We always continue with the ration balancer- in our instance, Gro 'n Win,as a dressing on the pellets and add from SmartPak the Tri Amino at $12.99 per month. We also toss in a scoop of Ultimate Finish 100% fat at each feeding essentially to keep coats glossy.
[QUOTE=RiverOaksFarm;6690562]
So far, knock on wood, I haven’t had any horse/foal refuse to eat the gelcaps… 
-Gigha[/QUOTE]
Cool. She DOES like food, and is pretty piggy. Maybe I’ll invest in a small bottle at the grocery store and test the theory out first…
Sooo, I go rummaging around in my cupboard, and what do I find? A unopened bottle of Vitamin E tablets–from Puritan’s Pride no less! Of course they expired in '08. :lol: In any case, I can test their “palatability” the next time I see her and go ahead and order a fresh batch if she winds up liking them
I am fortunate that a local company makes a supplement called Great Kakes Blend. It is specifically made for the Great Lakes area. I give all of my horses this supplement.
So I am planning on seeing if the farm has had their pastures/ hay tested to see what I should look for as far as deficiencies for their area.
Meanwhile, has anyone used the Farnam product Grow Colt?
http://www.smartpakequine.com/grow-colt-1737p.aspx?cm_vc=Search
It seems like it has most of what a youngster should need, just wondering if anyone had any experiences with it. That is the ONLY thing my feed store had other than adult feed! I thought I might have luck finding something specific for my region…not so much.
Grow Colt is a v/m supplement that’s actually meant to be fed in addition to another ration
What is this “adult feed” you can get? Are there any other stores around that carry some of the major brands?
I’ve also had the gelcaps. No mare or foal has ever left them. No problem
I know it is just a supplement, I was just curious if anyone had used it. The feed stores in my area (within an hour drive) carry some of the Purina, Nutrena and Acco feeds…nothing to get too excited about. I was looking for a ration balancer that might be specific for my region…or any ration balancer at all, but no luck. Just the Grow Colt and colostrum mixes.
Just wanted to see if I could find anything I wouldn’t have to order online…
Purina and Nutrena both make ration balancers, not sure about the third one you mentioned.
Acco is a local feed company, I think.
It appears they don’t carry the full product lines of any of the brands.
I have my (very fancy, slight brag) 7 month old WB colt (w/ a case of physitis) on 10% protein Horseman’s edge feed. He gets bran mash 2x a week. Also have him on rejuvanaide and Platinum Performance CJ. I swear by platinum performance and hope it’ll have a positive effect on my colt since I started it so early on
Just something to think about - HE feeds are all fairly high in sugars, and it’s sugars, not protein, which are implicated in growth issues such as physitis.
BaysofourLives, be careful giving bran mashes to foals/horses. It can throw off the CA/Phos ratio. I would not think 10% ration sufficient for a growing youngster. Most foal rations are 16-18%. Who advised you on this plan? Rejuvenade should certainly help. As JB said, it is sugar not protein that is more often a factor in physitis.
I bred for a couple of years.
I remember giving my foal 1 pound of concentrate (14% protein, 14% fiber and 7% fat plus vitamins and minerals) with 100 grams of soya meal.
For a 6 months foal I was giving 6 pounds a day plus 100 grams of soya meal breaken in 2 meals with free choice hay.
I have been giving this diet until the foal reach almost 2 years old. Then I would let go the soya meal and reduce the diet at 1.5% of body weight until I began training.
I bred hanoverian cross TB, Hanoverian cross Canadian, Anglo Trakehner, so mostly sport horse and warmblood type.
Around 24 months, everyone had their Xrays for OCD and such. It came out I never had any OCD and such problems in my herd. Every offspring were healthy, happy and so easy to train.
Also everyone had good hooves quality, never been sick which was good to remain vet bills on the low range.
[QUOTE=Sunnydays;6697290]
BaysofourLives, be careful giving bran mashes to foals/horses. It can throw off the CA/Phos ratio. I would not think 10% ration sufficient for a growing youngster. Most foal rations are 16-18%. Who advised you on this plan? Rejuvenade should certainly help. As JB said, it is sugar not protein that is more often a factor in physitis.[/QUOTE]
I was advised by my vet, although I really value real world opinions so I will look into the sugar issue asap. I ‘believe’ the reason behind the HE was to slow his growing a bit since he was shooting up like crazy. I just discovered feedxl as well, so looks like there will be a bit of changes in his future. What feed (preferably purina since it’s the most easily acceptable) would you recommend to help fight physitis? Was debating switching him to well solve (ration balancer).
Made a mistake, he WAS on bran 2x a week before I started him on the rejuvenaide, which yes has made a HUGE difference. I’m a believer
We feed a growth feed and supplement with good quality Timothy in winter. Other than that, we make sure we do soil tests on the fields annually as they grass graze through the spring and summer months. If we feel something is missing in the soil that they are not getting enough of, we will consider a supplement. Generally we don’t supplement weanlings.
Cheers
So it is the hay that determines whether a foal should be supplemented ?
We have an weanling orphaned at two months–now 7 months old- that we have had on TC growth (per vet recommnedation)–she is not a great hay eater (so-so grass hay as another horse gets bumps from timothy-and so so pasture) So far she has had no lumpy joints (my first concern)-- and good weight- but she is small-would she do better with a supplement added? (I figured her genes and circumstances have slowed her growth so have tried to not focus on her size.)
TIA
[QUOTE=omare;6706695]
So it is the hay that determines whether a foal should be supplemented ?
We have an weanling orphaned at two months–now 7 months old- that we have had on TC growth (per vet recommnedation)–she is not a great hay eater (so-so grass hay as another horse gets bumps from timothy-and so so pasture) So far she has had no lumpy joints (my first concern)-- and good weight- but she is small-would she do better with a supplement added? (I figured her genes and circumstances have slowed her growth so have tried to not focus on her size.)
TIA[/QUOTE]
Have you tried supplementing with dengi?
I have sent one or two of you a PM, so pardon me if this post is redundant (though it’s way less detailed than the PM’s)…there is so much hit and miss about this thread and what is being fed that I decided to just go ahead and put this out here…
Some here have mentioned KER–Kentucky Equine Research (whose studies the are among those used to design those labeling requirements, BTW)–
I am among those gathering detailed data that will be sent to KER to use for a general study on the present state of sport-horse nutrition…the data we collect, while obviously important to KER can also be used to produce individual reports for each horse that will be much more accurate than is possible via KER’s free web-based nutritional consultation. i.e. With these reports (also free) you will know whether your present feeding program is sufficient, optimal, or deficient, and in what ways.
PM me if you would like to participate–if you are in my area (I have a pretty big range, commuting between Southampton and Middlburg), I’ll be the one stopping in at your farms (doesn’t matter if you have one horse or 30+), otherwise I can pass your contact info to KER and hopefully you can be matched up with someone else.
