You know I thought the same thing last night when I read that post…why do things always seem to go the way of snarkiness.
I agree, ignore the snarkies, but its also hard to not feel the effect.
I loved reading your story, and your heart is in the right place. Your horses are very very lucky, and I bet they know it.
I loved your story too! It is nice to see that someone from your mare’s past realized who she was and shared what he knew about her and her history with you. Those are priceless moments.
I just wanted to add, when I got Trixie , she was about 100 or 150 lbs underweight so we used corn oil, just a sprinkling on top of her grain, about a cup worth, to help build up her weight and she did very well. We live in VA and if you know our weather, it is hot, humid, muggy and sticky! She did very well, there was no problems and she filled out. Also feeding sweet feed around here, causes many people to gasp at me and I have gotten more than a few lectures on the evil of sweet feed and drafts. To each his own, my two were started on it, have been on it all their lives and why fix what isn’t broke? I think what people are trying to tell you is don’t discount something solely because someone you just met, and a vet who does not know drafts, told you it isn’t good.
Pat the girls for me and a kiss on those beautiful noses of theirs!!
It can take a LOT of time and money to get a 20 something horse back in tip top shape and just plain may not happen… Just keep her going, old horses like jobs too! But it sure sounds like you are doing your best! I did not mean for my comment to come across as snarky, just my experiences with similar types of horses in similar climates and feeding oil.
For the farrier work. Have you looked into shoeing stocks? I think they will cost you around $400 or so, but you might find someone to make something similar for you locally cheaper. Those will hold the foot up and prevent them from laying on the farrier. I’ve trimmed a few drafts, i have to admit, it was not my favorite experience either! I cant imagine sedating one though, that would just make them want to lay on me even more! I hope you can find yourself someone better to do them. That get’s very frustrating. We move a lot and i hate finding someone new that does a good job. I ended up learning to do it myself from “gasp” the barefoot crowd, and frankly, i’ll never go back to the everything must be shod crowd… 
Good luck, and yes, it was a nice story.
[QUOTE=elysianfieldsfarm;5028958]
I bet you would- but getting a new camera phone is just not a high priority with me right now.
While you are waiting- feel free to check out Barney’s and Lou Lou’s pictures on my website. I wonder if you would have bothered taking in either of these two old horses in the shape they were in when I agreed to take them. Dixie was not nearly in as bad a shape as Barney was in- she looked more like Lou Lou did when she first arrived 
Dixie is a 20 year old Percheron who was in a camp horse herd situation with 37 other horses that are used for trail rides. For the last seven years, she had daily pulled a “hay wagon” loaded with about 25 campers to and from the mess hall while summer camp was in session, and had provided special occasion hay rides at the camp in the “off season.”
She was headed to a local open auction because the camp had replaced her with a team of 7 year old Belgians. :no: The horse director hated to see this happen to her, so he offered her to me to use on trial with option to buy her in the in the fall for what they would have gotten for her at auction- $100 to $300
She is not in tip-top condition- She LOOKS like a 20 year old horse who has been competing with younger horses for food. She has that “old horse look”- a hollow area along her back on both sides that makes her spine look raised- but no “shelf”, and hollows above both eyes, etc. But as someone who saw her in person said last month- “She looks a lot better than some of those horses and mules that pull carriages in New Orleans, and you are certainly making sure she is comfortable with lots of water, hay and cold towels.”
When I first got her, I could feel her ribs when I ran my hand along her sides. When she pulled, you could see the faint outline of her ribs. Now you can’t.
Her feet were in in pretty bad condition when she arrived- very flared, jagged and pointed. She has had two trims, and her feet are now much better, but not yet perfectly shaped- I’ve been told that will take a few more more months-she has no hoofwall cracks though. Once her feet are back to a more rounded shape, I plan to use some kind of slip-on shoe or boot (like E-Z boots) for the short times she is actually on the road. I do not plan to have her shod with nail-on traditional shoes. And no, I don’t care to hear about anyone’s opinions on that decision, which is mine to make.
