OP, I was intent on finding a feed free from the risks of ionophore contamination. Crypto is basically horse candy. It has no real nutritional value and due to the high oat content way too high of a NSC for me to feel "safe"about feeding. I opted to use Cool Stance or Renew Gold, timothy pellets and Horse Tech High Point Grass to fill in nutritional gaps in my horses diet.
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Reported as spam
i am not someone that considers myself extremely educated on feeds, but was recommended CA for my pony and my donkey with great results. Both dropped their old coats and what grew in was healthy and gleamingâŠboth have put on a healthy amount of weight. Feel very comfortable with them going into winter with this product.
Odd that a new poster with no history at all would resurrect a somnolent thread to praise a commercial productâŠ
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Seems that there are more and more such since the better spammer filters are on board.
Get a better way to enforce rules, someone will try to find ways around it.
Donât really think it works, people are not that naive any more.
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Hey my horses dropped their summer coats and what is growing in is healthy and gleaming. Lots of dapples. None of mine need to gain weight. ( I am hoping one drops some weight when the grass dies. LOL!!!) They are on Triple Crown Ration Balancer and have been for years. I think most horses with good forage, parasite control, and good feed look the same. There is nothing magic about feeding horsesâŠ
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They all âdropâ old coats twice a year due to Winter and Summer ending.
If they are in such poor health they are holding onto an old coat in an effort to protect their body, then feeding anything of any real substance will help them âdropâ that old coat.
If it works for you, great. Just consider the long-term health as well, not just any short term changes. Understand CA for what it is, and what it isnât. It falls under the current fad category of feeding whole foods without any attention to the whole picture. CA is not fortified. Any benefits that could be gained from the rose hips and cabbage is miniscule when you look at the amount in the feed vs the size of a horse. To my knowledge there are zero studies on the benefits of reishi for horses, and really, how much of it is there really in it?
The list of people who initially loved what CA did for their horse, then got progressively more and more unhappy, whom I have run across, is growing.
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Welcome! Since youâre admittedly not well educated on feeds, this thread and the other long crypto aero thread on this board will be an excellent education!
@Ghazzu somnolent is just SUCH a good word 
:yes:
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If someone recommended cryptoaero or any other high calorie feed for your donkey, RUN from that source of misinformation. Donkeys do not need oats, according to the best information Iâve read. They do best on a very âlowâ diet, being desert animals and all. They are easy to make obese and to founder. You may want to join a donkey specific chat group, Iâm sure there are some out there, to learn proper care of your donkey.
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3 days till Halloween!
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itâs been an education alrightâŠ
Iâve been feeding crypto aero to my 22 year old quarter horse for about a year. I went from feeding 5 lbs a day of TC senior to feeding 3 lbs if even of crypto aero daily. I dont currently have him on a vitamin or mineral supplement. He has free choice hay daily. I add 2 ounces of whole flaxseeds and 1.5 oz of whole raw pumpkin seeds.
I personally have had great results. He sheds out quicker and is shiny. Hes always been a hot head, but now even when excited its easier for me to get him to focus and he doesnt seem as agitated all the time like he was on most other feeds (and believe me I tried almost every brand). Hes super muscled for not being ridden much in the last couple of months. For his age he maintains his weight great. For a horse that always had shoes b.c. I live in the mountains and his pasture is full of rocks. I took his shoes off shortly after switching to crypto aero and he has been barefoot ever since. No issues no lameness. His feet are solid.
Every horse is different, but itâs worth giving it a try
Yeah, my pony did great on a gallon of sweet feed a day in 1975, but I wouldnât feed that today knowing what I know now.
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I fed COB exclusively in the 80âs-into the 90âs. Many horses have no ill effects from an âold timeâ corn & oats based feed with molasses added. Just because feed manufacturers have marketed a whole new way to feed doesnât mean what we fed in the past is wrong and what is fed todays is right.
People have the freedom to feed how they choose and if they get good results , then why criticize them for their choices?
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Well, I also rode my pony all day every day and we also galloped everywhere we could and many places we really shouldnât have! For a hardworking ranch horse or trail horse, sweet feed might still be OK. But my current air fern would be obese on that.
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And many horses tied up (Monday Morning Sickness) as a result of those that type of diet. And foundered as a result of that type of diet. More horses got a way from it than not because they were working every day, and working pretty hard. They might have even needed that level of NSC to get through their jobs. That diet does a lot more harm today than good.
And, we actually know a lot more today than we did then. We have linked high sugar diets with DOD issues and later development of insulin resistance. Know better, do better.
People have the freedom to feed how they choose and if they get good results , then why criticize them for their choices?
Because not everyone understands the longer-term ramifications of diets that are âless thanâ. The picture you see now is not the whole story. I wonder how many people think their diet is just fine because their horse is in great weight and a shiny coat, but think the crappy feet are just genetic when it may in fact be that âjust fineâ diet that really isnât?
It should be about education and constructive criticism.
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Yes, absolutely. My comments on feed are based on having a little bit of education into current best pratcises backed up by current scientific knowledge, and JBâs comments are based on having a lot of education in the field. 
We also used to think a 15 year old horse was old (older than us!!) And working horses especially urbsn cart horses really didnât live that long in the 1800s. So as with humans we now need to take age related lifestyle diseases into account.
My grandparents who farmed during the 1930s used to set out huge high carb high sugar high fat dinners for the threshing crews at harvest. Pies. Peroghies and sour cream. Etc. Everyone back then was skinny. You used up the calories.
Eat like that nowadays and you will be an obese diabetic at 40.
And even if you are a serious athlete and need the calories, unfortunately your sports nutritionist is unlikely to suggest you eat more pie :).
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An " air fern" type of horse doesnât even need any feed at all. Just excellent quality hay fed at the amount it takes to maintain an ideal body weight.
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Except even the majority of âexcellent qualityâ hay doesnât have the right amount and/or balance of nutrients for optimal health, especially for a working animal. Caloric needs aside, which can range from âhe looks at grass and puffs upâ to âthere arenât enough hours in the day for him to eatâ horse, those 2 ends of the spectrum need the same nutrients, all else equal.
Thereâs more to health than weight.
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I agree that we should never stop learning and I also agree that we should be feeding our horses a healthy well balanced diet.
We also need to remember that horses were created to eat a grass based diet alone. What has changed drastically in the way so many horses are fed today is the amount/ volume/ pounds of processed feeds they consume as a part of their daily diet as well as all the supplements.
Even if that feed is a complete feed ( supposedly forage based) it has to be a shock to their digestive system to eat the amount that feed companies recommend to get the nutrients they supposedly need.
Despite the better feeds it looks to me that IR is on the rise as well as ulcers and I always think that maybe we are feeding our horses too much like we feed ourselves. We see it in our dogs & cats too.
Sometimes knowing more is worse when we forget what also worked in the past. They need to be combined to get the best of both.
