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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Nov 2009 : 12:31:11 PM
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Ive got a couple of feeding questions .
Firstly what is the best most affordable all round vitamin and mineral supplement that i can feed all my horses? Im using equimus vit and min supplement as its the only one that my tack shop sells but would be happy to order a better one in over the internet.
Ive been reading the joint supplement thread with interest too as i have a 24 yr old mare who has an old stifle injury and has bad arthritis in both back legs (very stiff)she can barely lift her back feet up to have them picked out and then struggles to straighten her legs back out.
she pulled her hock recently and was lame for 2 weeks so had the vet out and he has prescribed one danolin sachet a day for the rest of her life. He said that he would say that she would only have another couple of years left in her before she will need to be pts. I have tried her on pure glucosamine, cortaflex and no bute liquid in the past but never really knew if it was helping her.
The danolin doesnt seem to be doing much. After hearing some of your stories of sucess with old injured horses galloping around etc im going to try some other supplements. I have just rang the viaflex company and am waiting for the lady to call me back.
Im currently feeding her half a scoop of molichaff show shine and half a scoop of 16+ mix plus supplements. she needs to put a bit more weight on but i cant feed her a bigger feed cos after shes eaten about a 3rd of a bucket she just walks off and leaves the rest.
Ive tried allen and page 16+ and dodgson and horrel pasture mix.
Are there any feeds that your fussy horses absolutely adore that will also help to put weight on ??
im thinking that a mix is better than nuts for her digestive system?
would normally start to feed her sugar beet soon aswel.
thanks
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2009 : 12:38:50 PM
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Another feeding question.
At the moment im only feeding my old mare as my other 3 horses are all very well covered and have lots of grass.
My youngster is rising 3 but doesnt need to put any weight on at all but should i still be feeding her something and a multi vit supplement to help with her growth etc? or will she be fine on just grass and haylage? |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2009 : 12:45:03 PM
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I know a few people use Equivite - have to say it smells lovely. I've used Kossoalian (Sp?) Blood Salts and that smells lovely too - both are fairly cheap. Pink Powder is also very good and reasonably priced. I use TopSpec Comprehensive for the boys and Codlivine for the old girls. I've not used the Equimins one. I'll try to look up what its made of later.
I sachet of Danilon isn't really very much. How big is she Holly and roughly how much does she weigh?
The first thing I would do regarding feed is give AlfaBeet instead of Sugarbeet. My old gal used to love it and lick the bowl clean (she passed away now). You could also change the Molichaff for an alfalfa based chaff. Or you could simply add a dash of Linseed oil everyday. This should help your old lady's joints too. I use Simple Systems Instant Linseed.
There will be very little difference between feeding a nut and a mix. Actually if you decided to go with Pink Powder as its a very good digestive aid. |
    
Hampshire |
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Karon
Gold Member
England
1411 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2009 : 12:45:43 PM
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I'm using FeedMark Benevit whioh is a very good all round supplement, and Feedmark sell over the internet - next day delivery is free. I've just bought 22.5 kg of it!
My fussy older mare is loving Copra Meal (Coolstance) at the moment, it is a mash type feed if you soak it (can be fed dry) and smells lovely. She's keeping weight on really well on that. |
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2009 : 1:16:11 PM
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| Karon-how much do you pay for a bag of copra meal cool stance feed? Ive just looked at the website and it looks really good but no prices? |
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mogwai
Platinum Member
England
2717 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2009 : 8:46:55 PM
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All mine are on Topspec comprehensive (except the pony who is on Topspec antilam). Can't speak highly enough of it. They also do a cool and condition cube with zero cereals and no extra vits and mins, so you can feed a few handfulls if they lose a little condition over the winter without doubling up on the comprehensive. Give Topspec a call, they really, really helpful.
