|
|
Expert
Posts: 1207
 
| So I may get flamed for this, but here goes. IS there a product out there that does EVERYTHING?? I mean for joints, muscles, tendons, inflammation, ulcers, immune, hair, hooves, etc. What happened to the KISS method? It seems to me that some, maybe not all of us, are putting this or that for this or that in our horses feed. I know back when I was a kid all I fed my horses was oats, corn, hay in the winter, grass in the spring summer. And the corn was still on the cob. For wormer my dad would give them chewing tobacco. Never had shoes. When they needed trimmed I would run them up and down the gravel roads. Never had one go lame. Then again I wasn't hauling them all over the country either. Just makes me wonder if we are not over-doing it in some cases. | |
| | |
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 507
Location: Lost in the corn of Iowa. | THE muscle mass. I talked to them about the same thing. I was tired of feeding a little of this and a little of that. They mixed up a blend that is supposed to be a once a day, one scoop in the feed. I ordered it, so now I'm just waiting to try it out. I've heard good things about the stuff. | |
| | |
  Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
 
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | THE can cover all the supplement issues here. | |
| | |
What Name?
Posts: 1994
| lol I do the ride on the road method for my gelding. But he has the nicest most even growing hooves I've ever seen... and I don't feed him anything but good ol' protein based feed for growth, give him lots of free range grazing and access to minerals and salt blocks. | |
| | |
 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Personally I think some do over do supplements and minerals.. and this and that..... but with that said... back then we didnt ask as much from our horses.. yes ranch work and wear and tear but not some of the heavy competitions we do now.. mineral imbalance due to exercise is dangerous and as well as tying up and otehr health issues that contribute to us asking what we do ask and the heavy demands on horses..now the ones that arent in heavy exercise I feel dont need all this "extra" competition add ons.. imho.. when they overload their body on some stuff it reacts and has adverse reactions.. being tying up, skin issues, mood issues, muscle aches, kidney issues etc..unfortunately the line between heavy work and light work is only for the owner to decide and some arent educated enough to realize .. just my opinion.. nothing else.. | |
| | |
Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | LRQHS - 2015-03-26 9:34 AM THE can cover all the supplement issues here. I'll say this, we have Hearts For Lena on it and are noticing a huge difference. The only thing that we changed was not using the loading dose they recommend. She was a tad hot after the first loadind dose, so we backed her down to the maintenance dose and she is doing fantastic.
| |
| | |
 Expert
Posts: 1857
| Bibliafarm - 2015-03-26 9:34 AM Personally I think some do over do supplements and minerals.. and this and that..... but with that said... back then we didnt ask as much from our horses.. yes ranch work and wear and tear but not some of the heavy competitions we do now.. mineral imbalance due to exercise is dangerous and as well as tying up and otehr health issues that contribute to us asking what we do ask and the heavy demands on horses..now the ones that arent in heavy exercise I feel dont need all this "extra" competition add ons.. imho.. when they overload their body on some stuff it reacts and has adverse reactions.. being tying up, skin issues, mood issues, muscle aches, kidney issues etc..unfortunately the line between heavy work and light work is only for the owner to decide and some arent educated enough to realize .. just my opinion.. nothing else..
I think they did, if not more. If you talk to some old timers they believed, and most were, a horse was washed up by the time they were 12, 13, 14 years of age, now we see these horses just reaching peak performance levels. I don't believe we are over doing it this day and age, our horses live longer, healthier, more productive lives than they did 20-30 years ago. I used to think that we were making them weak, not allowing the horse to develop the strength and stamina they used to have, but in reality we are only inhancing what they have and lengthing their careers with our proactive approach to horse health.
