Supplements for 'special' horses

ihatework

ihatework

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Ok, so the ever so special one (cushings age 7) is now unshod, coming into work and on a strict diet,

Being a good girl, and avid HHO reader, I toddled off to buy some pro hoof from eBay. I spent a small fortune. The little monster refuses to eat the mountain of supplement in his boring non molassed chaff. He even refuses quarter measures. Anyone else found this? Is that £70 odd quid down the drain?

So alternatives ...

Any suggestions for fatties on diets. Any good pelleted ones he can have on their own (eg the laminitis balancers)? The only big BUT is that it cannot contain linseed
 
Pro hoof can take some getting used to - I wouldn't give up too quickly, as its a fab supplement. You could try adding a few spillers high fibre cubes. Fast fibre is also a good base as it soaks up to twice the volume, so it dilutes the minerals a bit.

If worst comes to worst I'm sure someone would buy it off you!
 
I found splitting feeds into more servings - so 3 feeds in place of 2 - has got us to a level of tolerance with the minerals. Yard feeds 1/3 portion morning and afternoon with a little chaff and linseed, anything left over in the bowl gets tipped into a nght feed of Kwikbeet with the remaining 1/3rd and any additional supplements I may need to add. Works well - the couple of attempts I have made to abandon the 3rd feed and add that portion to the remaining 2 has not worked so I'm sticking with this routine - it's worth it for how she's looking, feeling and performing.
 
Fast fibre and copra are both really good for hiding supplements, you could also try adding mint to disguise it, be persistent though I had a new one a few months back who spent 2 weeks doing the 'I'm not eating that rubbish, gimme the sugar' routine before she gave in and now she licks the bowl clean every time.
 
I'll persevere a little longer then. Will buy some mint and see if that helps.

Unfortunately fast fibre / cubes are out as they generally contain linseed.

Failing that ill get a copra sample sent over, but would ideally avoid it due to the calorie content!
 
Could you mix some no-sugar apple squash (instead of plain water) into his feed, to make it taste a bit better? Or even some cheap apple juice from a carton? Can a little glug of apple juice make a massive difference to a lami/Cushings horse...?

When M wouldn't eat supplements I used to chop up fresh mint but it does get to be a PITA as you need quite a bit. You can buy dried mint in big sacks from some of the natural horse type suppliers.
 
What about a handful of damp grass nuts? No linseed or other crap, they soak quickly and I've never had a horse turn their nose up at them yet.

I have the same issue with my guys and the plain chaff - they eat it mixed in stuff but give them it on it's own and they just look at me like I'm trying to poison them... :)
 
Why not straight unmolassed sugarbeet, that fluffs up alot so a little goes a long way.

But as Maggiesmum said could be a matter of patience and after a while of realising nothing else is going to be offered.

If you think about it, it makes sense for a horse to be suspicious of new flavours, after all it could mean their usual food source is tainted but but they also get used to them with time.

Any really good supplement (i.e. no nasties added to make it taste nice) is more difficult to get them to eat.
 
Speedybeet, speedybeet and more speedybeet - is low sugar, you don't have to mix it the day before and is great for disguising supplements. If you don't have speedybeet you can use normal beet but you have to soak/rinse/soak to get rid of the sugars. I must confess with mine she has a lot of speedybeet because she can't swallow hay, and I sprinkle a tiny amount of mix on top to make it that litle bit more palatable.
Have you found the Yahoo ECIR group, they are a m ine of information as to what not to use as well as what to. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/
 
I have heard that Alltechs Life Force is great for Cushings. It certainly helps with the immune system and provides all the necessary vits and mins.

I have been using it for my guys (variety of reasons - weight, skin issues, sweet itch, behavioural (poss ulcers) Ive had fantastic results. I was sceptical at first as I have tried many supplements and herbs. This stuff takes all the stress and worry out of feeding. I KNOW they are getting what they need as the results show. On the first pony I tried it on I could see the results right towards the end of the first month (not instant results :D ) I was still a little uncertain as we started from a very bad place with this guy. The one thing I could pin was his attitude had changed to being a lot more chilled. By the end of the 2nd month I was very sure that the supplement was working. 4 months on I have a Connemara that looks like a Connemara, not a hat rack abuse case...

It is not the cheapest, but if you consider what you fork out for on all the expensive fattening, low sugar, high fibre etc, etc.. It more than balances out. I have gone from having a big range of (expensive) feeds (I have 6 horses from Friesian to Dartmoor Pony) to having a bit of plain alfalfa and a few nuts (for putting in balls if they are stabled) At £1 a day it has already saved me money and they all look fab and their varying conditions are clearing up / have cleared up.

I have never heard of any horses rejecting their feeds because of it either.

