Sandy_K
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks for your reply. This sounds pretty similar to the changes I’m trying to make but I must confess that I struggle with the discipline to stick with the diet and exercise plan. I’ve set some lofty goals for me and my mare this year with training and showing so my fitness is going to an essential part of my goals. I’ll have to look up bulletproof coffee. Thanks again!
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I’ve gone through repeated bouts of corneal ulcers with my 19 yr. old Missouri Fox Trotter gelding. I totally understand what you’ve been through with the meds, repeated vet visits and $$$. My vet specializes in equine ophthalmology and has been so good at explaining and teaching me so much. My horse gets a daily eye check and a fly mask before he gets turned out. He’s been grain free for over 2 yrs. and still had issues with the ulcers so don’t let your guard down. I totally agree that eliminating the grain is a huge help, especially with reducing the inflammation, but it may not keep the ulcers from recurring. Just a side note, my gelding has also been diagnosed and treated for Cushings/Insulin Resistance and we now have him on Pergolide. My vet feels there could be a link between these issues. Again, I feel that being grain free has been a huge help in dealing with these issues.
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Thank you for your reply. I think I understand more than I realized as, just this morning, I was explaining all this to my neighbor who is having a vague lameness issues with her Arabian. I was amazed that I could discuss these ideas clearly. My main area of confusion is still pasture turnout, time of day and how much. But, that may be one of those things that just depends on the individual horse.
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Bingo! Yes, suspected of IR although we haven’t tested yet. Blood work has been done but not the specific test for IR. He is grain free (several years now) on SBM and reduced access to pasture. I’ve also increased his exercise as you have recommended in previous posts. I’ll mention the IR/corneal ulcer connection to my vet. I have a feeling she is already suspecting that there is a connection. Thank you for the info and sharing your thoughts on this subject.
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Wow! That was a brain full of info. I have to admit, I hit the replay button several times. So, let me see if I got this right, turn horse out on pasture when sugar content is lowest (night, after dusk to mid morning???) Reduce or eliminate all sources of sugar, increase exercise. Oh, and increase quality protein. Did I understand it correctly? I feel confused.😕
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Oh my! You want detailed details! I will have to knuckle down and be more scientific with my experiments. AND I don’t think it was actually “quick” results but rather a longer duration (probably 2 yrs.) of no grain and grass hay, alfalfa pellets and pasture in season. My thoughts are, when I finally added the SBM back into his diet his gut had healed and microbiom was reset to the point that he can now utilize the SBM and not have negative reaction to it. I was riding him for 30mins of walk/trot and the diet restriction was just a longer period overnight that he was without any feed. Then we got hit with winter storm, lots of snow, extremely cold temps so riding was not happening and I upped the grass hay to compensate for unusually cold temperatures. Looking forward to the webinar today.
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A quick update on my gelding. After making the changes that Doc T has suggested (restricted access to hay/pasture & increased exercise), I took a leap of faith and started my horse back on SBM. I’m delighted to report that he is doing wonderful! He is full of energy and starting to regain muscle. As for the corneal ulcer, we are still working on healing the one he currently has, which is going well. It will be interesting to see if he has a recurrence of eye problems with his new diet and feeding schedule/restrictions.
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Interesting! I have one horse in my little herd that has had scratches.
He is also the one that is IR (insulin resistant) and has recurring
corneal ulcer problems. Looking forward to Doc T’s article. -
Looking forward to Doc T’s reply as My OTTB (Off track Thoroughbred) also does this. She has been grain free for 2 yrs. My gelding that I wrote about being “sensitive” to SBM is also very girthy to the point that if he is girthed up too fast he will violently set back on his lead.
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Thank you so much for your quick and thorough reply. I will have to read it again to make sure everything you said sinks in. While I was reading this so many bells and whistles and light bulbs were going off in my brain. It all makes sense now that I can see the connections. You also gave me a clue as to why my little mare (daughter to the above mentioned gelding), while butterball fat, always acts as if she is starving and never stops eating if there is a shred of food available. She also just recently had a corneal ulcer that was quite the challenge to heal. She tolerates the SBM just fine and was on it for nearly 2 yrs. but going no grain with her and adding the SBM never seemed to make a difference with her.
My vet suggested that I put them on Platinum CJ for immune support as she suspects the ulcers are auto-immune related. But, when I look at the ingredients I wonder if this is really the correct route to take. It’s also expensive but considering how much I’ve spent dealing with the eye problems I was open to anything that might help keep them from recurring. They’ve only been on the CJ for a month so not long enough to determine if it’s helping or not.
I will start a journal and increase the exercise. I have no excuses as I’m retired and, if nothing else, I can ride up and down the gravel road when the mud is too heavy elsewhere.
Again, thank you for your reply. The information and insights you’ve given me has more than justified the $99 I spent on membership.
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My original post on this subject in this forum totally disappeared too. There’s a glitch somewhere in the system and probably a lot of other people’s posts that have gotten lost in cyber space. Yes to using text editor first.
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Thank you Doc T for a very informative session on Trailering horses. One of the
biggest issues I see is people not replacing the tires on the trailer
soon enough. I was taught to replace them every 5-6 yrs. no matter how
good they still look. I learned the hard way about dry rot.😟 And always have more truck than trailer. Waiting for my new straight load TB model gooseneck to be delivered. -
Mounted shooting is a wonderful sport full of wonderful people. I would like to try endurance or distance riding with my OTTB.