James asked me who her farrier was, and I asked him if he knew any farriers who worked on drafts that would travel here-- the farrier I use for the light horses at my place has very reluctantly worked on her and the two other drafts I have. The drafts’ hooves are almost twice the size of regular horse hooves.
He really doesn’t feel comfortable working on them-- they have not given him trouble- except that they will not hold their feet up a long as the light horses will-- and like many horses do- they try to lean on him. When a draft tries to lean on your farrier, he really takes exception to that.
He wants me to sedate them every time he trims. I would prefer not to sedate them. I would like to keep him as a farrier for the other horses, so I’m looking for a different farrier to handle the three drafts- someone who likes to fool with them.
James gave me the name of a man in Mississippi and another in a nearby parish, and I’m working on tracking them down.
James asked me what I was feeding her, and I told him, and asked him if he had any thoughts on the matter- afterall he has years’ more experience with Percherons than I have. I was very pleased that he was more than willing to make suggestions.
As for driving a horse lightly who is not it tiptop perfect condition-- well my vet (who does admit to not being an expert on drafts) and a couple draft horse/ mule farmers I know all said they thought it would actually help her get in condition and would be better for her if she did some harness work. (We’re not talking all-day- 8 hrs a day commercial carriage work here-we are talking about pulling a Pioneer brand forecart two to three times a week for a couple of miles at a WALK, and pulling a carriage four blocks at a time at a WALK with lots of rest in the shade in between once a month from 8 am until 10 am.)
And really, since James trained and drove Dixie for seven years-- and it was obvious that she recognized him-- that, in my mind, put him in a different category from just some stranger on the street or some stranger on an online bulletin board, for that matter.
In a perfect world all horses would only be owned by people with lots of money, time and experience to devote to them. None would ever be overworked, overlooked, neglected or put in the pasture and left to fend for themselves. None would be cast-aside or sent to auctions when they were past their prime, or became injured or ill. Farm workers and teamsters would never have to worry about having animals they have come to care for sold away while they had to accept the owner’s decision because on their salaries they can’t afford to buy the animals in their care.
Ya know- I started this post to share about my experience in letting someone reconnect with an old equine friend. Really, it was a kind of “Black Beauty” moment for Dixie and James. (Those of you who have read, and remember the book will recall the scene where Black Beauty is recognized and finally recognizes Joe Green the groom after all those years apart.)
But as is too often the case on this site- this has turned into an almost snarky experience— why couldn’t you all just enjoy the story?[/QUOTE]
Very nice special story. Perhaps instead of going on and on about all the special circumstances, special feed needed, special farrier care needed, special harness, special everything for these draft horses, it could just be acknowledged that it’s just a big, old, slow HORSE. And that horse requires the same care as any other HORSE. Proper feed, proper foot care, proper vaccinations, proper work, etc.
I do apologize if my opinion affronts you, however, in reading your original post and subsequent replies, the little flags just pop up. Take away all the rationalizations you appear to have, and it looks like the horse is underweight, old, and in need of serious foot care.
I love drafts, especially big ole’ Perchies, and just like any other HORSE sometimes individuals can be naughtier than others, but with correct training, a horse is a horse is a horse, and should be treated as such.
Good luck with your mare.
[QUOTE=elysianfieldsfarm;5028220]
:
Again-- The specific concern this guy had was that I was using CORN oil. In checking specifically Dr. Valentine’s book as well as an article by Dr. Kellon-- the oils they discuss are primarily CANOLA, and FLAX SEED.
My equine vet – who was the one who recommended the CORN oil —readily admited that she is NOT a draft horse expert because she has not been called on much to deal with drafts. (I’m the ONLY client she has or has ever had that has drafts- and I have only 3 and old ones at that.)
Her practice, which is moblie, consists mainly of QHs, TBs, Appys, Arabs, TWHs, various warmbloods, and some grades and a few ponies.
