vit and min supp for liver and itchy problem horse

[curio]

hi my horse has liver problems and is extremely itchy, he flares up and chews himself raw weve just had another flare
he is currently fed adlib soaked hay, 1 mug d&h pasture mix - for carbs, 1 mug speedibeet, 1 stubbs scoop hi fi lite, restore powder and milk thistle

Now hes just had tests at vets as had no energy , and was randomly falling over all has come back fine apart from the liver he has blood tested allergic to dust mites and beech and a couple borderline trees

the vet has suggested he may benefit from a balancer or vit and min supplement, but which one?
spillers balancer brought him out in hives so reluctant to go this route he is a good weight could do with toning up a bit more and kept barefoot
Any ideas please?

 

[zandp]

You could go onto Thunderbrook Feeds website and check out the herbs they offer, I'm sure I read yesterday that hawthorn was good for itchiness and milk thistle is a good supplement for liver issues. You can ring them too, they've very helpful.

 

[Fuzzypuff]

Personally I would ditch the mix and hifi as there are lots of things in there that could be causing itchiness (alfa, mould inhibitors, molasses, cereals etc). What work does the horse do? Horses in general do not need cereals for carbs. Most horses can thrive on a cereal-free diet. You can feed a powdered balancer in the beet. My favourite is Equivita, they do various versions and can also do bespoke and tweak the levels if you want. This has good levels of copper and zinc which could help with itching, there is a version with mycosorb which helps against mycotoxins which could help for the liver, and also vitamin E which is an antioxidant. With a powder you are not risking anything which might further cause itching like might be in a pellet.

 

[JillA]

I have a horse with similar problems (not falling over though!) and via FB Roger Meacock recommended Global Herbs Restore liquid (I was using dried milk thistle but he said the active ingredients deteriorate really quickly. Restore has them dissolved to maintain efficacy). 14 days in and I have just bought a 2nd bottle. Mine is also on mycosorb because we have too much clover - worth a try, also vit E, and low sugar/cereal feeds as they can affect skin and itching.
As for balancer, I would ask Forageplus, they do a good one and offer top class advice too.

 

[Wimbles]

I have known a few horses that have been very itchy on alfalfa (which I think the hi-fi has in, sorry if I'm wrong!) so might be worth cutting that out and seeing if it makes any difference?

 

[curio]

thank you horse is a happy hacker now a minimum of 1hr 30mins up to 5 hrs a day. he is a pretty easy keeper but not eating up all hay at the moment

He has been itchy for about 4 yrs but progressively got worse, we have done all the no cereals, no alfalfa, just hay, etc with no change in the itch
speedibeet , hi fi lite and mix (completely new diet suggested by vet) has only been started since jan with no change to his itch he has still had a major flare on it
used to be on fast fibre only but removed due to soya and nutritionally improved straw etc
this diet has no soya
dont really want to give a pelleted balancer due to previous reaction to one
havent tried mycotoxins any one know more about this?
bloods in jan showed mildly raised copper levels

 

[Geek]

My horse that we went through nigthmares with because of itching with was magically cured by Blue Chip. Can't recommend it enough as a balancer.

 

[curio]

My horse that we went through nigthmares with because of itching with was magically cured by Blue Chip. Can't recommend it enough as a balancer.

thats interesting maybe an vit and mineral imbalance