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 Jr. Detective
    
Location: Beggs, OK | Please pay close attention to your horses behavior...and never doubt that it could be a feed issue. Even in the safest of feed mills there can be mixing errors with ingredients that are not technically toxic to horses, but can be if for whatever reason too much is added. If you're making sure that your horse has plenty of good quality forage, clean water, and is fed on a regular schedule, colic shouldn't be a common occurrence.
Even if you only have one horse out of 15 with a belly ache, it can be a feed issue. If you have one that won't eat...it doesn't mean that he has ulcers. Horses are very sensitive and can sometimes tell that there's something in the feed that isn't right. We all know this well from trying to get them to eat medication...think about that the next time you have one walk away from his feed. With feed contamination you can see any number of symptoms:
Walking away from feed
Laying down after eating
Any symptoms that we usually attribute to ulcers
Muscle tremors
Hind end weakness
Incoordination
Tight muscles as if they're "tying up"
Unexplained weightloss
Drawn up appearance in the flanks
General lethargy
Rough hair coat
Muscle loss
Any symptoms that we generally attribute to EPM
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | I submitted before I was done...
If you even suspect that you have a feed problem have your feed tested! ...or contact me and I will make sure that it gets tested. The only way to fix this problem is to boycott the companies that do not take our concerns seriously and to save the uneducated horse owners from themselves by making sure that the information and test results are available to those who are affected. |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Stop settling for "it may be EPM" even if test is negative.. test your feed!! To many incidences of EPM and people treat and horse may or may not respond and months later same symptoms .. |
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 Saint Stacey
| Â Bump |
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Blessed 
Location: Here |  |
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Blessed
Location: Here | Bibliafarm - 2015-04-20 10:06 AM Stop settling for "it may be EPM" even if test is negative.. test your feed!! To many incidences of EPM and people treat and horse may or may not respond and months later same symptoms ..
Exactly!!! I hope more and more hear this battle cry and become educated ....
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | What does it cost to have your feed tested? |
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 Hugs to You
Posts: 7550
Location: In The Land of Cotton | It was $110.00 for my feed to be tested at Auburn University. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Iowa State uses the most thorough method I've found and they charge $100. I'll be sending them some samples this week. |
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I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | Thanks for the reply.  |
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13503
Location: OH. IO | rachellyn80 - 2015-04-20 4:37 PM
Iowa State uses the most thorough method I've found and they charge $100. Â I'll be sending them some samples this week. Â Â
I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO THIS MATTER. YOU HAVE HELPED MANY HORSES ALONG YOUR JOURNEY AND FOR THAT I SAY THANK YOU. |
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Blessed
Location: Here | jake16 - 2015-04-20 6:18 PM rachellyn80 - 2015-04-20 4:37 PM Iowa State uses the most thorough method I've found and they charge $100. I'll be sending them some samples this week. I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO THIS MATTER. YOU HAVE HELPED MANY HORSES ALONG YOUR JOURNEY AND FOR THAT I SAY THANK YOU.
Well said Jake |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | jake16 - 2015-04-20 6:18 PM rachellyn80 - 2015-04-20 4:37 PM Iowa State uses the most thorough method I've found and they charge $100. I'll be sending them some samples this week. I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO THIS MATTER. YOU HAVE HELPED MANY HORSES ALONG YOUR JOURNEY AND FOR THAT I SAY THANK YOU.
Thank you...it seems that there are people that lurk on this page and think that it's all blown out of proportion. They are listening to what the feed manufacturers are telling them and doing no research for themselves. I asked one of them yesterday point blank if they knew how a mill "cleans" out the system after they run a batch of medicated feed.....NO ANSWER. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I, too, would like to thank you rachellyn80, SG and winwillows for all your work in helping us find the truth about our feeds. Since I changed my feed, my gelding is looking good again and I feel like I am able to make sound decisions feeding wise. It's not easy figuring out what to feed when you have knowledge about how the feed is made. I think that is why people want to say we are making too big a deal about feed safety. |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | I also want to thank you as well. My mare suffered from mystery belly aches for as long as I've had her. Knock on wood, since I pulled her from Triple Crown Senior and put her on Tribute, she nas not had any episodes. I would have never suspected her feed (especially since TC is a reputable brand and is almost $25 a bag) without having read these threads and the FB page. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | I'm so glad that we are all seeing some positive changes! The scariest part of all of this to me is that random sample testing does not include anything that shouldn't be in our feed. The only time feed is tested for contaminants is if there is suspicion. We must be diligent in testing if you think that there is even the slightest possibility that your feed could be causing a problem. I don't think that there are nearly as many truly "hard keepers" in the world as we think there are. From what I've seen these horses are very likely affected by this problem and might be dealing with malabsorption issues caused by intestinal inflammation. Chronic low dose exposure to antibiotics that may not be toxic to horses at that level will still kill off the good bacteria in their gut....Ionophores are not the only problem. |
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Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | Does anyone know of a place I can send my TC feed to get it tests for mineral imbalance? Specificially sulfur toxicity? |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| For testing to be even a little effective you need to check every batch that you purchase (before you feed it). The sacks that have the same batch number on them will have the same test results.
Texas A & M tests feed on a regular basis to make sure that the analysis matches what is on the tag. There is a website that shows how many violations each kind of feed has. I am fairly sure that toxic substances are check also. I doubt that the tests would indicate the presents of the protozoan that causes EPM though. |
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Blessed
Location: Here | rachellyn80 - 2015-04-21 9:22 AM I'm so glad that we are all seeing some positive changes! Â The scariest part of all of this to me is that random sample testing does not include anything that shouldn't be in our feed. Â The only time feed is tested for contaminants is if there is suspicion. Â We must be diligent in testing if you think that there is even the slightest possibility that your feed could be causing a problem. Â I don't think that there are nearly as many truly "hard keepers" in the world as we think there are. Â From what I've seen these horses are very likely affected by this problem and might be dealing with malabsorption issues caused by intestinal inflammation. Â Chronic low dose exposure to antibiotics that may not be toxic to horses at that level will still kill off the good bacteria in their gut....Ionophores are not the only problem.Â
 Ok light bulb moment.  Without proper healthy gut flora you can get increased colonic ulcers, cramping, diarrhea, constipation, compromised immune system, nutient uptake problems etc.  interesting big picture view
Edited by SG. 2015-04-21 10:56 AM
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Murphy - 2015-04-21 10:20 AM Does anyone know of a place I can send my TC feed to get it tests for mineral imbalance? Specificially sulfur toxicity?
OADDL at OSU was the lab that found the toxic level of sulfur in the Triple Crown Sr that I mentioned to you. Dr. Sandra Morgan or Dr. Grant Rezabek |
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Folks on-line