James, who has spent years dealing mainly with draft horses, especially Percherons and Perch crosses, probably has more practical experience with drafts, though he is not a vet.
Anyway, my point in making the post was that this guy was so overjoyed to find a horse that he had trained, and worked with extensively, and hadn’t seen in 13 years. AND Dixie seemed glad to see him, too. Not only did she follow him, turning her head to keep him in sight as much as possilbe as he walked around her–she actually leaned her head into his chest and rubbed him.
He cared enough to wait around for a chance to be with her a few minutes, to look her over, and find out what I was doing with her. He was extremely polite and actually kept apologizing and asking permission to make suggestions about her care and some minor harness adjustments. I was more than happy for his help.
I perfectly understood what CA was saying-- duh-- I may not go automatically gaga over science vs. folk wisdom, but I’m not uneducated.
I have since contacted my vet, and she, too, rethought the use of CORN oil-- and suggested I go with the canola, instead.
I was already using the soaked beet pulp as 1/4 of her ration, but am now going to slowly increase that proportion until she is eating more beet pulp-- which does have to be watched carefully becaue it does go sour quickly in this heat and himidity-- 93degrees right now, a rather cool day-- with humidity at a very unseasonally low 65%. Heat index 98 degrees, rather cloudy with scattered thunderstorms predicted, but we are under a heat advisory until 8 pm- once again-- our 17th consecutive heat advisory day. :)[/QUOTE]
Don’t get so hung up on what type of oil it is. The idea is to add a fat supplement to the diet. There are many reason to add fat to a horses diet draft or light. I have been feeding oil to my elderly gelding for years it is standard practice for all breeds. Corn oil is the most palatable oil and so usually recommended when starting a horse on an oil supplement.
Don’t know what I would do with out senior feed, my gelding would not be able to survive with out it. Not sure how drafts do on it but aged horses need the senior feed to help them absorb nutrients. You should look into it. You are not just dealing with an underweight horse you are dealing with a horse who is aging. It’s a completely different challenge and most locals that I have met don’t bother keeping aged horses and they wouldn’t know how.
I feed my gelding (37 years old) regular vegetable oil but I too started him with corn oil. This is a good sight for general oil info but it is concerned with human consumption. http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t043800.asp
So sorry to interject our concern for your horse’s health. That tends to happen here on the COTH. I would suggest that you do some searching on the Horse Care forum there have been plenty of discussions concerning oil over the years.
Not sure why you keep mentioning the weather if you hadn’t noticed we are basically in the same climate. Well, actually I think I am much hotter we have been over 100 with the heat index for way too long. Also you should realize that the horse community is a small world and the driving community even smaller. Word of mouth travels fast and between that and your own posting here, well we get the big picture and are just trying to help.
I am glad you got some history on your horse. You are not the only one who takes in horses, many people here have. I too had a similar story with my pony I picked up two years ago. She was foundered on all 4 and couldn’t walk for lack of care. She requires a constant vigil with her care and diet but has recovered nicely and I was able to contact her original owner. Found out she was a driving pony, pairs, and did quite a bit of showing. So sad how so many horses and ponies who once had it so good end up in such sad situations.
[QUOTE=SmokenMirrors;5029086]
I loved your story too! It is nice to see that someone from your mare’s past realized who she was and shared what he knew about her and her history with you. Those are priceless moments.
We live in VA and if you know our weather, it is hot, humid, muggy and sticky! Pat the girls for me and a kiss on those beautiful noses of theirs!![/QUOTE]
Smoke- No- I didn’t realize that it is hot AND muggy in Virginia, eXcept maybe along the coast. I guess because Virginia seems so much farther north, I just assumed that while it may get hot in the summers for a few weeks, it isn’t subtopically muggy like south Louisiana -90 degrees and above from May through most of September with at least 80% humidity almost every day.
I had always dreamed of Virginia as being a nice temperate place. The farthest north I have traveled in the USA is South Bend, Indiana amd New York City-- except for a plane stop at Bangor, Maine on my way to Europe in the early 1970s.
