I did the same thing! 3 yrs ago I started a healthy gut journey and it’s paid off! I’m so happy to hear your progress❤ Love that you are revamping Z’s gut. He will be so happy bc he’ll feel so much better.🔥🙏💓😍
I agree! My TB specifically is picky with alfalfa unfortunately - he has free choice alfalfa options (I have used fresh, cubes and pellets) but I am trying to supply beet pulp as well!
We have several horses on Equisure from Kentucky Equine Research at the barn i work at. They had more hindgut issues going on but the one is basically completely forage Based with a ration balancer Alfafa Timothy Pellet blend four times a day and hay
Thanks for the feedback! I did hear Timothy mix is a good idea in our region. I love KER products! I’ll definitely look into if it’s good for ulcers as well
Good on you! I know you’re probably getting a ton of recommendations but check out Madbarns probiotic. It’s a tiny scoop but has the most IUs compared to most other brands. Most brands only offer probiotics in the millions when horses really need billions. And super cheap!
My thoroughbred mare used to have really bad ulcers and would just never do good on grains. I switched her to a all forage diet and she hasn’t had ulcers since. She gets alfalfa, beet pulp, flaxseed, and Vermont blend. She has kept amazing weight all year round and has completely changed for the better under saddle as well. The best advice i can give is to really take the transition slowly because most horses will drop weight if you try to change it too fast and its just about being able to add more beet pulp or alfalfa to match the amount of protein, fiber, and fat that was in the grain. I wish you the best of luck with the diet change!!
Wow!! yay!! Such good news to hear😁 I am definitely nervous he will lose weight which is why I didn’t want to just remove the grain right away! I haven’t been able to get him to eat flax yet we shall see! One of my clients just picked up the Vermont blend
@@RideandRoam Some horses are really weird about flax lol. Out of all 9 horses at the barn im at that switched to a forage diet only 6 will eat flax. But the renew gold is amazing too! Thats what we use for the picky eaters 😂
I thought I was “grain free” for years feeding Nutrena Top Line Balance. Then I too did a deep dive and cut that out as well. I went totally forage based last year. I was so nervous but honestly my Eventers have never looked better. My advice is to cut out the senior feed fully as quickly as you can while still being safe. I feed soaked alfalfa cubes, Teff and orchard grass pellets, and soaked and drained beet pulp. The only supplements I feed are MVP mega cell for vitamins and minerals and ground golden flax. I feed brome hay mostly but also Timothy when I can get it (I’m in the Midwest). Honestly, I wouldn’t start any new supplements right now. Just focus on cutting the grain out and then do a minerals test. Sadly, I think the reason we are seeing so many ulcers and injuries is because grains have become just a “fad” and are filled in sugars and inflammatory junk.
Totally agree. I am bummed out that he will not eat ground golden flax. That’s why I’m using the renew gold right now. Thanks for the feedback from a fellow eventer! Do you have thoroughbreds specifically? How much beet pulp and forage pellets are you feeding per day
@@RideandRoamMine wouldn’t eat the flax either until I went down to 5 oz a meal of it. I do have 1 TB, he started my forage diet when he got PHF and CDiff and couldn’t eat grain but needed to gain 300 lbs back. Beet pulp, basically as much as he could eat was his friend. Along with Cocoasoya oil which, now studies are saying all oils are bad too. That is when I started feeding Top Line Balance because that’s the only grain he was cleared to eat. I fed that for years after till going full forage. It’s so hard with the picky ones but I promise once you get him get him off 90% of grain, you’ll see a difference in his weight because his nutrition will be so much better. It’s really has been crazy seeing “hard keepers” go grain free and look better than they ever did.
My dog seems much better on a probiotic so hopefully it helps Z too. Usually if you can get their guts feeling a bit better, they will become less picky. Fingers crossed that's the case for Z. Have you considered trying soaking his hay? Ironically for our picky founder ottb, he ate his hay much better when it was soaked. Then later when we transitioned it back to dry, he still ate it better. Go figure.
@@RideandRoam It really is weird! You could also experiment with soupiness of his meals. We have a couple who HATE their meals wet and even though they are missing teeth and should eat meals soaked, we just can't. Figured since you already soak Norman's hay, it could be worth throwing some to Z to see what he thinks. *shrugs*
