About this Blog

Meet my very 1st horse, Lazarus.
I couldn't wait for Santa anymore or ask one more time for a pony for my bday (after age 30 it got embarrassing). I took matters in my own hands and I finally decided to pick a pony that needed a new home. Laz found me as I contemplated with this idea. He was sweet yet very sassy, fresh off the track, Thoroughbred (OTTB).
Join us for our re-training, rehabbing from laminitis and testing all parts of mixed up horsemanship and partnership, and luck...

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lifestyle and Nutrition; changes and updates

It's been officially just over one month since our move to our new barn.
I am so relived that Lazarus has adjusted so well.
In fact, I would say this move has really benefited his overall health and prompted me to make some changes to his overall diet.

Lifestyle changes:
Laz is out 24/7 on acres of pasture
Moving, grazing all  helps with his body, ulcer prevention, overall happier horse and helps with his healing.
I am so thankful there has been no negative changes in his feet due to ingesting grass
The limited softer terrain doesn't produce a rock hard hoof but hopefully as he heals we can do more road rides to harden them up slowly.
One thing at a time...
He's moving more. 
He is always somewhere different when I pull up which is a good sign.
 He has 3 huge stalls that are open for him to go into.
Today he was relaxing in one by choice (drinking, and sometimes seeks relief from bugs or sun)

His feeding regime as of late;
24/7 grass pasture
Hay 2-3x a day

Feed; 
1.  Triple Crown Low Starch-2 cups twice a day 
(low amount I know, I may bump it back up but I'm not a huge believer in BIG amounts of feed)
So..I supplement that with a balance of minerals/vitamins by using  
and called CA Trace to confirm this was OK to mix with my small dose of feed)
2.  California Trace -1 oz twice a day (recommended amount for 1000 + lb horse)
3.  Flax; ground Omega Fields Horseshine 1/4 cup twice a day (min serving recommended)


Then, I recently started his Beet Pulp mash
I tend to do this Fall-Winter-early Spring I stop
When I want some extra food for him, and WATER in him
With weather changes; this makes me feel good to make for him.
He LOVES it.

Recipe:
2 scoops of shredding Beet Pulp (less than 10% molasses)
1 handful (about 5 cubes) of Timothy/Alfalfa cubes
1 cup of feed (T/C)
1/2 bucket of water to soak
Add one chopped apple and/or carrot (usually carrot)
1-2 tablespoon of salt (or 1 oz)
Any of his Homeopathic medicines (Arnica, etc that I may want to add at the time)
He gets this 4 times a week approximately
Come Frost, I may add in Uckele's Liquid E to this mash.
The grass provides so much Vit E that I may want to supplement when it's all gone.

It's been so great comparing notes with some of YOU readers, to see what works for you, what you use for your horses and why. It's so helpful to talk things out with others.
One thing I've learned-many 'feed' stores act knowledgeable about products they DON'T carry and why you should buy what they DO carry.  
Do your own homework...a lot of advice you get is garbage.
I was incorrectly advised to NOT use California Trace because California (they are located in Northern) has too low Selenium. However, in doing my research, the Selenium is the exact same amount/level I was giving in another product (Uckele's) and in fact Northern California has LOW selenium like us in Michigan.
Again, do your homework and call the distributors/carriers/manufacturers for more detail and cross reference with it people that you trust (vets, trimmers, friends)

"mmmNONMSSlllurp"
 
Sleepy eyes like mash
Terrible table manners
Now, Laz has been on CA trace for about 2-1/2 weeks and his T/C and Flax combo/pasture/hay for a month.
Major SHINE is happening for him.
His fur literally feels like mink



 This is an unbrushed boy -UNBRUSHED and he's that shiny?!
This is new for us...love love love it.
He's been getting this metallic gleam in  his coat that I've never seen before on him.
Ever.
 I just see a difference...and feel a difference
He looks healthier
So I wanted to write it all down and compare to see what other changes may come
I luv this picture of him...
 Mega movement for this boy in his new home
Below is are a couple of great links for diet suggestions by Dr. Kellon and The Horse and by MSU

The Horse | Understanding Feeds for the Busy Owner

http://www.myhorseuniversity.com/

...and on a side note; I hugged my boy today. 
I hugged him so hard for Gogo and Andrea.
Everyday is a victory that we have our horses.

13 comments:

  1. LOL the bad table manners photo is my favorite. My horse Hampton does the SAME thing. He ends up wearing his lunch most of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love hearing about what you feed! Sounds like a good diet :) I feed EquiLux Wellness which is also a low-starch feed that I really like + a mineral supplement. I think I'm probably going to add beet pulp for miss skinny-butt this winter as I've heard so much good stuff about it. Laz is lookin' good!

    ReplyDelete
  3. He looks *beautiful*!! The picture of good health and happiness.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So shiny!! I am glad that he is adjusting well to his new home!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love that Laz is out 24/7 with the option of going inside. That is really so good for him. It definitely encourages movement. He seems unbelievably happy in your photos!

    I feed my boys very little grain. Foggy still gets his beet pulp, but good quality hay, water, grass, and available salt block seem to do the trick perfectly. Shiny coats and happy boys!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very, very cool! He is looking great!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Don't you just love that California Trace shine! The guy I board with was just commenting the other day how good my horses' coats look. It also does wonders for their feet ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, Laz looks fantastic! What a change!!

    I have a question for you (not meant in a critical way or anything like that) but why are you still feeding him feed in general? Why not just do a ration balancer like it looks like the California Trace is?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm also not a huge believer in grain and processed rations. Izzy gets about a cup of senior every day so I can put her ulcer meds on something. She also gets mare magic when it's hormone season. That is all. I used to buy her the TC senior, which was way expensive, but she'd just dump it out on the ground. Now she gets the cheap stuff and is perfectly happy.

    Love his coat--there is really nothing like lots of grass to just put a shine on a horse. Laz is looking great. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Jessica-no worries about the Question :) I feed him it b/c A. He loves it B. I want him to have something to nibble on beside an oz of his balancer and a 1/4 of flax PLUS it helps both of those said items, go in. With boarding; when the others get fed, it's only humane that he gets a few nibbles too. I think 2 cups twice a day is pretty minimal, but who knows; I may scale it back even more come Spring.

    TBA-we LOVE our beet pulp. CHEAP and Laz chows it down. At first, he turned his nose up to it a few times but then decided YUM, so give Jetta a chance if at first she says "Um no."

    @Sma-LOVE me some CA trace and I've noticed Laz isn't chewing at wood like he was...hmmmmmm

    ReplyDelete
  11. You know what we call 24-7 pasture when a horse doesn't feel great? we call it Dr. Grass and Dr. Grass is always helpful! Laz does look very minklike , doesn't he? I just want to touch his silkiness. He looks like he is doing so great. Maybe you will give him an extra hug for me and Lilly. Well, truth be told, Lilly would probably not want to hug Laz if she met him. She'd probably try to kick him. Because she is always kicking and squealing at new friends. But you know, I wouldn't. I'd kiss him.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ah ok, I was just wondering. I agree that it's mean not to give them something at meal times when everyone else is getting food, I just was surprised when you said you might be increasing the amount.

    I'm fully in the camp that horses don't realize how much feed is in their bucket as long as something comes out of the magical scoop. =-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I LOVE what flax does for their coats. :) He looks fantastic.

    ReplyDelete