How much does he weigh? 3lb of the BB would be the bare minimum for a 1000lb horse in light/maintenance work, so even with the Cu/Zn, may easily still not be enough. What color is he? The darker his coat, the more he needs.
People dying their horses coats just blew my mindā¦
:lol:.
I second JB, copper/zinc amount and balance are usually the culprits.
1 Like
Heās a big boy. I havenāt taped him, but Iād ballpark him at 1250 or 1300. Heās a dark bay, almost black. Or supposed to be, anyway. Looks awfully mousy right now. You think itās okay to double dose him on the uckele?
Instead of that, Iād switch to 1.5-2lb of a ration balancer, or add 1lb of a balancer to what heās eating now. Heās a bigger horse and needs more nutrition in general, not just cu and zn.
Will do. Thanks!
1 Like
Well, Iāll add that Iām in NC also and my horse is out pretty much all of the time (although he really digs his favorite tree and shelter with a fan - heās such a climate wimp, if it even sprinkles heās in his shelter). Heās black in the winter, but not a true black, thereās a red tint if you look for it. His forelock ends look like a brunette girl who uses āSun-inā - orange. In the summer, he bleaches terribly and becomes buckskin/grulla. Also, he bleaches more than any other horse and I think it has to do with his particular coat (my former horse was also a "dark brown/bay but never bleached even though she lived at a much higher elevation and had day turnout). He has an excellent feed program. He bleached much less when he was stabled during the day and turned out at night.
Since last fall, heās been on a balancer plus some of his normal grain - recommended by my vet. Recommended by three vets because all the horses on the farm gotā¦chunky for several reasons. Anyway, I think his mineral intake is OK because of his intake. Iām happy to chime in if he bleaches so much this summer even though he has been on a balancer plus his fortified feed.
JB, do you know how much of Cu/Zn a horse might need to not bleach as badly? I weigh my feed, so I can probably make a ballpark estimation if Iām feeding enough. Thanks!
A 1/2 scoop each of polysaccharide copper and zinc does the trick for most horses, especially if they are getting a somewhat decent amount from a minimal serving of a fortified feed (so in your case, the RB). I mix the 2 in a 1:1 ratio by volume, and give a full scoop daily.
There isnāt a definitive amount, because itās going to depend on how high the iron is in the forage. The higher it is, the more cu/zn you need to balance the ratio. But the above serving, plus whatās in a v/m or ration balancer or 4-5lb of a regular feed seems to work at least well enough for most horses.
@tinah, are you positive this horse is not a smoky black? They can be difficult to discern from dark bay (or sometimes liver chestnut). If his new coat is coming in already ābleachedā looking - and the nutritional aspects have been addressed, as it sounds they have - then that probably IS his natural color.
Just a thoughtā¦
I donāt know how to tell the difference. When I went and looked at him he was really, really dark. The only reason he looked dark bay instead of black was some brown shading just above the nostril.