But living in the country here is a picnic compared to living in the New Orleans Vieux Carre- my childhood home. Talk about hot and muggy – with thunderstorms almost every day between 2 & 4 pm in June and July. And the city didn’t cool down much at all at night- with all that concrete, cobblestones and brick the temps stayed in the 80s.
I have not only been patting the girls- and Barney- I’ve been hosing down their legs at noon and again around four. Maybe it is my imagination, but it looks like the heat and humidity does get to the drafts more. I have a black walker, and he does not get sweaty like the drafts do- neither do the other horses. I also keep plain salt blocks for everyone to lick free choice. Salt seems to help.
This morning, I decided to braid up the drafts’ manes in hope that getting all that hair off their necks may make them more comfortable.
I’m ready for October!
[QUOTE=Bigblackdraft;5029220]
Very nice special story. I do apologize if my opinion affronts you, however, in reading your original post and subsequent replies, the little flags just pop up. Take away all the rationalizations you appear to have, and it looks like the horse is underweight, old, and in need of serious foot care.
Which she (and the others) have been getting to the best of my ability since they arrived here. Since I’m not a vet or a farrier, I have pretty much gone by what they suggested- though neither is really “up” on drafts- AND they admit that. At this point, between draft horse books, draft horse magazines and online research, I’ve probably read more about draft horses than both of them put together in the last two years. And lots of what I’ve read seems to contradict itself.
I love drafts, especially big ole’ Perchies, and just like any other HORSE sometimes individuals can be naughtier than others, but with correct training, a horse is a horse is a horse, and should be treated as such.
And my first impulse was to treat these drafts just like my other horses --UNTIL everyone from the vet, to magazine articles to ezines, to COTHERS, to horse farmers started telling me they ARE different from light horses. I have had great success in bringing old light horses back to good condition or keeping my own in good condition through the years, and would like to do the same for these drafts. Lou Lou- the mare I’ve had since October 2008 looks just great- eventually Dixie and Barney will.
Good luck with your mare.[/QUOTE]
Thank you.
I should be getting ready for the state fair but with the humidity high like it has been for months, with only a day here or there nice and cool, I feel you on the heat!! So, I try to work them when it isn’t miserable and high humidity, guess as I get older I am more of a “fair weather” rider. As you mentioned, this year has been downright miserable for a lot of us, horses included. We have a crappy winter and a miserable summer, so what is next and in store for us?
I too have two plain salt blocks in the barn and they all use it, I have the 2 Percheron mares and the 2 Quarter Horses. Also keep their huge water trough full of water, each night it gets refilled too just in case.
Your more than welcome at our farm anytime!! Course, you may want to wait till it isn’t so miserable!!
FWIW, I really enjoyed your story!
Kudos to you for giving Dixie a second chance and a job! Sounds like perfect light work for an old girl who probably misses the old days and attention of showing.
And who can now enjoy the security and love of having an owner who cares about her!
http://blog.smartpakequine.com/2010/01/the-truth-about-feeding-horses-corn-oil/
good information about the differences between corn oil and other oils. Just because something works, don’t change it mentality would have kept us in the dark ages.
As time goes on, research done, we are learning more about best practices.
Many of smartpaks articles are promoting their supps, but there are many that just provide information that is useful.
MSP, not sure what you are implying with your post, but sounds kind of nasty.
I like the story, and have 8 horses of my own that I rescued(from New Holland(4) and the others from other feedlot situations, so I think I have a few stories of my own I could share, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating someone’s else’s story.
A little over a cup a day…mmm, just what is smart pak advocating here…
Quick calculation:
Flax seed: $70 a gallon (before shipping)
For the individual horse.
Lets say…10 oz a day x 365 = 3650 oz / 128 = 28.5 gallons.
28.5 x $70 -= $1995. a year.
My costs per year:
$1995 x 12 horses -=$23,940. per year to feed my horses flax seed oil.
ummm…I don’t think so!
