supplements

[Cheryl Newbanks <horsetrails@inficad.com>]

Heidi wrote:
>anything else remotely edible is safe when this boy is around!  The bottom
>line is that ALL HORSES ARE DIFFERENT, and you have to know your own, no
>matter what the weather, the speed, or anything else.


I agree with Heidi here. Each horse is so different!  I only give Blue 
electrolytes during a ride if he is drinking and only on a 50.  For Ld's I 
put electrolytes in their feed the morning of the ride and sometimes after 
but I don't electrolyte every day only during competition.  Kodi gets 
electrolytes in his feed before a ride, but never during a ride and he 
never gets any other type of supplement.  Blue gets probio because he 
stresses in the trailer, and his gut sounds are not always super due to 
that.  Plus he won't eat his grain in camp unless he has probiotics. 
 Probiotics have made a big difference for Blue, he eats good now in camp 
and he has always done a super job on his hay.  I, like Heidi, also feed 
about 30 lbs. of hay before and after a ride.  And they finish it too.  At 
home I feed a mineral supplement that is made up special for our area and 
the type of local hay I buy.  That is it besides loose salt in the paddock. 
 Each horse is very different, Kodi will go for the loose salt in the 
paddock but Blue won't touch it.  Blue gets more custom minerals in his 
feed then Kodi because if I don't he will start eating dirt.  Kodi would 
never think of going off his feed in camp, he is a feed me anything horse 
and always has great gut sounds, but sometimes Kodi won't drink till the 18 
mile marker and when he does drink early it isn't that much.  I had to put 
him in an S-Hack vs.a  Kimberwick because he wouldn't drink at all with the 
bit in his mouth.  Blue is a picky eater in camp but drinks like a camel 
during competition, he does eat hay though so I don't worry too much about 
him there just the longer trailer rides gets him off his feed without 
probio.  So I have one horse who's gut sounds I have to take care with and 
one horse who gets marked down on hydration.

It is up to the rider to know their horse.  The only way you get there is 
to spend the time it takes, miles upon miles spent on their back and I 
always learn something new during competition too!  Keep your eyes open and 
pay attention to what they tell you, I find each horse has a specific way 
of telling me if things are off.  Blue is obvious, he just dogs it, head 
down, ears back yelling at me loud and clear.  Since he is the type of 
horse who is pleasant all the time, alert and ready to go he is easy to 
tell if something is off.  But IRON MAN Kodi is a little tougher and it 
took me a while to figure out.  He will take a licking and keep on ticking, 
but he does this one little thing that I notice now that I know to look for 
it.  He starts turning his head around and keeps looking at me with his 
left eye, and he will start tossing his head a lot.  It is pretty neat how 
they all have their own little individual habits.

                                  Cheryl Newbanks
~~~           ~~ ^ ^        SW Region
~~~\      _ ~~/ /\ /        Buckeye, AZ
       (   ) __    ) ' '        horsetrails@inficad.com
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