Supplement My Intelligence.. ;)

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Pasture Mix

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Okay, so SS had just come down with lami this time last year. She was on NAF Laminaze & Biotin for a number of months, but when the vet said she was well enough to be turned out again, I took her off Laminaze as the grass quality was very low & she was on very restricted grazing, approved by my vet. Now both girls are on NAF General Purpose, Biotin & Garlic, plus they have sunflower oil & salt in their feeds (in small amounts) as well as healthy herbal treats. SS has showed no signs of relapsing & is looking better than ever.
But then I realised (SO annoyed at myself) that I probably could have saved myself a lot of worry this summer by putting them both on Laminaze.. Then realised the reason I went off it - the price tag. Not meaning to be awful, but I only have so much to go around & am hopefully getting my own flat very soon (fingers crossed!) so would like to get the maximum benefit for the girls with the minimum cost.. I don't want them to miss out on anything, but I'm wondering whether one supplement can do the job of several? I'm giving them a bit short of the recommended amount of each to make them last longer.. Would my money be better spent on something specifically aimed at laminitis?
Also, what are people's opinions on different makers? I found a site selling all brands of supplements cheaper than in the shops, but found that Global Herbs were already cheaper than the big brand names.. Do you guys think they match up to NAF?
I've never really had to feed supplements before SS had lami & tbh I'm giving myself a bit of a headache. I'd like to find a solution to cut out my worry, boost my girls' health & leave me with a few spare pennies.. Any help gratefully received & huge apologies for the massive post! xxx
 
I'm no expert but can say what I did, I bought a mare (few years ago) she was fat and the move caused Lami the day after she came home. She went on to Lami light (used both top spec and blue chip variety over a period of 18 months) then when she had been fine winter, summer, etc I changed her on to Top Spec all in one supplement. She is out 24/7 but I watch her weight and she only fluctuates 15 kilos in summer. (I got 70 kilos off her when i bought her) She has top chop light with the supplement, nothing else in summer and in winter I add speedibeet and hay (she was also fine on hayledge). You could possibly add magnesium to a general supplement. I don't have any other experience of the other supplements.
 
Thankyou very much for your input :)
I've been feeding my girls Hi-Fi Lite since they went out 24/7 in spring.. Before that, they were on Happy Hoof, but I fed SS Hi-Fi Lite on the advice of my vet, so I'm wary of changing.
Will definitely have a look at the Top Spec supplement though, thanks :)
 
I fed my laminitis prone, constantly squitty horse life force and she absolutely bloomed and wasn't footy at all this year. It is a bit expensive but probably still less than feeding lots of different things and it really did seem to work. Obviously this is anecdotal and only one horse but worth mentioning :)
 
I'm open to any suggestion, planning on researching lots of different supplements & where to get them from before I make any changes, so thankyou very much! :D
 
Forgive me if this sounds rude - it isn't supposed to, but it does sound like you are trying to feed yourself peace of mind!

You say yourself that your horse looks fab and hasn't shown any signs of laminitis this year, but you're still stressing about a laminitis supp for her. Doesn't sound like she needs it!

Is it just lami supps you are asking about?
 
Not taken rudely at all - I guess you're right really!

My train of thought is that both girls are on restricted grazing, so I wanted to make sure they're still getting the goodness they need.

I've recently started introducing a track grazing system, so thought that if I switch to a supplement aimed at helping lami-prone ponies digest sugar, etc. better then I could rest a little easier about the phase when the track starts to get a little greener again.

I want to optimise their health, through feeding, environment & work, but also cut down on my worry as I create my track..

Looking at this Top Spec AntiLam stuff, it seems like the perfect answer so far, but any other input/advice is very much welcome! :D
 
I'd feed ProHoof or ProBalance from Progressive Earth, with some added salt. That should cover everything your trying to feed apart from garlic, and I dont like to feed horses garlic due to the risks of inflaming their stomachs :)
 
Have you thought about looking at a bf friendly diet rather than laminitis specific? I know it's a bit of a cliche on here now but an all round mineral supplement like Pro Balance? You can just chuck it in with a bit of Fast Fibre (again a cliche but as a bonus it's cheap!). Unless you're dealing with other issues like insulin resistance or Cushings then it should address their needs.

As the owner of a Cushings mare for over 20 years I've just always been a bit suspicious about the usefulness of many of the specific laminitis supplements. I suspect a lot of them play to owner's worries without actually providing much of what they say they're providing (if that makes sense).
 
I didn't know garlic inflamed their stomachs! They seem to LOVE it! But then since when do horses love anything that is actually good for them? :p Will be re-thinking their daily dose tonight; it will probably get reduced ;)

Well this is why I went for the General Purpose & Biotin supplements rather than Laminaze - to support their whole health all the time, rather than just focus on laminitis.

However, I would like to provide them with a more natural lifestyle than they have had so far this year. Giving them an allowance of grass every day, knowing that they scoff it as fast as possible & then stand bored for hours on end really doesn't sit well with me. Which is why (now SS has proven to be well-recovered & settled) I am working on a track system.

The change in supplements comes in at the point where I've strip grazed the whole track & the grass comes back through a bit once they're on a larger area, as it is beginning to do now. I'd like to find a balance between them having enough short grass to keep them occupied once they've eaten the allowance of long grass from the middle or the forage they're given (started putting straw out as it has no calories) & not having to worry about how well they're digesting a more constant intake of food/grass. I'm hoping that with the right supplement to aid digestion & the increase in natural movement I'm hoping they'll get from the track system, I can relax my control on their grazing a little to stop them being bored all day.

Am I hoping for too much? :p
 
PS - The reason I leaned more towards a laminitis-aimed supplement was more for the aid to digestion/toxin removal for an increase in diet, not just because they're aimed at laminitis.. If that makes sense? :S
 
Have you thought about the Forage Plus supplements that are offered?? I know that this website promotes the 'barefoot' horse, but heh, no foot no horse, whether they wear shoes or not in my eyes.

They have some very bespoke supplements for what your dealing with and you may find their site very interesting and informative.

I use their supplements and have had a 'feed plan' done for my boy as he's an EMS horse and with that can be at risk of lami if not managed correctly.

It's working for us!!
 
I have a laminitis prone and a fatty/possibly insulin resistant/history of bad bowels horse. The diet they are one is fast fibre, magnesium oxide, salt and micronised linseed. They have both been wonderful all year with no signs of lami, only raised pulses when I ran out of mag ox.
 
Will definitely look into as many suggested options as possible before I decide :)

Am now leaning a bit towards Fast Fibre & a bit of HiFi Lite with whichever supplement I decide to go with..

Mainly I want something to support general health & digestion, not necessarily something aimed at laminitis. I know it can be prevented with good health & a balanced diet anyway.. So this is more important, especially since she's shown no signs of relapsing in her first year.

Thankyou very much for all your help everyone :)
 
Magnesium Oxide supports gut health aswell as hoof health. You could try the phoenix horse forum, there's really good advice on diet/nutrition there
 
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