Fish oil? Bulk? GAG!!! I had to take fish oil as a kid -Brittish parents and their crazy ideas. I just could not imagine my horses even getting near their manger with fish oil on their food. It reaks, it is disgusting, more than disgusting -it causes me to have a strong gag response. Fish oil is about $25 a gallon before shipping What about caps? 250 caps are about $16. The bottle of 250 caps looks smaller than eight ounces. So, that comes to $16 a day per horse. That comes to $5840 per horse per year! If they would even eat caps!
I have fed oil: veg/canola/corn -whatever is cheapest and have many, many draft friends that do. The claims by smart pak that such horses have a dull coat is just plain ole false. The claim that they are somehow less healthy for eating corn oil -there are NO STUDIES. Even the numbers of the ratios on their table didn’t match up with the numbers I found elsewhere. The article was biased in a folksy, lets all be natural kind of way without being grounded in reality or strong facts.
The claims about health benefits (particularly heart health) in HUMANS is valid but the research is still not 100% viable about the amount of benefit for humans. The studies are all over the place. But you know what, horses are not humans.
Basically, I love my horses but not to the tune of that kind of money! It does irritate me that Smartpak has such great ideas about how the rest of us should spend all of our excess money! Particularly when they write about the benefits of flax/fish oil in that kind of guilt tripping “lets all do what is best for our horses” kind of style. They just made a non-customer here!
[QUOTE=Cielo Azure;5030464]
Fish oil? Bulk? GAG!!!
I have fed oil: veg/canola/corn -whatever is cheapest and have many, many draft friends that do.
The claims about health benefits (particularly heart health) in HUMANS is valid but the research is still not 100% viable about the amount of benefit for humans. The studies are all over the place. But you know what, horses are not humans.
Basically, I love my horses but not to the tune of that kind of money! It does irritate me that Smartpak has such great ideas about how the rest of us should spend all of our excess money![/QUOTE]
Basicly the new science (or call it a fad if you like) is that corn oil is loaded with bad stuff, and the flax seed and fish oil have the good stuff. I don’t feed horses oil. BUT I do feed my family flax seed meal, and I do not use corn oil. So I guess I’ve already drank the cool aide! lol. I don’t feed my dog something I wouldn’t eat, so why would I feed my horse something I don’t eat?
So I agree with the pitch the corn oil folks, though I do admit that I dont’ have hard facts at my fingertips to back up my opinion. And it’s late, I’m tired so I won’t go doing the research again tonite.
To the OP I LOVED your story. And yes, it’s impossible to post any thing on COTH without someone giving you totally unsolicited advice.
CA- At $70 per gallon flax seed oil is way out of my price range too, even just for 3 horses. My local feed man said he could get me “unprocessed” soy oil in 5 gal. jugs for $29. He said lots of the TB race horse people use this stuff. When I asked him what “unprocessed” was, he said it was not for human consumption and didn’t have any additives or preservatives.
I bought Great Value corn oil for about $10 a gallon with tax included. That is what I have been adding at the rate of one 8 ounce cup a day- four oz each feeding. Wal-Mart has canola oil, too- in gallon jugs.
A friend told me there is another aisle in Wal-Mart where you can find 5 gallon jugs of vegetable oil - it is the place where they have bulk size spices, and cans of food, etc. for preparing food in bulk like at camps or schools. She could not remember the price though.
Did talk to my vet and she said adding some beet pulp would be a good idea, she just didn’t think about that when she was trying to help me figure out what to feed.
I think just having her own stall to eat in, and not having to “fight” to get her share from a common trough is doing Dixie a world of good. At the camp, they had these long feed bunkers or troughs, and they would just walk along and pour out the feed from a sack into these. The horses then just jostled eachother trying to get as much feed as they could.
It reminded more of the way we used to feed cows. Each of my horses is fed in its own bucket within its own stall or paddock. This way they each get all of the food they are supposed to get, and none get shorted because of a bully or bossy horse.
