pro balance + vs mud gard and mud fever?

[whisp&willow]

Just wondered if anyone knows/thinks that supplements such as pro balance + might help keep mud fever at bay?

I only ask, as my youngster (who has 4 white legs) gets pro balance + and has only the tiniest two areas of slightly short hair, where as her mother has all of a sudden been hit with mud fever. It is not so bad that the skin has broken, but the hair is VERY short.

I have just got some NAF mud gard for her, to see if it maes a difference, but if the pro balance + is doing the same job i'd rather just start feeding her that instead? x

 

[weebarney]

My pony who has had mud fever before has got it again this year, she has been on pro balance the last few months so know I would say no it won't prevent it.

 

[whisp&willow]

thanks for that! It just seems a bit odd that willow has the least shortening of feather out of three and is the only one that gets the added minerals.

I don't expect it to prevent mud fever, but wondered if it was making a difference!

Hope your mare isn't too bad with the mud fever.

 

[criso]

Not specifically pro balance but I moved yards recently and mine got mud fever for the first time, despite less muddy fields.

Got the grass analysed and turned out it was very high in Manganese which prevents uptake of copper and zinc.
Supplemented for this and been much better. I had been doing a more generic type supplement while I waited for the analysis results. I couldn't have fed the levels I am feeding without knowing the results as too much is dangerous.

Pro balance will be better than some supplements in that it contains copper and zinc and not manganese and iron so if it fits your forage it will help.

However if like me you have very unnbalanced forage it will not be enough.

Might be worth looking at the forageplus balancers too as they have higher levels of these two minerals in their recommended dose.

 

[whisp&willow]

thanks criso- very interesting.