Well, I bought some BOSS. Tee hee! Took a handful out to Mr. Horse to see what he thought. He snarfed them down as I expected he would. Looked for more. So, he gets 1/3 cup in his feed twice a day now. As long as there are no negative impacts on his health, I’ll keep feeding them and up the amount once the CocoSun runs out. It’s sure a ton cheaper!
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I thought I’d update, though I doubt anyone cares about my feeding obsession, LOL!
I nixed the BOSS pretty quickly because he acted hot (probably not at all related to BOSS, but I tend to pull anything I just started feeding if I see any change in attitude). He’s still got a ton of the CocoSun granular anyway.
After a lot of time thinking and crunching numbers, I decided to try Triple Crown Gold Balancer. I literally just started working a little in yesterday, so we’ll see. I live right around the corner from a Triple Crown dealer (not TSC) and they ordered me two bags. He likes it, that’s about all I can say right now, LOL.
I’m also trying to cut some costs, as it’s gotten out of hand with all of the additions. I have a feeling a lot of my $$$ is in piles of manure. However, he looks fantastic now! Coat is shiny and dark, even some dapples trying to show through. Weight is good, top line is great. I’m very pleased with his condition overall. I’m going to try to maintain it without a million and one supplements.
Tonight I started transitioning him from timothy pellets to beet pulp shreds for his filler. I only need it to bulk up his meals and add some calories. He’s a fan, so no problems there. I’ve never fed straight beet pulp before, but he’s had it in TC Senior in years past. He gobbled it tonight, so that’s good.
I also bought a bag of chopped alfalfa and gave him a big handful that I mixed with his soaked feed. He LOVED that! Again, just for calories, protein, fiber, tastiness. He’s been somewhat sensitive to alfalfa before, but I’m going to see. I’m really thinking ulcers were his nemesis and that daily Equioxx was a big part there toward the end. He’s completely off of Equioxx now and doing fine.
He just finished his last pre-made container of supplements for the week, so tomorrow I’m going to create a simplified version. Along with his ration balancer, beet pulp, and chopped alfalfa, he’ll get:
- 1 cup of Omega Horseshine AM/PM
- 1 scoop CocoSun granules AM/PM (until gone, then done)
- 2 squirts CocoSun oil AM/PM
- 1 scoop (2oz) KIS Trace AM only (cutting this back because he’s getting the ration balancer, but this still boosts his cu, zn, mg, aminos, and biotin)
- 1 scoop B1 crumbles AM only
- Joint supplement (which right now is Absorbine Flex+Max)
So, that’s it. This plus hay (and what pasture there is) will hopefully keep him looking and feeling as great as he does now. FeedXL says he’s getting more than enough of all the important stuff, and the ratios, etc. look very good.
I’ll update next week when I’ve totally changed my mind, LOL!! (Please no! Let this be it!)
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Well, if the gusto with which he eats is any indication, this combo is a huge hit so far. He’s wondering why I’ve been making him eat boring old timothy pellets all this time when he could’ve been having beet pulp and alfalfa and this yummy new stuff that smells and tastes a bit like peppermint (TC Gold Balancer has peppermint oil in it). He licks his feed pan clean and hoovers up any stray morsels in the area. He literally chased me from the hay shed to the feed room when I was taking his chopped alfalfa over to mix with his soaked stuff. Trotted after me. This is a horse that usually can’t be bothered to move beyond a mosey unless there are extreme circumstances.
I love that he’s so excited about it.
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Does it really? I have a picky horse who tends to not finish his grain - or eat it over the course of, oh, 2 - 12 hours - but he loves peppermint. I wonder if trying this would encourage him to eat?
Peppermint essential oil is part of the ButiPEARL Z EQ package in the TC feeds in general. There are probably some other companies that use that as well
Well, I can’t speak to how it tastes, but it smells kind of minty to me. Not strong, mind you, and maybe it’s just my imagination because I read it on the ingredients, but it smells unlike anything else I’ve ever fed (and I’ve been feeding horses for 35 years…there’s not much I haven’t fed). My guy ate it right out of my hand, but that’s not saying much as he’d no doubt try to eat rocks if I held them out to him. He can be finicky about strong-smelling supplements in his feed though, and he’s never given this a second whiff. When I plop his feed pan down, he practically unhinges his jaw and gets as much in his mouth as equinely possible. Which is why everything except his baled hay gets soaked to a mash.