I have been keeping Dixie up in the run-in shed in the day trying to keep the sun from bleaching her out any more than she already has been. I let her out at night.
She has a series of irregular white spots or patches of hair along one side. I asked James about these because somewhere I read that registered black Percherons were not supposed to have white on their bodies. He said she didn’t have those marks when he knew her, and he suspected that she was injured by ill-fitting harness or equipment at some time in her life.
I had no idea that so much white hair would grow in on an injury. Lou Lou has a small bald spot on her nose where a noseband on a halter or bridle must have rubbed her raw at one time- the skin is perfectly bald, but it is black.
Barney has a faint ring of white hair around his right eye and a big patch of white hair and skin between his rear legs just behind his sheath-- but he is a “grade” Percheron.
I have seen white hairs that have grown in on black walking horses’ pasterns if they were sored. The trainers would buy human hair dye and use it to try to cover up the white hairs.
James said there was some kind of temporary spray dye I could use to cover these spots, and the reddish ends of her tail and mane. He said I could also use it to cover up the freeze brand on her thigh, too.
Have your heard of such stuff-- and if so where would I get it?
I have been looking at photos of all the fancy stuff for draft horses in the online catalogs. There are surely many more ways to “dress them up” with all kinds of bows and “flowers” and things that are not used on riding horses. Just the different kinds or styles of harness can be daunting.
It is like having a huge four-legged doll, in a way.
[QUOTE=fivehorses;5030284]
http://blog.smartpakequine.com/2010/01/the-truth-about-feeding-horses-corn-oil/
good information about the differences between corn oil and other oils. Just because something works, don’t change it mentality would have kept us in the dark ages.
As time goes on, research done, we are learning more about best practices.
Many of smartpaks articles are promoting their supps, but there are many that just provide information that is useful.
MSP, not sure what you are implying with your post, but sounds kind of nasty.
I like the story, and have 8 horses of my own that I rescued(from New Holland(4) and the others from other feedlot situations, so I think I have a few stories of my own I could share, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating someone’s else’s story.[/QUOTE]
The auctions here are small potatoes when compared with New Holland, from what I’ve read on the internet. Also, very few drafts end up in auctions here because there are just not that many drafts around. Had she gone to auction, Dixie would really have been a “duck out of water.” None of the dealers would have bid on her because the market down here is mainly for QHs and gaited breeds. She would probably have been bought by a “meat man.”
I’m glad you where able to save some of the horses that ended up at New Holland. You certainly made a difference for those horses.
I love to read stories about horses peole have saved from bad situations- it helps restore my faith in humanity. I wish more and more people would take a look at salvaging an older horse or two.
I believe there are lots of good horses that could be given a new lease on life and returned to health and soundness without “breaking the bank”-- if only people would give them second look.
I’m glad you liked my story- I wish I could have gotten a picture of Dixie when she lowered her head and rubbed her forehead against James’ chest while he scratched her poll. It spoke volumes about the bond that some horses form with some people.
Cielo Azure, believe me, I have 10 horses, so understand the importance of being cost conscious. I mean everything I buy is 10x what most people spend, for you 12x.
It was not the article I wanted, but addressed the issue of corn oil and why it is not good compared to others. Sure, they push the fish and flax oils, but if you look at the chart, you can see how much less omega 6 there is in canola and veg and soy oils.
So, don’t buy fish or flax, but if you have a choice at the market of corn vs canola…better to go with corn.
That was the point of linking that, not looking for a comeback on smartpak’s marketing!
For what it is worth, I buy omega horseshine, and love it. I feed a handful a day, and for the cost, it lasts me a month+ for 10 horses @38 a bag. I do not feed oil anymore, but if I did, I would feed canola based on the research being done on inflamation and omega.
You can get the big containers of oil at Sams. I dont recall prices off hand, but they are plastic jugs in boxes there. What i dont like about them is that the cap is really big and you cant find a pump that will screw into it, so it can be a pain to pour. I ended up getting a big 10g cooler (for drinks with the spout) and i store my oil in that, then i can just use the spout to pour it out. Makes things cleaner!
