A Change in Feed

The whole time I've owned horses, more than 30 years, I've always subscribed to the Keep It Simple, Stupid, or KISS method. Most supplements have always struck me as a great way to make expensive poop. ​You wouldn't know it by looking at Izzy's daily bucket.

Izzy's daily bucket is made up of six ingredients.

Over the past few weeks, I've actually added some supplements to his already pretty complicated diet. It's frustrating and expensive, and I am working hard to whittle it back down to a simpler feeding routine.

His hay ration consists of twice daily armloads of high quality grass shipped in from Oregon. He also gets a bit of alfalfa to keep him happy. For now, his daily bucket includes:

• shredded beet pulp
• LMF Senior (a non-grain feed comprised of beet pulp and rice brain and other vitamins and minerals)
• half serving of Platinum Performance
• Platinum Hoof Support
• SmartGI Pellets (for gastric health) 
• GastroGard (also for gastric health)

I started giving the Platinum Performance more than two years ago in the hopes that it would make him feel better. It hasn't. Before Platinum Performance, his coat was shiny and his hooves were hard. Not that I am blaming Platinum Performance AT ALL, but his coat still faded this summer and he wore his feet down to nothing.

I am just not seeing the results from the Platinum Performance that I was hoping to see. Not that I was looking for anything specific, but I had hoped for a better attitude and fewer reasons to call out the chiropractor. For the past month, both he and Speedy have been on a half serving. I just started my last bucket which should last them another two months. After that, no more Platinum Performance.

Plenty of hoof now.

The Platinum Hoof Support should last another few weeks and that will be the end of that supplement. I never planned on giving it forever anyway. The plan was to give it for 3 - 4 months to help him grow some hoof. That has happened, so I am done with that one as well.

SmartGI Pellets and the soon-to-be-empty Platinum Hoof Support

The SmartGI is a new normal. My vet recommended it, so it's an everyday addition for at least a year. Next fall, I'll reevaluate and see if we need a change. Of course, if things go haywire before then, I can always make a change sooner than later. 

I have another few days of GastroGuard to administer, and then we'll be done with that one. I have seen a big change in Izzy's attitude though, so I may give the GastroGard when he leaves the property for something stressful or gets a dewormer.

I finally got to a point where feeding this horse has become more complicated and expensive than feeding myself. And all of it is just to "support" his health. Since I am not seeing concrete results, it leads me to believe that I may simply be creating expensive poop.

No one likes healthy poop more than me, but expensive poop is going too far. Bye-bye expensive bucket, hello less-expensive bucket!