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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
 
Location: Millington, TN | Good morning! My four year old with about 45 days of training has never really wanted to eat the Triple Crown Low Starch. He eats about half of it and walks aways. So my question is what should I do? He is an easy keeper. So should I switch him to something else or just cut back on what I am giving him? He gets 3lbs twice a day with free choice high quaility hay, 24/7. I have my older horses on TC Complete but I am not sure about sure about switching him to TC Complete since it is high in fat and protien. He already has enough energy  |
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 Midget Lover
   
Location: Kentucky | Have you checked/treated him for ulcers? Especially since he is in training now, and if his eating habits have changed? Does he eat all of his hay? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | He has always been "picky" with this feed but it has gotten worse since he has been in training. I nver thought of that. I have never had to check/treat uclers. So dumb question.....do I call my vet? Suggestions? |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| Sure - that's a great place to start. They can scope for gastric ulcers,but lots of horses also will have hind gut ulcers, which won't show on a scope.
There are lots of great products on the market that will address gastric but not hind gut.
I chose to treat with THE's GastroPLUS which adresses both - I had fabulous results and couldn't have been happier. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | What is the best to get THE? Should I get him scoped just to be safe or just start him on that and see what happens? |
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Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | PM Krystal Peterson (wyoming barrel racer) for THE Products. I wouldn't waste money scoping. Treatment is much cheaper and won't hurt him.
Edited by Murphy 2015-10-20 9:06 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | Ok thanks!!!!!! I would never though of ulcers! |
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Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | You may also want to find out what mill your TC is coming from. Not all TC mills are ionophore free. I fed TC for years, but switched last year when I couldn't get a straight answer out of TC, and my mare was getting horribly sick from TC Senior.
https://www.facebook.com/Ionophoretoxicity?fref=nf |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | Ok. I will check. I hope it is ok. My senior horses are doing so good on TC complete. I have a had great results. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | As others mentioned, checking the ionophores and ulcers is a good place to start. What kind of condition is he in? Has he lost weight or bloom from not eating as much? If not, and everything checks out medically, then it probably wouldn't hurt to cut back on his grain. The less you can give them the better. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | He is great condition, he is kind of a round though. I can post a pic tonight when I get to the barn. He is a litte guy I would say less than 900 lbs. I have not taped him. He stands about 14.3. Last winter, he did lose some weight so I upped it this spring/summer and he gained it right back so I am worried about cutting back going into winter. He is being worked more often now too (at least 3 times a week, last winter I hardly worked him) I don't know if this make a differnce but when he eats, he likes to look around and takes forever. If I get another horse out to turn out, he wants to go too and will not finish. Latley, I have been leaving the other horses with him and after 45 mintues he is standing looking at me wanting out with about half of the feed left. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | Horrible pic but u get the idea of his size.
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 Expert
Posts: 2258
| This summer I had my horses on triple crown complete it is all we can get other than sr and growth. I have always liked it in the past but this year I noticed they just didn't bloom on it. One mare had a terrible hair coat all brown and burned, she was also having an ulcer issue we worked on. I had two horses colic in 3 days and pulled them off the TC. I ordered Tribute feed on Amazon and started it, within 10 days my mare had blown all the brown burned hair and was so shiny, gained topline and was so excited to see me coming with her grain. We are now getting winter hair but they still look amazing. I am sold on this feed and she has been eating all her feed better. I would treat for ulcers to be sure and maybe try some new feed. |
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Expert
Posts: 2457
| Murphy - 2015-10-20 9:05 AM PM Krystal Peterson (wyoming barrel racer) for THE Products. I wouldn't waste money scoping. Treatment is much cheaper and won't hurt him.
THIS ^^^ She is great to work with!! |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | The low starch formula is pretty bland.. pellet.. it is actually
13% Protein and I think 6 or 8 fat.
Complete is 12% Protein and 10 fat.
but the NSC is higher ..
the senior is 12 protein and 10 fat.
but low NCS
He may just get tired of the bland ness of the Low starch.. mine wouldnt touch it.. the high fat wont make him hyper ..
but thats just a opinion to think about...they all could go on one feed.. Of course check the Mill it is coming from..
https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/articles/horse-food-carbohydrate-values-triple-crown-horsefood/
Edited by Bibliafarm 2015-10-20 3:18 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | I am in the process of checking on the mill. It would be so much easier if I had all three on the same thing. If I did swtich him over to complete, how much should I feed him? My older two get 8lbs 2x a day, I know he won't need that much as they are hard keepers. He is four, less than 900lbs and gets moderate to high exercise at least 3 times a week. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Personally Id go Senior over complete due to high NCS.. but thats something to consider anyway.. check out that list i posted the link to. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 547
Location: Millington, TN | I did not see the link the first time! Thanks :) So the NCS would make that big of a differnce? The reason I ask, he is a had a bucking problem at first and still kinda bucks when I lunge him (I am hoping the ucler treatment helps with that too). We only have one feed store that carries TC and most of the time they are out of senior but have complete...... |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | there is a big differance between low starch and complete .. but not such a drastic change between Low starch and SR |
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| Hello barrelracincrazy!
We have checked out this thread and want to help with a feed recommendation. You have mentioned that your horse is an easy keeper (actually a bit round) and is only eating a few pounds of the Low Starch feed that you have been offering him , so we actually recommend that you move him over to the Triple Crown Lite which is a low fat, low carb, vitamin and mineral supplement. (a ration balancer). You feed at the rate of 1lb per 500lb of body weight. The average 1000lb horse eats 2lbs a day, but you can feed up to 4lbs of Lite daily . Since you mentioned you offered 6lbs of Low starch, which based on his possible body condition score, he really did not need to have that much feed. However, we want to make sure that he is getting his vitamin and mineral needs met which will be important for his overall health and the performance activities that you do with him. Lite is also a pelleted feed and this horse may be a bit picky about pelleted feeds in general. Let's face it, they definitely have a different smell and look than our textured feeds like Complete, but here is how you can feed the Lite with another feed and cover all needs. Since you have complete also, you could feed 1lb of the Lite and mix in 2-3lbs of the Complete. Lite remains your vitamin and mineral base and the Complete is bumped up or down as needed for your horse's body condition. I would recommend that you mix in a little bit of complete with the Low Starch that you feed now and see if he is "happy " to eat that. Just over a week or so bring in 1-2lbs. Then phase out the Low Starch for the 1lb of lite, again over just a week or so. 1lb of Lite is equal to 3 measuring cups by the way. This combination may work well and you can always keep that complete low if he does need to lose some weight. Lite is very low in NSC at 9.3% and as others have mentioned, complete is a bit higher in NSC, but you would mix the two products and not really be feeding a lot of Complete. If you feel he has some behavior issues while on that combo, that it may be a good idea to give him Senior instead of Complete because that feed is only 12% NSC. As others have mentioned, do look into why he doesn't eat his meals as you mentioned he has done this for a while. He could have ulcers or digestive upset, is he worried about his barn mates, explore those things. Do feed as much hay as possible. Triple Crown is happy to answer any questions or concerns that anyone may have. We can help find dealers or work on a feed program. We can be reached at 800-451-9916, by email at [email protected], on live chat (when we are live on our website) as well as many social media sites (facebook, twitter, instagram). We strive for great customer service so please don't hesitate to contact us!
-Jessica Drexler
Triple Crown Nutrition |
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