Edited by FlyingJT 2015-03-26 2:11 PM
| |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 1207
| Thanks for your replies. IDK I just think I am over-thinking and trying to cover EVERY issue that comes up with the horses. And I don't think you can. That's why I want to have one scoop that takes care of everything. Not sure that can happen. | |
| | |
 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 494
| My mom used to tell me stories about how her and all her friends rode their ponies everywhere for transportation basically. Used to tie them at the gas station and buy pop then go race through the fields. She said she never had a bleeder, let alone knew what one was. Never had one colic either. They were on pasture and hay in the winter. She said she did not know how they did not bleed because they ran around so much. I think that today we put a lot less stress on horses we did back then. Horses were not as pampered then and seemed to last better. | |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 1857
| no offense to anyone but I think maybe they think they didn't have bleeders, colic issues, soft tissue injuries, back then only because they didn't understand it like they do now. It wasn't a common conversation and many didn't have a clue what it was. I look back, now that I'm older and have learned many things I didn't know, and think of horses that we had issues with and think... yep that could have been because he had ulcers, or epm now explains what happened to that horse, etc. | |
| | |
 A very grounded girl
Posts: 5052
Location: Moving soon..... | Diana and Bob are great. THE is the only product that I use and my horse does not refuse to eat it. It is affordable and works. I started out using just the calming cookies, but now I have a mix just for my horse. | |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 1207
| They had them back then, I just don't think we thought much about it. I remember one time I went on a 50 mile trail ride with one of my horses. It was 25 miles out and 25 miles back. We camped out and my Dad met us at the camp site and I told him my horse didn't act like he felt very good. My Dad asked what I fed him on the way and I said just some cookies, an apple and maybe part of a candy bar. That horse would eat anything. Anyway my Dad looked him over, gave him a BIG swig of whiskey, stood back, the horse farted BIG time and then took a healthy dump. LOL I still remember that. Rode him back the 25 miles the next day, but didn't feed him any cookies on the way back. He lived to be 20+. | |
| | |
Location: Texas | FlyingJT - 2015-03-26 11:13 AM Bibliafarm - 2015-03-26 9:34 AM Personally I think some do over do supplements and minerals.. and this and that..... but with that said... back then we didnt ask as much from our horses.. yes ranch work and wear and tear but not some of the heavy competitions we do now.. mineral imbalance due to exercise is dangerous and as well as tying up and otehr health issues that contribute to us asking what we do ask and the heavy demands on horses..now the ones that arent in heavy exercise I feel dont need all this "extra" competition add ons.. imho.. when they overload their body on some stuff it reacts and has adverse reactions.. being tying up, skin issues, mood issues, muscle aches, kidney issues etc..unfortunately the line between heavy work and light work is only for the owner to decide and some arent educated enough to realize .. just my opinion.. nothing else.. I think they did, if not more. If you talk to some old timers they believed, a most were, a horse was washed up by the time they were 12, 13, 14 years of age, now we see these horses just reaching peak performance levels. I don't believe we are over doing it this day and age, our horses live longer, healthier, more productive lives than they did 20-30 years ago. I used to think that we were making them weak, not allowing the horse to develop the strength and stamina they used to have, but in reality we are only inhancing what they have and lengthing their careers with our proactive approach to horse health.
Horses were used 50x as hard "back then" as they are today. People relied on horses as a way to make money, transportation and hunted off them. Horses were an extension of peoples legs, "back then".
However, I can tell you that working ranches and feed lots will have a horse wore out by 12 - 14, it's not because they are mistreated or sick. On our ranch and the neighboring ranch (8,400 total acres) we work cattle everyday of the year, rain or shine, for 6 - 10hrs a day. We start breaking colts to ride a 2 almost 3 years old, by the time they are turning 5, they will be ready to use as day working horses, everyday, for the next 5 - 7 years. They get worn out a lot faster than your average horse.
With that being said though, Flying JT is right, our horses are healthier now then they were just 20 - 30 years ago. We now have better options for feed and supplements, which keeps our horses looking and feeling great even into their later years. Some people may feed more supplements then they should, but to each their own - atleast we now have any and all supplements readily available.
| |
| | |
 Veteran
Posts: 232
Location: Winging It in KY | Sandok - 2015-03-26 2:05 PM They had them back then, I just don't think we thought much about it. I remember one time I went on a 50 mile trail ride with one of my horses. It was 25 miles out and 25 miles back. We camped out and my Dad met us at the camp site and I told him my horse didn't act like he felt very good. My Dad asked what I fed him on the way and I said just some cookies, an apple and maybe part of a candy bar. That horse would eat anything. Anyway my Dad looked him over, gave him a BIG swig of whiskey, stood back, the horse farted BIG time and then took a healthy dump. LOL I still remember that. Rode him back the 25 miles the next day, but didn't feed him any cookies on the way back. He lived to be 20+.
Too funny!  | |
| | |
What Name?
Posts: 1994
| cuckleburr - 2015-03-26 1:40 PM Sandok - 2015-03-26 2:05 PM They had them back then, I just don't think we thought much about it. I remember one time I went on a 50 mile trail ride with one of my horses. It was 25 miles out and 25 miles back. We camped out and my Dad met us at the camp site and I told him my horse didn't act like he felt very good. My Dad asked what I fed him on the way and I said just some cookies, an apple and maybe part of a candy bar. That horse would eat anything. Anyway my Dad looked him over, gave him a BIG swig of whiskey, stood back, the horse farted BIG time and then took a healthy dump. LOL I still remember that. Rode him back the 25 miles the next day, but didn't feed him any cookies on the way back. He lived to be 20+. Too funny!