Ros x |
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Pop
Platinum Member
England
3051 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2009 : 10:09:00 AM
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| The 'old trout' is 33yrs and cannot chew properly and she has cushings so her shape was getting old looking (she has lots of other things as well). Had to change her feed because the old one dropped in quality so much and was difficult to get hold of. I feed her High Fibre Complete (from Badminton) but I soak it cus they are in big cubes. It is easily digested even if she is unable to chew. Also give her Triple Top Up. And I mix it all up with chaff and sugar beet. She is doing remarkably well on it; if I cus post a picture wud show you :). Have also used Sumo in the past which is great for weight gain without the common side effect of flying lessons. |
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Edited by - Pop on 06 Nov 2009 10:10:04 AM |
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Di Ellis
Silver Member
United Kingdom
415 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2009 : 11:55:06 AM
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I would recommend Barley Plus (cooked barley and linseed). It is a palatable small feed easily mixed with sugar beet which will soften it and make it easy to eat; it is highly digestible and great at putting weight on older horses and shine on my show horses.
I use it on my stallions when they go up light after covering as it seems to put weight on and keep them calm at the same time. If she is struggling with eating a chaff feed then I would recommend Alfa A or Alfa A Oil which is chopped up much smaller and again easier to digest.
I hope you find something that works.
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D.S. Ellis
Somerset
marbonarabians@yahoo.co.uk |
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kimzi
Gold Member
865 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2009 : 12:58:12 PM
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| I would go for alpha oil if she can chew well, it is very easy and you can use it a as the core bulk of the feed. Also mollichaff veteran which is fine chopped and loveley and soft. Would'nt go back to barley have had loads of instances of allergies to it. |
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birdof1977
Silver Member
308 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 04:53:03 AM
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My lad, although neither old or young, is fed Baileys Local feed balancer, Molichaff and unmollased sugarbeet, or you could use something like Allen and page fast fibre. He came to me overweight, but is now about right, and his dinner works out about 80p a day. The local contains all vits and mins, plus probiotic to keep the hind gut functioning properly.
My old mare who was PTS in her 30's was fed boiled barley, linseed oil, sugarbeet, cider vinegar and half a can of guiness twice a day. She did quite well on that until her last winter. That was about 15 years ago though before there was as much choice on the market for feed. |
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Edited by - birdof1977 on 10 Nov 2009 2:37:50 PM |
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angel2002
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
2502 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 09:50:51 AM
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Hi Holly,
Can I ask you a question...Why are you feeding a 'complete' mix and then unbalancing it by adding extra vits & mins? So many people do this, it is not only a waste of money but can do your horse more harm than good.
If you are feeding you mare the correct amount of 16+ feed you shouldn't be adding the Equimins.
In answer to your other question, my 2yr old is being fed D&H Sure grow twice a day and has ad-lib hay, personally I would always make sure that foals to 3 year olds get fed balanced diets to help them grow to their full potential. |
Angel
Passion Arabians
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Pop
Platinum Member
England
3051 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 09:52:38 AM
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| Interesting birdof1977 ... what does the guiness do? |
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Karon
Gold Member
England
1411 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 09:59:46 AM
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Sorry, just seen this again - I pay £16.50 for a bag of Coolstance, which lasts me about 2 weeks at the moment (for 2 of them).
I have to admit I never feed the recommended amount of any hard feed otherwise mine would explode so I add a supplement at 1/3 - 1/2 the normal rate. I think the amount of Build Up mix I should give Ash is about twice what she will eat!
Top Spec is brilliant but the price is prohibitive to feed to 4 and the spec of the Benevit is pretty good. |
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birdof1977
Silver Member
308 Posts |
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MinHe
Platinum Member
England
2927 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 4:37:35 PM
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Guinness has lots of vitamins and minerals in it - it really is good for you! Doctors used to prescribe it as a tonic; a friend of mine at school, who was very skinny (but had big boobs, damn her!) was really chuffed when her doc 'forced' her to drink a can of Guinness a day!
