HeyMich
Well-Known Member
Hello lovely forum people!
My mare has just been scoped positive for ulcers (grade 2/3, probably been there since I bought her about 8 months ago). Basic details are: Mare, 16.2hh, 8 yr old, ISH, good doer (puts weight on easily in the spring/summer and slims down in autumn/winter), good condition/weight at present (slightly on the thin side but acceptable for winter), stabled at night with ad-lib haylege (no hay where we are), plenty of mixed forage during the day, in light work between 2-4 times per week, calm and gentle temperament but can be fizzy/stress in certain situations (travelling, shows etc). She has shown a few behavioral issues recently (napping/spooking) but I'm putting these down to the ulcers.
Currently she is fed once per day with one large scoop of grass/herbal chaff with 1 cup of Baileys No 14 (low-cal) balancing cubes. I am happy with her condition/weight/temperament, and feel she does not need additional calories, especially through the summer. However, I do feel she needs the mineral supplement, and I have been told by vet to feed fiber before riding/travelling to line her stomach. She has been sensitive to Alfalfa in the past, so I want to avoid that please.
She is on a full/part livery basis where the YO prepares feeds and brings horses in for us in the evenings. Plus, my tack room is tiny with only space for 2 feed bins. This means that I need the feed regime to be as simple as possible - not a scoop of this plus two scoops of that plus a sprinkle of a third...
She is on the prescribed vet medication for now (UlsaGold - liquid gold more like!), but as this comes to an end, I would like to feed her a more ulcer-friendly feed. I like the look of the all-in-one feeds (Ease & Excel, Healthy Tummy etc), but they can be quite high in calories, and most contain Alfalfa. Also Pink Mash, but have heard that it fizzes them up. Ulcer-friendly cubes, such as Ulsa Kind sound great, but again are quite calorific, and I would need an additional fiber source and mineral balancer! Gah!!
And the possible additional fibre source is turning my head inside out too - I've been told that grass chaff/chop is really high in sugars - straw chaff isn't good for ulcer horses - alfalfa doesn't suit her. I want to cry!
So, I need advice please... I need a simple feed recommendation that is 1) low in calories and sugar 2) easy to feed 3) not going to over feed/fizz her up 4) suitable to feed before riding/travelling when needed 5) help with gut health and reduce recurrence of ulcers and 6) have a suitable mineral balance and not too full of rubbish! Not asking for much, am i?!
Any suggestions?
Thanks all xx
My mare has just been scoped positive for ulcers (grade 2/3, probably been there since I bought her about 8 months ago). Basic details are: Mare, 16.2hh, 8 yr old, ISH, good doer (puts weight on easily in the spring/summer and slims down in autumn/winter), good condition/weight at present (slightly on the thin side but acceptable for winter), stabled at night with ad-lib haylege (no hay where we are), plenty of mixed forage during the day, in light work between 2-4 times per week, calm and gentle temperament but can be fizzy/stress in certain situations (travelling, shows etc). She has shown a few behavioral issues recently (napping/spooking) but I'm putting these down to the ulcers.
Currently she is fed once per day with one large scoop of grass/herbal chaff with 1 cup of Baileys No 14 (low-cal) balancing cubes. I am happy with her condition/weight/temperament, and feel she does not need additional calories, especially through the summer. However, I do feel she needs the mineral supplement, and I have been told by vet to feed fiber before riding/travelling to line her stomach. She has been sensitive to Alfalfa in the past, so I want to avoid that please.
She is on a full/part livery basis where the YO prepares feeds and brings horses in for us in the evenings. Plus, my tack room is tiny with only space for 2 feed bins. This means that I need the feed regime to be as simple as possible - not a scoop of this plus two scoops of that plus a sprinkle of a third...
She is on the prescribed vet medication for now (UlsaGold - liquid gold more like!), but as this comes to an end, I would like to feed her a more ulcer-friendly feed. I like the look of the all-in-one feeds (Ease & Excel, Healthy Tummy etc), but they can be quite high in calories, and most contain Alfalfa. Also Pink Mash, but have heard that it fizzes them up. Ulcer-friendly cubes, such as Ulsa Kind sound great, but again are quite calorific, and I would need an additional fiber source and mineral balancer! Gah!!
And the possible additional fibre source is turning my head inside out too - I've been told that grass chaff/chop is really high in sugars - straw chaff isn't good for ulcer horses - alfalfa doesn't suit her. I want to cry!
So, I need advice please... I need a simple feed recommendation that is 1) low in calories and sugar 2) easy to feed 3) not going to over feed/fizz her up 4) suitable to feed before riding/travelling when needed 5) help with gut health and reduce recurrence of ulcers and 6) have a suitable mineral balance and not too full of rubbish! Not asking for much, am i?!
Any suggestions?
Thanks all xx
