Supplement advice please

[Rana]

Hi all

I'm hoping for some recommendations for supplements.

Firstly, my horse has become prone to infections in her old age (infected cuts, urine infection, now respiratory - vet isn't concerned about any long term health problems), and I was thinking about putting her onto an immune-boosting supplement. All suggestions welcomed!

Secondly, she's also started licking the wood in her stable, which seems to suggest she's deficient in something (please correct me if I'm wrong). I was going to put her on a general purpose vitamin and mineral supplement.

She's a fussy eater, and already has NAF Mudguard, and garlic, so both would need to be palatable, or easily disguisable!

Also, I'm worried that I might be "over supplementing" her - I don't want them to counteract each other.

All advice welcome!

Thanks

 

[Madasmaz]

Sounds like you need some Eccinacea...plenty of companies out there that do mixes...try looking at D&H or Wendals...Global herbs tend to be a bit un-palatable...have tried a few of theirs and I have had to build up slowly as I have an unusually fussy native who literally turns her nose up at anything she doesn't like.

 

[Blondievik]

Hi
TBH I would contact a feed company and totally review his diet, as you already feed 2 supplements I would be reluctant to feed anymore and would consider it a waste of time and money.
There are loads on the market and they all promise this and that but I'm a bit old fashioned and believe if the diet is right you should not need to feed any thing else, certainly not on a long term basis. A blood test would show up any deficiences then you could feed accordingly and would work out cheaper than buying supplements in the vague hope it might do the trick. Have a chat with Baileys I find them really helpful. Good luck.

 

[kittykatcat]

Is she on a balanced diet already? If so, the wood licking is probably not due to her being deficient in something. Wood licking occurs for lots of reasons - is she getting enough fibre in her diet? Is she turned out plenty? etc etc! You could be running the risk of perhaps going near toxicity levels of certain vits/mins, you'd have to have the nutritional breakdown, but you'll certainly be spending a fortune each month!

I would suggest putting her on a balanced diet, if she's old and not doing much, something like a balanced fibre product, Spillers Happy Hoof, Dengie Healthy Hooves etc etc fed at the recommended ration will give her all her vits and mins. Or go for a specialised veteran feed, i.e. Spillers Senior Maintenance Mix is low calorie but aimed at oldies so thats quite good.

As for a supplement, i would go for one that is very high in antioxidants, and from my own research, the only one tht i can see actually works and has been scientifically proven is Winergy Ventilate. It is really high in antioxidants, so will help boost her immune system all over - thus helping with her respiratory problems and infections. Even though it is marketed as a respiratory supplement, it will actually work in the whole body - obviously. It will therefore help clear up and prevent conditions such as mud fever, so you'll probably find you can take her off the Mud Guard as well.

 

[Rana]

Thanks for all your responses

I think her diet is pretty balanced - Hi Fi Senior and a veterans mix. If anything, she probably is lacking in fibre. She's turned out on good grass for 12 hours a day, and doesn't think much of her hay when she comes in. I try to make up for the lack of hay by adding extra Hi Fi, but there's only so much of that she'll eat too!

Someone else recommended the Winergy supplement too, so I think I'll give that a try, along with trying to increase her fibre intake. I'm very wary of taking her off Mudguard - she's been on it since it came out (on a very low maintenance dose), and the only time she came off it, she developed mudfever that took 9 months and 3 courses of antibiotics to clear (plus several kicks to me while treating it!).

Is Winergy Ventilate designed for a short term boost, or a long term supplement?

 

[kittykatcat]

Have you tried a hay replacer? Like Happy Hoof or something? It may be that she has difficulty eating the hay so she's not interested?? Can get v v v expensive though! I think you give the Ventilate on a starter dose and then you drop down to a maintenance dose which is meant for long term preventative use. I think one tub lasts a month for a horse

 

[nadinek82]

Have you tried haylage instead of hay? Or readigrass, graze-on etc as part of her roughage? This might tempt her to eat more.

 

[Rana]

I've just started increasing her Hi Fi Senior to get some more fibre into her (she'll always eat that!!), and I know it can be used as a full hay replacer. She did have her teeth done recently, so she shouldn't be struggling with it. There's no signs of quidding, and she's definitely not losing weight.

I thought about getting her some haylage (she does love it), but rejected the idea for 2 reasons - she had colic earlier in the week, so not a good time to make a dietary change. Also, she's on VERY good grass so I'm also worried about lami, and wondering if she's not eating her hay simply because she's not hungry (she's not a "hoover" type of horse).

Have got her a tub of Ventilate to try - thought we'd give it at least 1 tub to see how she goes

Thanks for all your advice