Which grains are best for PSSM confirmed/suspected horses?  Preferably fixed formula, but curious what everyone has had luck with.

Check into BlueBonnet and Triple Crown.. I have a IR gelding and use Triple Crown Lite.. 

The best grain, is no grain. Alfalfa mixed hay, seven day a week exercise, Renew Gold. 

Which kind? P1 or one of the others?

Are alfalfa pellets suitable in place of alfalfa hay?  How much is recommended?

Ration balancer like triple crown 30

From what I'm reading, it appears these ideal diets are very similar to what you would select for an ulcer prone horse.  Am I correct in that assumption?  If not, what are the main differences??

It also appears Bluebonnet Ex Factor, Purina Ultium or Wellsolve L/S, Nutrena SafeChoice Special Care or Empower Boost, or Triple Crown 30, LS or Lite would all be suitable options.  Has anyone had trouble or better luck with these, or would alfalfa pellets be a better option?? 

How many pounds of alfalfa hay were you feeding? Replace the same amount of pounds with pellets.  

Win, do you recommend a ration balancer in addition to the RG?  Or is RG alone fine?

Do you suspect pssm 1 or pssm 2

Are alfalfa cubes OR pellets preferred for these horses?

There is a lot of confusion about ration balancers. I recommend them from time to time if the hay quality is very low. I generally avoid them with better hay because they are all soy based. Some horses have trouble with soy in the digestive system. For horses that handle soy fine, they can benefit in that situation by adding protein that poor qualtiy roughage does not provide. As to supporting vitamins and minerals, that is mostly smoke and mirrors in ration balancers. If your area is lacking in certain minerals, that is rarely properly addressed by a ration balancer because every area is different and one size simply can't fit all. Quality roughage will provide both fat soluble vitamins (the ones a horse can't make themselves), and the tools for the horse to make water soluble ones. Remember, when horses were evolving, they did not stop every day at the vitamin pile. So, the bottom line is, a ration balancer is not needed in a horse that has access to plenty of quality roughage and is not on a disruptive grain ration. For horses that do not have access to quality roughage or are eating a high train ration, there can be a benefit if the horse is not sensitive to soy.

I'm confused...is a PSSM horse and a IR horse the same?

Thank you.  I have a mare who is an easy keeper (not a PSSM horse) and my vet is trying to get me to stop feeding RG to help her lose weight.  Says its just pure fat.  We are in Washington so have very good quality hay, she gets about 50/50 alfalfa and timothy, plus out on pasture a few hours a day.  It's just hard to cut her back anymore on the forage, so not sure what else I can feed.

If you vet says that Renew Gold is just pure fat, I would not take nutritional recommendations from him/her. You can certainly cut back the RG to 1/2 pound per day to keep the anti inflammatory effect and prebiotic in the system. Always prioritize the roughage, though you might moderate that a little. If you are not using her, the hay you are feeding may meet her needs. Though there are health benefits from the RG to the system that would justify some still in the diet. 

Two Nickles, as others have asked, WHAT variant(s)????  That makes a big difference.  And there is some incorrect info on this thread.  You're better off joining the PSSM Forum or the Managing PSSM, RER and Other Muscle Diseases groups for CORRECT info, from people who actually live the diseases.

Bluebonnet and Triple Crown makes feed for special needs horses that need a low starch low sugar feed, you can talk to the nutritionish at BlueBonnet she would beable to help you with questions.

Did your vet recommend a feed for your horse?

Bump