 | |
| | |
 Expert
Posts: 2489
Location: somewhere up north | Exceed 6 way by MVP!! http://www.unitedvetequine.com/horse-joint-supplements/Exceed-6-Way-MVP-horse-joint-supplements.asp
Message me if you want more information. I've been feeding this to multiple horses for over 10 years. | |
| | |
 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | epoh - 2015-03-26 11:58 AM My mom used to tell me stories about how her and all her friends rode their ponies everywhere for transportation basically. Used to tie them at the gas station and buy pop then go race through the fields. She said she never had a bleeder, let alone knew what one was. Never had one colic either. They were on pasture and hay in the winter. She said she did not know how they did not bleed because they ran around so much. I think that today we put a lot less stress on horses we did back then. Horses were not as pampered then and seemed to last better. I'm old and back then an old horse was 13 years old and was usually retired by then. Having a horse that was 16 years old and still going wasn't the norm.
My dad maybe had 2 colics in the 20 years he raised and trained horses. What is different now is our lands are so used up the hay and grain isn't as good as it was back then. It was researched that people and animals don't get much out of synthetic fertilizers etc. Our horses genes were different back then also. When you linebreed you double up on the good and bad genes.
Look at all the allergies that people and animals have now that we didn't have years back.
Processed foods are the culprit of many problems and that includes our processed animal feeds.
Edited by Nevertooold 2015-03-26 2:26 PM
| |
| | |
I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | EqualRanch - 2015-03-26 1:33 PM FlyingJT - 2015-03-26 11:13 AM Bibliafarm - 2015-03-26 9:34 AM Personally I think some do over do supplements and minerals.. and this and that..... but with that said... back then we didnt ask as much from our horses.. yes ranch work and wear and tear but not some of the heavy competitions we do now.. mineral imbalance due to exercise is dangerous and as well as tying up and otehr health issues that contribute to us asking what we do ask and the heavy demands on horses..now the ones that arent in heavy exercise I feel dont need all this "extra" competition add ons.. imho.. when they overload their body on some stuff it reacts and has adverse reactions.. being tying up, skin issues, mood issues, muscle aches, kidney issues etc..unfortunately the line between heavy work and light work is only for the owner to decide and some arent educated enough to realize .. just my opinion.. nothing else.. I think they did, if not more. If you talk to some old timers they believed, a most were, a horse was washed up by the time they were 12, 13, 14 years of age, now we see these horses just reaching peak performance levels. I don't believe we are over doing it this day and age, our horses live longer, healthier, more productive lives than they did 20-30 years ago. I used to think that we were making them weak, not allowing the horse to develop the strength and stamina they used to have, but in reality we are only inhancing what they have and lengthing their careers with our proactive approach to horse health.
However, I can tell you that working ranches and feed lots will have a horse wore out by 12 - 14, it's not because they are mistreated or sick. On our ranch and the neighboring ranch (8,400 total acres) we work cattle everyday of the year, rain or shine, for 6 - 10hrs a day. We start breaking colts to ride a 2 almost 3 years old, by the time they are turning 5, they will be ready to use as day working horses, everyday, for the next 5 - 7 years. They get worn out a lot faster than your average horse.
With that being said though, Flying JT is right, our horses are healthier now then they were just 20 - 30 years ago. We now have better options for feed and supplements, which keeps our horses looking and feeling great even into their later years. Some people may feed more supplements then they should, but to each their own - atleast we now have any and all supplements readily available.
We can all have different opinions as I feel horses were healthier years back but their joints gave out. Modern medicine has taken over the breaking down problem and our horses can be happy and used into their twenties. I never knew anyone that retired a horse because he wasn't healthy. They retired them because of lameness issues. HA injections turned my life around. I went from being in contstant pain and limping around to being able to pain free and walking and riding again. | |
| | |
I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | I love the way you can have a formula made just for your horse. Years ago I had a gelding that was having problems and I sent a full blood chem panel to Bob from THE and he formulated what that horse specifically needed. I don't want to over supplement a horse. | |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 1207
| Nevertooold -- that is SO true. That's why I am constantly battling middle weight bulge. So true with humans food and also animals feed. Anyway, thanks for all who replied. I will continue on with my search to find that ALL inclusive supplement that I can give to all 3 of my horses from the oldest to the youngest WITHOUT breaking my checking account. | |
| | |
What Name?
Posts: 1994
| Nevertooold - 2015-03-26 2:49 PM I love the way you can have a formula made just for your horse. Years ago I had a gelding that was having problems and I sent a full blood chem panel to Bob from THE and he formulated what that horse specifically needed. I don't want to over supplement a horse.
Didn't know this, very cool!!! | |
| | |
 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | It's called God and a good diet. Unfortunately, you can't always reason with the first one and everyone argues over the second one. I guess the first one is pretty debatable too.
Good luck. | |
| |
|
I MAY GET FLAMED FOR THIS