Friends horse has gone backwards this season and trying to figure out what else to add to add speed and energy back to him. He started the season at a 15.8 and this weekend ran a 16.9 at the same arena, so anything would be helpful. What else would you try? 

Backstory: horse is 15 and has equine metabolic syndrome. So he is  not on any grain but gets alfalfa, beet pulp, California trace, flax seed and previcox. He’s gotten red cell the day before the show and the day of show and it doesn’t help him at all. His stifles and Hocks have been injected. He’s mellow at home anyway and has some fire at the show but isn’t running like he used to. 

Any help is appreciated as she’s scratching her head what else to add

Bump

How long has he been competeing? Has he been scoped to see if he started bleeding? 

How long ago was this horse diagnose as a EMS horse? Are his feet sore? I think red cell would not be a good thing for this horse. 

He was diagnosed the beginning of the year with ems. Feet don’t seem sore  and she’s been working with farrier and vet to get angles right. She was trying to give him some energy with the red cell but she’ll stop it. I’m passing along responses to her :)

He’s been running 10ish years, not hard though and she does other things like pleasure with him. He’s never been scoped but that would be something else to think about. 

Red cell wont work feeding a day before and the day of. It has to build up in their system. 

Sometimes they'll quit running with ulcers, which could be caused by previcox. Especially if it's being used long term. My guy is extremely ulcer prone and would get them with 4 days of previcox. It's easier on them than the other options, but can still cause them in some. I run mine on previcox, give it the 4 days before & days of the race and give him omeprazole those days too. He's on Gastro-Plex daily which helps, but when I'm putting any type of painkiller in his gut I give omeprazole now too. He'll get full blown ulcers on 1g of bute, he's touchy. And he's on straight alfalfa & no grain too. So I wouldn't rule that out with this one 

Didn’t know this thank you!!

That makes sense as recently he’s gotten cinchy which he’s never been. Thank you, sent this to her 

bumping in case anyone else has any other opinions! Thanks!

I would definitely quit with the added iron sources and make sure that the soaked beet pulp is rinsed 100% CLEAN prior to feeding. Beet pulp is another feedstuff with high iron. Refer to my comment on the "supplements - how much is too much" (I think that is what the title is) thread for other iron sources.

Magnesium supplementation is another mineral that can really help horses with EMS and california trace doesn't contain any magnesium. Make sure to use Magnesium Carbonate because it is iron-free. MagRestore can be used as well - the malic acid that it is bound to will also have some benefits.

What CA Trace product is she using, the Plus or the regular? I prefer a combo of both - 2 ounces of each per day (which is a full daily dose of the regular and a half dose of the Plus) based on what her hay tests at - this combo might work for her but I suggest working with a nutritionist to fine tune his diet. This group is full of very knowledgeable vets/nutritionists/owners and is a great place to ask questions and get advice regarding endocrine health. https://ecir.groups.io/g/main

Look at replacing the previcox with something that will help at the cellular level, I prefer Nrf2. Uckele has some good products as well.