Posts Tagged ‘vitamins minerals’

Horse health care is one thing. Caring for a horse who has a history of ulcers is something else altogether. Owners of horses who have had ulcers in the past are super-sensitive to any signs of possible new ulcers forming, whether it be a horse leaving his feed or experiencing a mild colic.

These owners all want to know: “What should I do if I think my horse is possibly developing another ulcer?”

Luckily, the answer is simple and cost-effective:

Prevention

Treating Possible Horse Ulcers with Prevention

Once a horse has fully recovered from an ulcer, the best way to prevent the formation of new ulcers is to put him on a nutritional maintenance program that will keep him healthy.

The simplest and most effective nutritional supplement I have found to keep ulcer-prone horses healthy is the Essentials from Simplexity Health. The Essentials are convenient daily packs of supplements that include:

2 forms of blue-green algae (with and without the cell wall)

acidophilus

bifidus

enzymes

When fed on a daily basis, this balanced mix of supplements keeps a horse’s gut healthy. The probiotics (acidophilus and bifidus) keep the population of “good bacteria,” or gut flora, in the horse’s small and large intestines flourishing. This is important because healthy gut flora prevents foreign invaders from taking over and causing ulcers. Probiotics also play a big role in healthy digestion.

The enzymes also play a crucial role in digestion, especially for horses who have trouble assimilating nutrients or have inherently poor digestion. Finally, the two forms of blue-green algae provide a nutrient-dense supply of vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals. These nutrients help to heal horse ulcers as soon as they start to form.

In short, the Essentials provide your horse’s body with everything it needs to maintain a healthy gut, and repair any ulcers that may begin to form. For maintenance, I recommend 1-2 packets of Simplexity Essentials daily, depending on the horse’s temperament.

Preventing Horse Ulcers When a Horse is Stressed

Feeding the Simplexity Essentials is an excellent way to prevent horse ulcers when a horse is in his normal routine. However, if a horse with a history of ulcers is going to be stressed, I recommend feeding additional supplements to prevent the formation of new ulcers.

Horses can be stressed by any number of factors, including travel, horse shows, heavy training, a new environment, or an abrupt change in weather. As a horse owner, you know best which factors stress your horse. If you know that you horse is going to be stressed, you can prevent him from developing new ulcers by supplementing his feed with ulcer-preventive substances beforehand.

For instance, if you know that your horse is stressed by long trips, in addition to feeding the Essentials, you might add green clay, Stomach Soother, SUCCEED, or KLPP and UF to his diet a day or two before you leave. The key is to feed him whatever nutritional supplement helped him heal from his original ulcer.

Depending on what kind of ulcers your horse is prone to, the supplement of choice could range from slippery elm and aloe to green clay or Stomach Soother. Not all horse ulcers are the same, so they can’t all be treated the same way.

Treating Different Types of Horse Ulcers

Because you know your horse best, you know which kinds of ulcers he is most prone to and what supplements work best for him. Keep these supplements on hand to feed before you stress him, or at the first sign of a newly developing ulcer. If, for example, your horse has a mild colic because of a weather change, and he responds well to Stomach Soother, add that to his diet for a few days until his symptoms subside. When paired with the Essentials, the Stomach Soother will prevent the formation of new ulcers… and save you a big vet bill in the process.

Prevention Really is the Best Medicine

I’ve compared case studies of horse ulcers treated with conventional medicine and holistic care. Over and over again, I see that the horses who are treated with holistic care, which focuses on a solid nutritional program and preventative care, are not only happier and healthier over all, but cost their owners less money in the long run.

A solid nutritional program that is designed specifically for your horse’s nutritional and temperamental needs is definitely a form of prevention against horse ulcers and all kinds of other acute and chronic health conditions. While the ongoing monthly costs of this kind of program may seem a bit higher than a “no frills grass hay” diet, ultimately a nutritional program like this will save you money and heartache.

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Madalyn Ward, DVM, is a recognized author and veterinarian in the field of holistic horsekeeping. For free tips on horse health, horse personality types, and horse nutrition, plus one-stop shopping on holistic horse products, visit http://www.BuyHolisticHorse.com.

Author: Madalyn Ward, DVM
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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After years of practicing both conventional and holistic medicine for horses, I decided to compare the cost, effectiveness, and net results of managing and treating horses holistically versus conventionally.

In this article I compare results for the average trail horse that is ridden about 2-3 times a week. I have used average feed and veterinary costs for my area (Austin, Texas), and drug and supplement costs from a major horse supply catalog.

I then discuss the issues related to each area of care, including feed, supplements, vaccines, dewormers, and first aid. Stay tuned for different profiles in coming months, when I will compare horses in different disciplines, young horses, older horses, and broodmares.

>>> Holistic Horse >> Conventional Horse Feed Costs

Grain is slightly cheaper to feed and easier to store than hay, which makes the conventional horse slightly cheaper to feed on the one hand. On the other hand, the holistic horse, which has access to more hay, stays happy and entertained and is less likely to develop expensive habits and vices such as chewing on wood, cribbing, or weaving.