Apparently, when the British working population stopped drinking beer and took to tea instead, all sorts of vitamin-related problems started to appear...good excuse, isn't it? 'Just having my daily tonic, dear' 
In the old days, when the stallion men used to 'walk' their charges round the districts, the stallion's tea would always have Guinness (or some other stout) in it, together with raw eggs, to keep them in fine fettle for covering!
Keren |
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weirton
Gold Member
873 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 4:45:17 PM
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Years ago when our jumping horses had a very hard week we always fed Guinness and eggs in the evening feeds as a pick-me-up. It seemed to work.
Jean |
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Holly
Gold Member
England
529 Posts |
Posted - 10 Nov 2009 : 7:14:32 PM
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Angel 2002- Ive always given my horses a multi vit and min supplement in their feed because ive never fed the correct amount of hard feed that the manufacturers advise.
I only feed in the winter as have way too much grass in summer so all my horses apart from the oldie are fat and if i fed them the recomended amount they will never lose weight.
The old girl is very difficult to feed because she is fussy and gets bored of eating after shes eaten about a 3rd of her daily feed. She has to be in the right mood to finish her whole feed. She doesnt get a large feed but it is made up of half chaff and half mix so if i increased the mix anymore then i will never get it down her.
i could stop feeding the chaff all together and just feed mix but she needs the fibre.
as for the rest of my mares i havent started feeding them yet as they are very well covered and when i do they will just get chaff with a handfull of mix/nuts so they will need the extra vits and mins etc.
holly |
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birdof1977
Silver Member
308 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2009 : 04:32:53 AM
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I would be more inclined to feed her fibre beet, or fast fibre rather than the chaff, no nuts but just the vitamin supplement.
You haven't said how many times a day you are feeding. We have an old boy on our yard who is severly underweight. He is on 4 scoops of beet plus chaff plus equivite buildup in 4 seperate feeds a day to try and get the weight back on him. That is the trick. Small and often. |
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Cate
Platinum Member
Scotland
1785 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2009 : 1:49:32 PM
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Always use Guinness as a pick me up and used it for my mare when she foaled, and now as a pick me up after getting two teeth out. Also the stallion. Used it for myself when breast feeding my children. My paternal grandfather was prescribed Guinness or a sweet stout to take every day to build him up.....but that was many moons ago. Not sure doctors would do that now.
Arkle used to get something like Guinness and eggs so many days before a race....correct me if I'm wrong but do remember something like that being given to him. |
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arabic
Platinum Member
England
4562 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2009 : 5:10:28 PM
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Hi Holly,
Seaweed is a good supplement, full of vits and minerals, also good for the hooves. I used this with Apple cider vinegar which is also a natural source of goodness. Freddie bless him, only had to look at a bag of feed to gain weight so like you I was always supplementing to ensure he had all he needed whilst on his continual diet of either short feed measures or restricted grazing.
The best I found for him and value for money was Equimins Tip Top (powder) - brilliant stuff, he seemed to positively glow on it. Pink Powder is another and fed as a balancer works out really economical but unfortunately Freddie always gained weight on balancers so I had to knock that on the head.
Perhaps have a look at a few (compare their vitamin content, RDA and cost)then plump for one and see how it goes.
My friend put her pony on Tip Top and you could see a difference in a couple of weeks.
Good luck |
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ali bali
Gold Member
Scotland
641 Posts |
Posted - 11 Nov 2009 : 8:20:38 PM
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Hi I am another fan of Benevit Advanced from Feedmark. I find it is the most comprehensive vit and mineral supplement for the money. It also has essential fatty acids in it for coat shine etc.
Like you, mine are all good doers so they get their daily dose in non-molassed sugar beet with a VERY few flakes of barley mixed through for palatability.
The only drawback is some horses dont like the taste but if you ring them and ask for a sample to taste test they should oblige. The best thing is you can buy it in big sackfuls if you have more than one to feed and get further bulk buy savings, plus they always have special offers on, perfect for the cost conscious owner!  |
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Feeding advice