That Kokasoya (sp?) is supposed to be good too, it’s liquid and i think its mostly soy oil. I know someone that fed that to a skin and bones old horse and that sucker shined up and bulked up in a few months. Blew me away. But he also had free choice hay all day that he didnt have to fight for. She didnt give any grain, just beat pulp 3 times a day with the kokasoya. She was in TX and couldnt find it locally though back then, she picked it up in bulk when visiting family in Missouri. So you may not be able to find that local.
Yes, white marks down the body can be injuries from tack or human abuse. I had a pretty bay that was beat bad, he had marks all over him. 
We used this stuff for shows:
http://www.sstack.com/coat-enhancers/shapley-touch-up-spray/
Completely off subject
Five horses, I actually do agree with you -I will buy soy or canola because I can. but in the big picture of horse health, I think it is pretty far down on the list of priorities.
Even with extensive studies in humans, the benefits of omega 3s are modest relatively speaking to other lifestyle changes. Furthermore, the studies that show big differences in life spans of people who use omega 3 oils are biased due to their genetic make-up (genetically homogeneous groups of people in Iceland have huge amounts of fish oil in their diet and have long life spans). One’s genes have been shown to be the biggest factor in longevity. Yet, this study is the one most touted as being why omega 3s and fish oil are so important to hearth health.
Other studies, such as those done on the Seventh Day Adventist in this country, who also have extraordinary long life spans, and have low cardio events show different results. The Seventh Day Adventists are vegetarians and do not have lots of Omega 3 in their diet. So, there are plenty of studies out there that do not support the notion of omega 3s being important in the way it is fadishly being touted right now by every health food store in the country.
From what I have read, calorie restricted diets are probably the most important steps to living a long life, other than one’s genes. Not such a fun lifestyle… Other methods touted to increase longevity, such as drinking buckets of red wine seem a lot more fun than dieting - that is for sure!
I actually don’t feed straight oil these days. It attracts too many flies, as it sticks to the wood in the manger. But I use it to supplement my broodmares and my stallion and hard to keep older horses. I use TC senior feed, which has a soybean oil fat source at 10% of the product (5 pounds = 8 oz of oil). B.T.W., most concentrated feeds, including Purina feeds (senior, sweet, pellets, etc) do not list where their fat source comes from. It can be anything from liquified animal fat to corn oil to fish meal (think mercury) to who knows what! One reason I don’t like some of the Purina foods is that they they smell nasty to me. It is not a strong odor, just…off.
I feed my horses Remission, it has a balance of Omegas as well as metabolic minerals. It is super cost efficient and I swear by it. The oil for the old timer is not for the omega content.
Fivehorses, I will send you a PM in response to your snark remark. I don’t believe in airing someones dirty laundry in public. I think the OP knows exactly what I am talking about.
OT- Coat enhancer link thanks
[QUOTE=butlerfamilyzoo;5030917]
We used this stuff for shows:
http://www.sstack.com/coat-enhancers/shapley-touch-up-spray/[/QUOTE]
Butlerfamilyzoo- Thanks for the link. I saved it to favorites so I can find it when I need to order some of this stuff- wow- it comes in lots of different colors.
OT- Purina Feed smell
[QUOTE=Cielo Azure;5030919]
One reason I don’t like some of the Purina foods is that they they smell nasty to me. It is not a strong odor, just…off.[/QUOTE]
Gee, I thought maybe I was the only one who noticed this- this slightly “off” smell - Some of the pelleted Purina smells nasty to me, too. I feed a locally milled feed. It always has such a nice fresh smell. Milled weekly in rather small batches to my friend’s specs with input by LSU equine nutritionists in its formulation.
NO animal fat products, and it comes in 10, 12 and 14% formulations. The Ultra is very finely milled, and very easy for older horses to digest. It mixes in really well with the beet pulp and makes it hard for the horse to leave the beet pulp while picking out the Ultra.
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