Re-thinking Feed
The other day I was looking out my window and noticed that Gentry was standing camped under. What! It was utterly reminiscent of how Rose always stood before I put shoes on her. I had tossed that up to mean that Rose just was too big for her feet and needed shoes. Once we put shoes on her, she did indeed start standing correctly within a week or two. She also came sound. She needed shoes it seemed.
Gentry on the other hand, has always been bare and purportedly sound, and did not stand camped under when I got him. To be fair, he doesn't stand like that all the time, but it was enough for me to scratch my head and start to think. So what the heck changed?
I put him on the LMF Super Supplement G that I always had Rose on. They are both easy keepers and do not need grain, beyond balancing out vitamins/minerals with their hay diet. That is just what the LMF is, as ration balancer. You only feed a very small amount per day. That is why I have always loved LMF. Also, it seems to keep dark horses dark in the summer. No fading, yay!
However, LMF has molasses in it. Molasses = sugar. Sugar = hoof sensitivity in barefoot horses. I always knew this, even back when I was struggling to keep Rose barefoot. However, I didn't think it was enough to actually cause any sort of hoof soreness. Now I am thinking otherwise.
I still want Gentry on a ration balancer so it was time to research this whole thing again. So I went the interwebs and I also called around to a few feed stores. I think I have decided to go with Triple Crown 30% Equine Supplement. It has NO molasses and very few carbs in general. Still has a good amount of protein, copper (keeping him from fading), and the much needed selenium.
I am curious before I buy it, do any of you have experience with Triple Crown 30%? Given the lack of molasses is it still palatable? Or do you know of another no/low sugar ration balancer that you use and would recommend?
Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•Renee•
Gentry on the other hand, has always been bare and purportedly sound, and did not stand camped under when I got him. To be fair, he doesn't stand like that all the time, but it was enough for me to scratch my head and start to think. So what the heck changed?
I put him on the LMF Super Supplement G that I always had Rose on. They are both easy keepers and do not need grain, beyond balancing out vitamins/minerals with their hay diet. That is just what the LMF is, as ration balancer. You only feed a very small amount per day. That is why I have always loved LMF. Also, it seems to keep dark horses dark in the summer. No fading, yay!
However, LMF has molasses in it. Molasses = sugar. Sugar = hoof sensitivity in barefoot horses. I always knew this, even back when I was struggling to keep Rose barefoot. However, I didn't think it was enough to actually cause any sort of hoof soreness. Now I am thinking otherwise.
I still want Gentry on a ration balancer so it was time to research this whole thing again. So I went the interwebs and I also called around to a few feed stores. I think I have decided to go with Triple Crown 30% Equine Supplement. It has NO molasses and very few carbs in general. Still has a good amount of protein, copper (keeping him from fading), and the much needed selenium.
I am curious before I buy it, do any of you have experience with Triple Crown 30%? Given the lack of molasses is it still palatable? Or do you know of another no/low sugar ration balancer that you use and would recommend?
Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•Renee•
My big guy Apollo is a bit insulin resistant (which makes him more prone to thrush). I spray apple cider vinegar on his hooves and add it to his feed and it makes a huge difference. He only gets beet pulp and recovery eq, which are both low in sugar so I'm not much help on the nutrition front! :)
ReplyDeleteI currently use Triple Crown Lite as my ration balancer for my barefoot IR super easy keeper. She has been on that (1lb a day) and pasture access with a grazing muzzle for the last 7 months (we live in MD, land of lush green pastures) and is gravel-crunching sound with tight white lines. I had a friend that started with the TC 30% feed with her IR and Cushings horse but her vet (an internist) had recommended the TC Lite instead or Legends CarbCare Balancer Pellet instead: she felt the TC 30% was too high in protein. The horse is doing fabulously: he is on the CarbCare.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip about the Lite. I will have to look into that one as well or at least consider it as an option if he stays too portly on the 30%. We don't' get Legends in this area, but that looks like a great product too.
Deletevery interesting... my mare only gets balancer (nutrena, i think, plus gastric supplements), and she frequently stands with her pretty feet pretty well underneath herself. this has always struck me as odd but her farrier thinks nothing of it... hmm...
ReplyDelete