Supplements

In the past, hay and oats provided all the nutrition a horse needed, but these days common farming practices do not produce feeds that are high in vitamins and minerals. Hoof quality is the first area to be affected by such poor nutrition, and few horses can maintain healthy feet on a diet of hay and oats alone. If you doubt this, just check any horse supply catalog. The one I checked offered 22 topical hoof conditioners and 28 separate supplements. Cell Tech’s Super Blue Green Algae offers a wide range of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants in a whole food form. It is inexpensive to feed, promotes healthy feet, and supports the horse in all aspects of health.

Vaccines

Some people will choose not to vaccinate at all while others will choose to use more vaccines than the ones I’ve listed in the trail horse comparison. I believe that over-vaccination is one of the most common triggers for chronic diseases such as laminitis and uveitis, and contributes to allergic conditions. Stressing the horse’s system with over-vaccination can also affect the digestive system, leading to mineral deficiencies. Stress also decreases the amount of healthy bacterial flora in the gut, increasing the likelihood of colic.

Dewormers

We are fortunate to have some fairly safe chemical dewormers such as Pyrantel and Fenbendazole, yet some people still prefer using natural products to support the horse’s digestive and immune systems rather than using chemical dewormers. Regardless of which method you use, it is wise to double check your program with fecal exams at least twice a year.

First Aid

When I practiced strictly conventional medicine I found that most horses suffered from minor injuries or infections at least several times a year. These minor emergencies kept me busy, and because they were so common most of my clients started keeping drugs on hand and learned to treat these conditions themselves.

When I began to treat my patients more holistically, with fewer vaccines and better nutrition (including the use of probiotics such as Acidophilus), I noticed that the horses had less and less need for drugs. My patients no longer needed bute or antibiotics for minor cuts and punctures. These wounds healed quickly and easily with no loss of riding time. Gone also was the aggravating chronic nasal discharge that often kept horses out of work for weeks at a time.

A holistically managed horse with a healthy immune system will often run a fever for a short period of time when exposed to a virus or bacteria. This response slows the pathogen’s growth and deprives it of nutrients. A short course of probiotics will help support the horse during this time. Once the fever breaks, the horse bounces back quickly with little nasal discharge or cough. These horses then go right back to work without concern about relapse. Conventionally managed horses taking anti-inflammatories and antibiotics will often get better in the short term, but then relapse or develop a chronic nasal discharge.

The Results Are In!

The trail horse example I have used above precisely demonstrates what I have experienced in my practice. While it costs about the same to manage a horse either conventionally or holistically, I’ve found that holistically managed horses are much healthier overall, which means fewer chronic problems and more days of riding time. In fact, conventionally managed horses have about 7 times the number of sick days as holistically managed horses.

Madalyn Ward, DVM, co-author of Holistic Treatment of Chronic Lamintis, is certified in Veterinary Homeopathy, Chiropractic and Acupuncture. Through her website, Holistic Horsekeeping, (http://www.holistichorsekeeping.com), she publishes a free monthly newsletter, offers the Healthy, Happy Horse resource group, e-books, holistic horsecare products and information for horse and mule owners.

Author: Dr. Madalyn Ward, DVM
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news

Whether it is for vitamins, minerals, fats or protein, horse supplements are very common. Requiring only water, a salt or mineral lick and quality forage, a healthy horse usually does not need supplements. Work, athletic or breeding horses, as well as aged or infirm horses may require supplements to give their bodies the proper nutrition. Otherwise supplements should not be used as a substitute for proper nutrition.

There are a plethora of commercially available horse supplements. dressage bridles Digestive aids, colic prevention, electrolytes, hoof supplements, growth development, energy supplements, blood building and vitamins and mineral supplements are just a few of the options. Also common are added fat and protein supplements. The most common type of protein added is soybean meal, although cottonseed, peanut and linseed meals are also given to horses. A good fat source given to sources is vegetable oil of varying types, corn oil being the most popular. Rice bran, too, is used as a fat supplement, for it contains 20% fat in addition to fiber. Provided it’s ground up, flaxseed offers beneficial fat to horses as well.

The average horse in good health will not need supplements. Access to water, forage and minerals is really all they need. Horses that engage in work, athletics or breeding may need something extra in terms of nutrition. treeless saddles Aged or infirm horses may also need something extra that normal nutrition cannot provide. As with horse feed, the use of supplements is dependent on the horse’s size.

Horse owners must have a thorough understanding of equine nutrition. Horses have particular eating habits and their digestion is suited to feeding in certain ways. For proper horse health, supplements may or may not be necessary. Supplemental forms of vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins are all available for horse, although they are not a substitute for a healthy, natural diet. Given constant access to fresh water, minerals and good forage like grass or hay, horses in good health need nothing else. Work, athletic or stud horses, however, may need supplements to fuel depleted bodies.

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