Mel, why is bermuda & beet pulp not enough? How severe is the alfalfa alergy? Can she not have ANY?>>
Her blood work showed well past boderline almost into a severe allergy at 276...so that basically means no alfalfa.
I feed all my horses bermuda & 3-way hay (oat/wheat/barley), plus a small amount of beet pulp & flax seed.>>
That's what I was feeding as well....but since she is allergic to both oat and is borderline on wheat I am not considering a good choice for her anymore.
In the past, when I haven't been able to find 3-way and/or otherwise was limited in what I could buy, bermuda alone keeps them looking and feeling fine. Granted, a horse being conditioned and competed needs a bit more groceries, but can't you just try feeding LOTS of bermuda? >>
I am doing that since I got her bloodwork back and she is dropping weight like mad. Now I'm feeding straight bermuda, Empower (1 pound) and beet pulp. I'm not even doing training rides on her and she's looking skinny to me.
When you say straight barley, do you mean barley grain or barley hay? >>
I meant rolled barley as that is pretty much the only grain she isn't allergic to! I feel I need to supplement her Bermuda with something and put on some weight. I don't feel comfortable feeding huge amounts of rice bran...and she is allergic to corn too so that rules out corn oil.
Is this Tess? You've seen Phlyrt, she's shiney and fit on her diet. I don't know if Tess' Morgan metabolism would make her different from Phlyrt's Arabian metabolism on food use.>>
Tess is a hard keeper when she's working. She must really burn calories. When she's idle she can pack on weight though.
What prompted you to do this allergy test in the first place? And if you're getting results that multiple horses from your small herd are allergic to so many things, I'm tempted to wonder if either the test is flawed or a high percentage of horses would show up as allergic (in which case they do fine with owners that don't know they're alergic).>>
I was thinking the same thing EXCEPT that I've had problems with bumps, watery eyes, scratching herself bloody in the chest from March to Nov. Her eyes are red and runny year round...as well as a nasal discharge. I've had her on eye ointment, as well as having her eye ducts flushed out through the nose thinking the ducts were clogged. When I bought her 4 years she was covered in bumps but I thought it was because she was tunred out in a hot crowded pasture with lots of flies. Since then I've EVERYTHING thinking it was just a fly allergy. She is allergic to flies as well as gnats...on top of the food stuff. Each year she has been getting worse and last summer I said I wouldn't put her through it again. SHe's only 7.
As for the other horse...he is an Icelandic. I had him tested when he failed a prepurchase becuase of fly bite dermititis. The buyer was on the East Coast and we didn't want to take a chance with sweet itch (he's an Icelandic...and it is prevelanet in the breed in hot humid climates). The test came positive for allergies but different things than Tess. He's allergic to corn and Orchard Grass...but is fine for alfalfa and oats. Go figure. From what I understand allergies are common in imported Icelandics.
