Allergy results back, if horses eat it, mine is allergic. Strongest response to corn, then soy, then oats and to a lesser extent alfalfa and timothy. IS there such a thing as commercial corn-free, soy-free, oat-free grain?
Reading your subject line, I was going to make the smart ass comment that what you’re looking for is called “hay.” But it appears your horse is allergic to that, too.
What a crappy situation to be in. 
And I can’t help but wonder what in our environment is causing animals (humans included) to develop an increased number of allergic responses to so many commonplace items.
The good news with the hay is that steaming will help and so will allergy shots. And there’s the option of grass hay, which is on the “fine, no reaction” list.
But I’m at a loss on the grain. The vet thinks that even cutting corn and soy would probably be enough as those were the two leading allergen-- but every corn-free feed I find touting that attribute-- is replacing the corn with soy
[QUOTE=Texarkana;8440800]
Reading your subject line, I was going to make the smart ass comment that what you’re looking for is called “hay.” But it appears your horse is allergic to that, too.
What a crappy situation to be in. And I can’t help but wonder what in our environment is causing animals (humans included) to develop an increased number of allergic responses so many commonplace items.[/QUOTE]
I also wonder if he would show such allergies in Europe, where things are non-GMO, and poison is used very little? Where most farming is “organic”? Getting more and more discouraged because it isn’t JUST our horses - it is also OUR food…
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Even just corn-free, soy-free would probably be ok. Those were the 2 strongest allergies.
Poor horse (and poor you!). I had recently gotten a flyer for a new feed from Triple Crown called Naturals that I thought was corn & soy free. I just looked it up and it is corn and soybean free, but has oats & alfalfa. Sorry!
Not that I know of. Make your own with orchard grass pellets and/or beet pulp plus a v/m supp, Tri Amino, and fat?
Triple Crown Naturals claims to be soy and corn free, but it’s got a not insignificant amount of oats and alfalfa.
I suppose you could feed a vit/min supplement in beet pulp with oil or rice bran for extra calories…
[QUOTE=Kodidog763;8440830]
Poor horse (and poor you!). I had recently gotten a flyer for a new feed from Triple Crown called Naturals that I thought was corn & soy free. I just looked it up and it is corn and soybean free, but has oats & alfalfa. Sorry![/QUOTE]
No, that’s ok. Vet said try to get the 2 big triggers (corn and soy) out first, worry less about coats and alfalfa. So this is a low possibility.
It’s so low fat I would have to add something for fat, for sure.
I do not envy your position. Nearly every grain has soybean and corn, as they are the most readily available source of protein and energy. Most pellets have alfalfa in them if for nothing else than a binding agent. Rolled barley might be a very good option if you can get it. Barley is about 13% protein and fed to horses in many places like oats are in the US. Beet pulp would also be an option, although that has low protein content and supplementing protein would be difficult. Maybe a combo of beet pulp and rice bran pellets if you wanted to steer away from grains altogether?
Can they do allergy shots now for food related allergies? When my pony went through the allergy shots a few years ago they could only do mold and pollen and dust mites and such. He was positive for oats, most grains, and most grasses. Through trial and error I found that even though he was “positive” for some things, he could still have it.
I could not find anything soy free around here, if I remember correctly. Everything seemed to have “something” in it he could not have, so we just went to very good quality hay.
I think there is a grain that is oat based with peas in it, and no corn or soy, but I see your horse is
also allergic to oats, so I guess that would not work.
Can he have beet pulp?
Wish I could be of more help, I know how frustrating it can be.
I remember this thread on cryptoaero horse feed: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?440099-Crypto-Aero-Horse-Feed&highlight=cryptoaero
I’m not all that familiar with the feed but IIRC it is “free” of a lot of the common ingredients. The thread got pretty heated and very interesting. Nevermind, looks like it has oats in it.
They can’t do injections for the corn/soy/oats. They can for the alfalfa/timothy.
Maybe a diet based on hay pellets for the “grain” with appropriate supplementation for vit/min would work? I’ve done this with a few really sensitive types and it has worked well.
Can you put him on just grass hay for a few months to let his system even everything out? Then start introducing one item at a time, and carefully watching for a reaction.
[QUOTE=vxf111;8440906]
They can’t do injections for the corn/soy/oats. They can for the alfalfa/timothy.[/QUOTE
That is good to know, I was hoping things had changed and they could do more.
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Timothy=grass,unless you mean Bermuda? Orchard could be fescue,Timothy,who knows what?,depends on the state.
my horse has issues with soy, Ive switched to Nutrena Pro Force Fiber b/c its a low startch beet pulp based feed, and its working well. No soy. I dont remember seeing corn bc I do try to stay away from it so I look but it may have gotten past me.
Just throwing it out there since its the lesser of the evils…good luck in your search!
Can I just say how infuriating it is that so many feed companies don’t post the ingredients online?
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in ye olde days, many of us fed rolled barley. Hell, I even fed it a few years ago when I was trying to lower the overall percentage of beet pulp in one horse’s meal (without having to switch him off the grain that was otherwise quite suitable).
