>
>Hi Group,
>
>I've been reading ride camp for a few weeks, and being very
>computer-phobic, have been reluctant to join in, but here goes! My name
>is Robbi Pruitt and for those of you who do not know me: I live in
>Central Oregon, have been endurance riding since the late 70's, 11,000+
>AERC miles, own, breed and train a CMK preservation group of 48 arabian
>horses, and have been riding longer than I'll admit to.
>
>Linda Flemmer asked about keeping weight on older horses in the winter.
>My last two breeding stallions lived (and bred mares) to the ages of 31
>and 33, and looked great. Two things that I feed the old guys are
>Dynamite vitamins and rice bran. My vet says that the rice bran works
>like an anabolic steroid without any of the detrimental side effects of
>those. What I can tell you about rice bran is that it really stimulates
>their appetite. I have yet to find a horse that doesn't like it. I top
>dress their grain with 1/2 to 1 cup per day.
[...]
I agree with Robbie that rice bran is great. A caution about rice
bran, though. Some products on the market do *not* have a very
impressive shelf life. I've found the most reliable to be Natural
Glo, a stabilized rice bran we've used for several years now. 1
year shelf life.=20
Natural Glo is a natural fat, protein, vitamin and mineral
supplement. According to their product literature, fat gives 2.25
times the energy produced by carbohydrates or protein, and is the
most important missing ingredient in most horse diets. It has a 20%
fat content (lacking in many supplements). =20
Maintenence amounts provide - among other things - a nice healthy
sheen to the coat. Larger amounts help put (or keep) weight on a
horse. Rice bran is also a safe alternative to grain when you have a
fast growing weanling/yearling and you're trying to avoid
epiphysitis.
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Jorene
just moseyin' down the California trails ... :)
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