Glad to have an update. No, you’re not crazy. Or, if you are, I’m a frugal, label-reading, horse-supplement recipe developing kook, too.
I didn’t read the whole thread, just the beginning and end. Why was your boy on previcox? How did you take him off? I ask because my 16 y.o. TB is on it for a small ring bone shadow in his right front pastern. It’s the low kind, unlikely to be broken up by activity. I had to take him off to rule out a fever for a week, and he seemed none the worse for wear, but when I put him back in full work I didn’t want to take the chance to inflame his pastern joint.
Though I feed a couple of weeks of Costco omeprazole or GastroGard (a gift from a friend – I’d never pay for it) when he seems digestive-ly upset, it’s pretty rare that I run a course. I had a little QH mare on previcox the last eight years of her life, from 20 to 27, with zero problems. In fact, I suspect it added years to her life, since bute would make her completely lose her appetite for at least a day.
He was on it for hock arthritis which was giving him some trouble a year ago. He got to the point that he couldn’t even lie down (I watched him try many times and he couldn’t bend his hocks enough to go all the way down). We started him on Equioxx and Adequan and that got him straightened out. I tried weaning him off Equioxx a few times prior, and I’d see him struggling to lie down again or it’d be difficult for him to pick up his hinds when I needed to clean out his feet. So, he stayed on it. Then I started noticing him acting ulcery. Pinning ears and swishing his tail when I’d brush his flanks (NEVER cared before and I’ve owned him 14 of his 15 years of life). Getting jittery and anxious. Disliking brushing altogether. Bucking under saddle. All of the major signs, and I ignored them because he was fat and didn’t “look” like a horse with ulcers.
Then we moved barns and he was a full-blown hot mess, and I finally did a whole course of Ulcergard. Day one I noticed an immediate change. By the end of the course, he was Mr. Chill and happy to be groomed anywhere or ridden anywhere, etc. I also pulled him off of Equioxx occasionally, and sometimes would put him back on 1/2 a pill a day, but eventually I realized that when the Equioxx was added back, the anxiety and “lookiness” came back with it to some degree (not pre-Ulcergard levels, but noticeable). So, I stopped the Equioxx altogether and decided to see if he could handle it. He did fine, but I could tell he was a bit stiff, so I went back to a joint supplement I had used with good results in the past (Absorbine Flex+Max) and that has him moving much better again.
He’d be due for Adequan injections again in September, but I think I’m going to stick with the feed-through for now. I hate giving shots, lol.
I know there are horses that can definitely handle long-term Equioxx use. My guy isn’t one of them it seems.
ETA: I can’t remember now if the hock arthritis was discovered last year or year before. Either way, he’s managing much better now.
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Thank you. That’s helpful information.
While I 
giving IM shots, I have stayed away from Adequan because of the expense. Apparently, there’s some wiggle room in dosage and schedule, though, so it might be worth a try.
My horse showed no sign of unevenness during the week he took a break recently, though he was not in any really serious work either.
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Fingers crossed that your guy stays sound for you! I think another thing that has helped mine is 24/7 turnout and lots of Omega 3 from the 2 cups of Omega Horseshine per day. I swear whenever I’ve tried to stop the OHS he’s gotten foot sore. Even just trying to switch to the cheaper DuMor version at TSC. Nope. Can’t do it. And 2 cups is the most he’s ever been fed in his life and I wonder if it’s helping him in many ways I don’t even realize.
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I snapped a pic of Milton enjoying his din-din this evening after Idalia breezed through and cooled things down considerably. Thankfully she just gave us some needed rain and relief from the heat.
This is the first time in his 15-year life he’s ever had dapples. It’s gotta be the CocoSun (oil and/or granular).
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