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  Discussion on Vitamins; Loading Dose, following long term poor pasture/hay
Author Message
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Sunday, Dec 26, 2010 - 10:52 am:

DrO,

Here's the background info:

2 years of extremely dry conditions, limited green grass available. Hay that was stressed and about 1/2 brown. Grass hay, no alfalfa.

This last year, very lush pastures, followed by about 2 months of the old hay, and now hay that was baled with too much moisture. I am looking at about 3 months of poor quality hay til I get to the "Good stuff" from the first crop...I hope.

I am thinking of giving a high potency multi-vitamin supplement that is for horses on grass/grass hay.

I plan on giving this for 2 months (a bucket per horse will give me about 60 days) then going back to a cheaper multi plus SE & E as we need the selenium. The less expensive multi has about 1/4 of the following amounts.

According the info I have found the following are suggested for my situation, and these are the dosages in the supplement:

Vit A 34,000 I.U.
Vit B's All at a min of 170 mg
Vit C 1,150 mg
Vit E 1,500 I.U.
Vit D 6,500 I.U.
Calcium 4,207 mg
Phosphorus 1,704 mg
Lysine 2,500 mg
Methionine 1,202 mg
Sodium Chloride 5,000 mg

Selenium 3 mg.

Also has cobalt, biotin, manganese, copper, folic acid, iodine, IRON, 275 mg, Prebitotics, Probiotics, magnesium, zinc, amino acids, Potassium, chromium, vit K, inositol, silica, and yeast.

Do you see any dangers in my plan?

Iron is listed on the supp, but says horses don't need iron supplementation.

I would rather underDOSE, than Overdose.

My horses have had salt, loose minerals like a mineral block just loose, and at least Vit E & Selenium for the last 3 years.

Everyone LOOKS healthy, except for my 22 year old mare who has always seemed a bit "blah" Interestingly, this supplement has higher amounts of most Vits & minerals than a "senior" formula.

Comments, suggestions appreciated!
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Monday, Dec 27, 2010 - 9:35 pm:

I know the answer to this one: Magic Wrist Bands!
Member:
scooter

Posted on Monday, Dec 27, 2010 - 10:44 pm:

Hi Angie, my old mare had been a bit blah also, I couldn't figure out if it was depression, old age, or what for sure, nothing seemed "wrong" with her.

I give her a little Kent senior and whole oats now. Our hay is quite crappy this year too. I will say since I started her on the thyroid supplement it did perk her up a bit to "normal old acting" she is 31yo and she seems quite happy and in good weight at this point. I am feeding round bales, which are better than my squares (which isn't saying much).

I don't think you have to worry about over supplementation except for Se. older horses on poor hay can benefit from vit e and c and the ones you listed. Was she "blah" before you started feeding the hay? Flash was. Is her weight/coat good?
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010 - 9:09 am:

Thanks Diane,

I did order the above supplement as I just couldn't find another that had the high amounts of some of the vits & minerals. Selenium is needed here, and I have read that Lysine is important, and the cal/phos ratio changes with hay vs pasture if I am remembering correctly off the top of my head. And Vit A goes down quickly in stored hay.

Willow is 22, and what is weird is she looks fat, but it's more like she has a "sprung ribbed" look so although along her backbone she looks fat, I am not sure if she has fat elsewheres. But she isn't very peppy for sure, I thought that even last summer.

I don't want to feed grain in any form as none of them need the calories. I can't find any ration balancers around here.

The last time she perked up a bit was a few years ago when I stated giving SE & E. Maybe adding that helped at first but then something else got off balance? I sure wish I could run all kinds of tests on all the horses and do a nutritional profile! Heck, I'd like to do that on me but I haven't won that lottery jackpot yet, lol!

I am going to start her on a joint supp too. If I am still not happy with how she seems come spring, I am going to get blood work done and see if there is something else going on. I think she's too young to act so old! After all Arabs are normally like the energizer bunny!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Dec 30, 2010 - 10:28 pm:

Hello All,
I have put up the newest version of the vitamin article which should help with some of your questions.
DrO
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Friday, Dec 31, 2010 - 10:43 am:

Thanks DrO,

Those are excellent guidelines, and easy to follow, and I appreciate the suggestion for using generic human grade supplements. No doubt I can save mega bucks doing that and feel good my horses are getting what they need.
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