not convinced that's what it is. She has been treating with topicals, honey and udder cream the most successful so far. Luckily this is her only problem! Otherwise gorgeously healthy, shiny coat so even weirder.
 
Exactly like ours! I’ve tried all sorts of creams and shampoos but some he reacts to and they get worse so I have to be careful - whether the reaction happens in the sun i don’t know as I haven’t tried creams under his uv boots yet. His coat is fine too and shiny - it’s like the skin on his legs is different somehow. Farriers do a more shampoo which does seem to help remove a lot of the dandruff and grease and I try and comb any lose scabs out of his feathers. We cannot clip his legs due to him not being great to clip and I’m not convinced this would help anyway ad the skin would be even more exposed to the sun.

I found it was sun related by putting some sunblock on the scabs initially and they cleared up within days. That’s why I bought the boots. Would be interesting to see if your friend’s mare’s is also photosensitivity!
 
Sorry no help with the Honeychop, we did use a bag a long time ago when I couldn't get their plain oat straw chaff and it didn't suit the horses we had then but I am very interested in the skin issues. I have always wondered if my cob has some Friesian blood and we have been having skin problems, intermittently over the last 3yrs. Sparked off, I'm sure by somebody feeding her Christmas goodies (they left the bun case on the ground by the fence). I don't think its photosensitivity but she certainly reacts to sugar, including that in new grass.
 
I've fed it before. It's not the tastiest apparently, but will do if there's nothing else, according to my lot.

I know it's not a what you asked, but clipping my Friesian's legs was a game changer for us and she never looked back. You could cut the feather with scissors if yours isn't good to clip.
 
spotty_pony2 said:
Exactly like ours! I’ve tried all sorts of creams and shampoos but some he reacts to and they get worse so I have to be careful - whether the reaction happens in the sun i don’t know as I haven’t tried creams under his uv boots yet. His coat is fine too and shiny - it’s like the skin on his legs is different somehow. Farriers do a more shampoo which does seem to help remove a lot of the dandruff and grease and I try and comb any lose scabs out of his feathers. We cannot clip his legs due to him not being great to clip and I’m not convinced this would help anyway ad the skin would be even more exposed to the sun.

I found it was sun related by putting some sunblock on the scabs initially and they cleared up within days. That’s why I bought the boots. Would be interesting to see if your friend’s mare’s is also photosensitivity!
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It's an interesting connection to make, the most successful treatments for her were thicker barrier creams which would block some UV by coincidence. I was assuming it was grass related tbh, as most things seem to be 😂

This doesn't affect the feathery parts of her legs tho, it's the thinner skin on the inside and fronts of the back legs, so perhaps not exactly the same.
 
smolmaus said:
It's an interesting connection to make, the most successful treatments for her were thicker barrier creams which would block some UV by coincidence. I was assuming it was grass related tbh, as most things seem to be 😂

This doesn't affect the feathery parts of her legs tho, it's the thinner skin on the inside and fronts of the back legs, so perhaps not exactly the same.
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It does affect the sides if his legs too, and at its worst it goes up the inside above height.
 
smolmaus said:
It's an interesting connection to make, the most successful treatments for her were thicker barrier creams which would block some UV by coincidence. I was assuming it was grass related tbh, as most things seem to be 😂

This doesn't affect the feathery parts of her legs tho, it's the thinner skin on the inside and fronts of the back legs, so perhaps not exactly the same.
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The best treatment we have found is Sudocrem, which is also thick but again, not so much in the feather but higher up the leg, both back legs mainly with s little bit above the knee on the front legs.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
The best treatment we have found is Sudocrem, which is also thick but again, not so much in the feather but higher up the leg, both back legs mainly with s little bit above the knee on the front legs.
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Oh I might as well be sponsored by sudocrem!! A true panacea 😂 But friend felt better with the honey and the udder cream and to be fair it did a great job, just cost her more money!
 
Have you ruled out urine splash? Just when you say it is front and inside of back legs. Would also make sense that covering them or using thicker creams would improve the situation.
 
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