I have to use supplements... I would rather never use them but One horse does not survive without them.
Oil in a diet does SEVERAL things...
2. Creates Heat... Corn more than Rice... but I use both... Rice in morning and Corn at night but only in the winter... Otherwise all rice... again ... MORE in the WINTER and barely enough for PPSM for Navarre in the summer.
3. in the intestines it helps to protect their delicate lining.
4. it assist me in making sure my supplements stick to their feed.
Supplements... Once again I HATE supplements... I wish I could feed them ONE thing, grass and water. Life would be so much easier, and in the long run better for my horses if they didn't need them.
Once a month no matter where I live, travel or exercise plan... I do a sand colic treatment. Clay soil will cause sand colic so I use this once a month for prevention. I do it first day on each month for seven days. 30 dollars a month compared to 10 or more thousand dollars for surgery due to colic; I'll do the preventative any day.
I use an apple flavored electrolyte. KER orange is my favorite but it gets harder and harder to order.
Selenium ... Like I said earlier in my hay! My area has none left in the soil... 99% of the US does so you only have to test for it once... Most areas are a LITTLE depleted but it is added in most all feeds see your label! I add it with Vitamin E for both horses... it is the cheapest form!
Navarre has MAJOR medical issues so he gets Vitamin E with and again without selenium. He gets muscle herbs because his PPSM makes his body EATS HIS MUSCLE TISSUES!!!!! to put it mildly. He gets a 1/2 cup oil morning and night for PPSM as well....
Sweet Pea is such a hard keeper I give her bacteria for her gut (HARD KEEPER) brand name from Tractor Supply!!! easy to get!
They each get oil and SUPPLEMENTS above only once a day. Sweet Pea only needs oil if we are trying to gain weight or it is going to be cold.
I purchase all my supplements in bulk.... BUT I did go to SMART PAK and order 30 days of all the supplements custom for Navarre so when I am gone on emergencies I have no worries.
All of this is a lot to take in... but ... it has taken 7 years to have to work up to where I am and I desperately cut EVERYTHING back as much as I can keeping a daily, weekly, monthly evaluation on my horses....
I can only hope you are a lucky one, that merely gets a horse you can feed one thing and never have a problem in the world with what you are doing! I wasn't that lucky... but these horses are mine and they are the reason I work as much as I do as often as I do.
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