I'd say - what have you got to lose??? Google "Rutland Horse Extras" - they are the distributers in the UK.
 
It took Frank quite a long time to eat his current supplement mix (made to spec) - we ended up adding most of the ingredients gradually ;).

He does now eat it fine but will not touch it if brewers yeast (yea sacc ok eventually ;) ) or table salt is added.

Persevere ;)

Oh we use fastfibre and pony nuts but that took a while too- I think he missed his molassed chaff! (covering it with mint/cider vinegar etc had limited impact!)
 
Do you have a full list of ingredients for Lifeforce and the mineral levels it contains? They seem a bit vague on the website.

All I was able to find was


"Our live yeast culture Yea-Sacc®1026, received full EU authorization as a feed additive for horses and has been shown to optimize fiber digestion and nutrient utilization. Alltech’s organic trace mineral range of Bioplex® copper, manganese, iron and zinc helps improve hoof health and strength, as well as coat condition. Sel-Plex® organic selenium was reviewed and approved by the FDA and EU for horses and has been shown to help boost fertility and antioxidant status.

Similar to Prohoof except it contains iron and manganese which are best avoided.
 
criso said:
Do you have a full list of ingredients for Lifeforce and the mineral levels it contains? They seem a bit vague on the website.

All I was able to find was


"Our live yeast culture Yea-Sacc®1026, received full EU authorization as a feed additive for horses and has been shown to optimize fiber digestion and nutrient utilization. Alltech’s organic trace mineral range of Bioplex® copper, manganese, iron and zinc helps improve hoof health and strength, as well as coat condition. Sel-Plex® organic selenium was reviewed and approved by the FDA and EU for horses and has been shown to help boost fertility and antioxidant status.

Similar to Prohoof except it contains iron and manganese which are best avoided.
Click to expand...

Not on me, no... I am on crutches atm :roll eyes: so can't really hobble out to the feed room. Contact Rutland Horse Extras - I know they will be more than happy to supply you with the info and talk you through any questions you may have. They are very open and honest and won't try to sell you anything they don't feel is appropriate.
 
Crazy Friesian said:
Not on me, no... I am on crutches atm :roll eyes: so can't really hobble out to the feed room. Contact Rutland Horse Extras - I know they will be more than happy to supply you with the info and talk you through any questions you may have. They are very open and honest and won't try to sell you anything they don't feel is appropriate.
Click to expand...

I was just curious, I balance to my grazing so wouldn't be interested in an off the peg product, especially one that contains Iron and Manganese when I am already fighting high levels of these in the grass.

It does really annoy me though when companies don't publish ingredients on their website, they make a lot of grand claims and testimonials but not what is in their product. If you look at the pro hoof (and the forageplus balancers) you can see exactly what is in them and the levels of minerals the recommended dosage supplies.

This is not just getting at Lifeforce, lots of companies are guilty of this, just the one that came up on this thread.

The OP has stated they need to avoid Linseed which is often added to balancers as filler, how can they make informed choices when companies are not open.
 
criso said:
I was just curious, I balance to my grazing so wouldn't be interested in an off the peg product, especially one that contains Iron and Manganese when I am already fighting high levels of these in the grass.

It does really annoy me though when companies don't publish ingredients on their website, they make a lot of grand claims and testimonials but not what is in their product. If you look at the pro hoof (and the forageplus balancers) you can see exactly what is in them and the levels of minerals the recommended dosage supplies.

This is not just getting at Lifeforce, lots of companies are guilty of this, just the one that came up on this thread.

The OP has stated they need to avoid Linseed which is often added to balancers as filler, how can they make informed choices when companies are not open.
Click to expand...

I suspect LF are just making their website user friendly and "clean". Their thinking is probably that if you are interested enough but specific ingredients were an issue, then you would make enquiries. *shrugs shoulders* Dunno - just my thinking anyway...

As much as I know, LF do not use fillers. Certainly Linseed is not one I remember seeing on the list of ingredients. I am very sure if you asked the question, they would be able to give you the definitive. :)
 
I made the change from bad to good by using happy or healthy hoof. They enjoy eating that with the minerals in so It made the transition to non molassed food easier. They now eat hi fi lite non molassed with their minerals.
 
Ok, think I'm on the right track, he gobbled up quarter measure in speedibeet with added mint!
Will slowly increase the pro hoof volume, fingers crossed!
 
Just something slightly different, I use pelleted balancer ( topspec Antilam) but add mag ox and chasteberry to it - I add a bit of warm water so the pellets turn to mash and the other bits and pieces just mix in. My mare is really fussy but gobbles them down when it is like this.
 
Ihw mine wouldn't eat pro hoof originally but will now. I mixed it into wet feeds originally to get it to go down but now can put it in chaff :)
 
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