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Post by bigears on Feb 14, 2013 20:54:32 GMT
Wonder if anyone can help i have a 15.1 mare in work worked every day for min 40min. She is on calm and condition and chop but she has gone a bit barmey just spooky and speeding everywere am convinced its the feed back teeth saddle done its just not like her. So does anyone recomend a good feed she now has pleanty of condition on her but she does have sensitive itchy skin.
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Post by GinaGeo on Feb 14, 2013 21:15:11 GMT
Calm and Condtition sent one of mine silly. It does contain 13% Starch I believe which'll most likely be the cause.
Allen&Page's Fast Fibre is a step down from the C&C so might be an option and is also alfalfa, barley, grain free so if the C&C hasn't affected her skin the FF shouldn't. Or you could just use a balancer and the chaff.
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Post by bigears on Feb 14, 2013 21:17:31 GMT
Thankyou will look at ff
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Post by bigears on Feb 17, 2013 22:38:07 GMT
Was looking at fiber beet does anyone think this would suit??
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Post by GinaGeo on Feb 17, 2013 22:43:06 GMT
The fibre-beet isn't a complete feed whereas Fast Fibre is and will therefore need to be fed alongside a vit/min supplement - it's also more conditioning. It's a good fibre based feed, but it does contains alfalfa which *may* be a cause of her itching. It seems to be a relatively common foodstuff for horse's to be allergic too and I have one with such an allergy. Best of Luck with whatever you decide to go with
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josel
Junior Member
Posts: 100
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Post by josel on Feb 18, 2013 8:57:08 GMT
Did you feed her this before her behavior change? I would up her work , usually at this time of year they are all a bit fresh
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Post by bigears on Feb 18, 2013 20:15:19 GMT
She is worked every day for at least a hour and its hard scooling i do with her so cant really do much more .so ginagio what do you recomend for her??
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Post by GinaGeo on Feb 18, 2013 21:06:27 GMT
I don't know your mare Big Ears so I can't say what's best. You've said she's being spooky on the Calm and Condition which has a DE of 12.5%, this means it's high energy and high calorie. The combined starch and sugar is 18% which compared to some conditioning feeds isn't bad but I like to keep the combined Starch and Sugar in a feed below 10% - this is the thereshold for feeding laminitics and I treat all of mine as potential laminitics. You've also said she suffers from itchy skin, I'm presuming that this isn't the case when you're feeding her "Calm&Condition"? Hence my suggestion for another product in the A&P range which doesn't include mollasses, barley or alfalfa as these are common "itchy skin" culprits. Fast Fibre which I've already mentioned is a "complete" feed, it's low starch and is cereal and mollases free. It doesn't contain alfalfa. Therefore, you wouldn't need to feed it alongside anything else and it *shouldn't* contain anything that will have a heating effect on her. The DE is 8.0MG so it's a low energy feed and thus low calorie. www.animalfeedstore.com/Allen-and-Page/Fast-Fibre.aspxAnother feed from the Allen and Page range I haven't mentioned yet is "cool & collected" this falls inbetween Calm and condition and fast fibre on the energy levels and content. 9.5% DE. Combined starch and sugar of 10.7%. www.animalfeedstore.com/Allen-and-Page/Cool-and-Collected.aspxThe fibre-beet isn't a complete feed so will need to be fed with a vit&min supplement to ensure a balanced diet. It does contain alfalfa which some horses are allergic to (yours might not be). It has a higher DE of 11.0% and is therefore higher calorie and higher energy than the Fast Fibre and the cool and collected. www.britishhorsefeeds.com/company-products/fibre-beet/You could also go down the balancer route, which will supply all of the necessary vits, mins & protein she requires and then add an oil, such as Micronised Linseed if you need any extra energy and calories. The Mincronised Linseed has the added advantage of being good for skin, so might be worth you considering. All of the feed brands will produce balancers aimed at horse's in varying work loads so you could tailor her diet to her workload quite easily. I can't tell you what you should feed your mare - you know her best and only you can decide what she needs. I've fed mine Fast Fibre over Winter for the extra fibre and they're now back on a balancer, Speedi-beet and a little Micronised Linseed ready for Spring. I know that non of these have a heating effect on any of mine and nor do they effect my lad that's allergic to alfalfa. I hope that's not too confusing and is a little help?
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Post by bigears on Feb 18, 2013 21:16:01 GMT
Thankyou for all that i will look into it yes she still itches on c&c i cant seem to stop her itching thanks for advice i will look into it
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Post by GinaGeo on Feb 18, 2013 21:20:02 GMT
Might be worth talking to a vet to have some tests done to try and find out the cause of her itching then. Bless her.
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Post by bigears on Feb 18, 2013 21:29:58 GMT
They have done some tests but cant find what it is its only her mane and face but she does it all year round
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Post by GinaGeo on Feb 18, 2013 21:42:04 GMT
The not knowing's the worst. Best of luck finding something to help
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Feb 18, 2013 22:16:07 GMT
I've had allergy tests done on two of mine - the skin tests - and they were very comprehensive indeed and gave definite positives, minor reactions and very slight reactions, so I'm surprised they couldn't come up with any allergens for yours. One was allergic to grain dust and mites, and like yours itched mane and tail but through the winter, and as a weaned foal too, an unusually early start. Before she was tested the vet (posh medical specialist) suggested trying linseed oil for her as the balance of omega oils in it has an anti-inflammatory effect. The other itched all over to the extent that is was pitiable to see, including itching her legs raw when fully covered with anti-midge rugs. I've never seen one like it, and she turned out to be allergic to a wide range of things including grass and hawthorn pollen as well as flies but not including midge bites.
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Post by bigears on Feb 18, 2013 22:26:24 GMT
They said nothing showed up no reactions at all i dont know what it is have tried everything you can buy and had herbs made up for her but no luck .
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Post by nici on Feb 21, 2013 19:57:24 GMT
The other thing to consider with a barmey spooky horse is turnout - how much is your mare getting? I have a friend with a little section A that her daughter rides, who had turned very spooky and naughty through the winter, to the point where he was scaring her daughter and she was considering selling him. At the time wasn't getting any turnout, but was being worked every day. Now he goes out for a few hours every other day, and he's much calmer and less spooky than he was - even a little bit of turnout has made a big difference.
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Post by gtr121 on Feb 21, 2013 22:11:53 GMT
I would have thought a horse doing only an hours work a day would survive off good quality hay alone. Mine do.
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Post by bigears on Feb 21, 2013 23:50:20 GMT
She gets turn out every day. If shes just on hay its not quite enough for her and she drops weighr i am going to try her on fiber beet
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Post by sweetpea on Mar 16, 2013 14:27:13 GMT
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Post by rubydoo on Mar 16, 2013 16:17:30 GMT
i used to really like calm and condition but it sent one of my d's nuts so i havent used it since . i like to feed a high fibre diet , ad lib haylage. happy hoof ,speedy beet and baileys no 4 for the ones that need a bit of topline .
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