Sentinel LS versus Sentinel SR or Active Senior (spookiness with LS increased)

[ParadoxFarm]

Okay, so I switched my five horses from TC Senior Gold to Sentinel LS. I had one horse who had a very bad choke episode while on the TC, so that is the reason I decided to switch. Also, I was sick of the bricking in the TC feed. (I know ProElite has comparable feed, and I’ve used that before, but lately $$$) They’ve been on it for maybe two months. I have read about some horses reacting badly to the LS. Well, this may not be at all related, but this week I rode one of my horses three days in a row. Monday, he was spooky at one end of the arena every time we went over there. This is NOT a spooky horse. Then when my DH was sitting at the edge of the arena with the dogs, and the dogs ran across the crunchy leaves, he spooked. The dogs always run around and it’s never been a problem. I thought, well, he’s had a light winter of work, so maybe that’s contributing. The next two days, he was similarly distracted and hyper alert. Now, I’m not saying “he went crazy” like I’ve heard others say, but this is not him. Then yesterday I rode my 25-year old been-there-done-that horse, and he spooked on me. This horse has only spooked with me once in the time I’ve had him, and that was when a couple of deer jumped near the arena. Then when I got off last night and walked him around, the dogs, again, crunched on the leaves and he spooked again. This is not normal.

So, my question is, I guess, has anyone who had a horse not do well on the LS switch to one of the Sentinel senior extruded formulas and did it make any difference? The other three horses, I don’t think are having an issue with the feed. One is retired, so I wouldn’t know for sure, but the other two seem okay. I’m wondering if I should keep riding on this to see if it’s just a quirky week or what. But two of my super chill horses are no longer super chill, so I don’t like that. Again, they are not hard to handle, they are not idiots, but they are spooking when they normally do not.

[ladipus]

Is this a new feed he started getting ? If not I would consider testing him for Lyme -that usually is always where I look first whenever there is a sudden change in behavior/temperament …I will say we’ve had some extreme cold snaps and ice so ours were kept inside for a week straight …,my normally kicking quiet Friesian was bucking and way more keen than usual. Maybe consider TC Senior Gold -it doesn’t brick and has added stomach support & electrolytes…or Tribute Seniority Low NSC …I also really like Hygain Zero -it’s soy, corn, wheat , alfalfa ,molasses and grain free …super low sugar & starch but high fiber …pricey but you can feed as little as 3.5-4lbs/ day

[Simkie]

I have no feedback on switching to another Sentinel feed, but I also had horses go pretty bonkers on the LS. It was QUITE the surprise because they were not horses that were typically sensitive to feed in that manner.

They immediately improved coming off of it. Crazy stuff. I wasn’t real fond of how voluminous the Sentinel was, so really didn’t consider trying another when the LS made them wild.

[ParadoxFarm]

Unfortunately, the TC Senior Gold is what my older gelding choked on badly. So we switched from that to the Sentinel. And it was very odd for 2 of my 5 to start acting squirrely. I am also surprised you mentioned bricking because I had to have a hammer in my feed bin to break up the TC Senior Gold. I’ve always hated that. I wonder why mine was bricking and yours was not. Weather? Anyway, after some research and guess work I decided to try the Tribute Kalm 'N EZ. I couldn’t find anything that checked every box on my long list that wasn’t extremely expensive, so I will see how this goes. I have one hard keeper, but the other four are not. I will supplement the hard keeper maybe with more alfalfa. One negative of the Tribute is that the pellets do not break down as easy as the Sentinel. So I will have to let the one (choke) horse’s feed sit longer I guess. Or fix his feed in the house a little earlier.

[ParadoxFarm]

@Simkie

It was QUITE the surprise because they were not horses that were typically sensitive to feed in that manner.

Yes, same here! Of my herd, these two are the quietest normally. And my high strung TB? He was fine. So odd.

[Simkie]

@ParadoxFarm

Yes, same here! Of my herd, these two are the quietest normally. And my high strung TB? He was fine. So odd.

Totally the same. The horses that went nutty were definitely not the ones I would pick for that sort of thing.

I’m really not sure wtf the deal was. It’s not NSC!

I hope you’re able to find something that checks all your boxes (and that the horses will eat!) It is pretty crazy how costly feed had gotten.

[ladipus]

Mine is in a heated feed room so maybe that could be why ?? And the choke is surprising to hear …do you soak it ? Anyhow what is the NSC on the Sentinel feed ? And the ingredients?

[ParadoxFarm]

Maybe so with the heated tack room. Makes sense. With the feed, I do normally soak it, but for about two weeks I had stopped because a lot of people said they didn’t soak the TC Senior Gold. I’m kicking myself, trust me. He’s back to soup!

Sentinel LS:

I’m wondering if it was the Corn Distillers Dried Grains that may have been the culprit? Who knows. That is known for having an issue with myotoxins, but I’ll never know.

I did make the switch (well, still switching slowly) to the Tribute Kalm 'N EZ. At first I wasn’t happy because it wasn’t breaking down like the Sentinel. However, I played around with it, and if it make sure the Kalm 'N EZ is at the bottom (still mixing the two) and I use a LOT of warm water, and wait at LEAST a full five minutes, it is breaking down. So I’m going to stick with this for a while and see how they do. Fingers crossed.

[ParadoxFarm]

P.S. I am now also feeding the choke horse on the ground in a very large flattish pan so the feed can spread out and he’s not eating from an elevated bucket.