Let's start with his feed. As I've mentioned before in my other blogs I changed Ben's feed entirely. I switched him to a feed called Crypto Aero. It's a wholefood with all natural ingredients free from soy, wheat, corn, molasses, fillers, barely & GMO's. It's an oat based feed with lots of great additives some being de-hulled sunflower seeds, rosehips, spirulina, papaya, cabbage & the list goes on! I was nervous because he was going to be eating half of what he had been eating previously & he's the hardest keeper ever! Well over 2 months later & he is improving everyday! He is doing great with this diet change & eats 6 lbs a day split between 3 meals. He loves it & his body is getting the much needed detox from commercial feeds that have a lot of not so great ingredients! I highly recommend this feed to anyone looking to change their horses health inside & out for the better!
I also added the supplement Crypto Aero Plus to compliment his feed. It again has all natural ingredients that support your horse from the inside out. It has replaced his stomach, hoof, & joint supplement & he's been doing great with it! It fills in any vitamin or mineral gaps that may be present as well. Ben loves the taste & very much enjoys eating this green powder!
His next supplement is his Vitamin E with added SE. Ben gets a total of 4,500 IU's of Vitamin E. Again unless your horse is grazing on lush pasture for a minimum of 12 hrs per day they are not meeting their vitamin e requirements. In order to survive they need a minimum of 1,000 IU's & more if working or nervous system issues or age. I went ahead & added the Selenium portion to his vitamin e as they compliment each other & our area is deficient in SE. His feed also does not contain any selenium. So he is given only 1 mg a day.
Another favorite is his Astrid's Oil! This product has helped transform & recover him from his ulcer history. That's nice to here & write that it's history! Astrid's Oil is again cold compressed oat oil that supports the entire horse from the inside out & gives your horse what it lacks. That's the best way for me to describe it based off of what I have seen it do after 4 months of use! Love it & cannot recommend it enough for all horses!
Flaxseed is another product I have added to Ben's feeding regimen. I chose to ground whole flaxseeds myself daily & keep in fridge until fed. This is the best way to give flax & most cost effective. Ben receives 2 cups daily split between 2 feedings. Some of you might be gasping 2 cups! Yes 2 cups..... again much research you can feed up to a pound of flax safely. It's when you go over a pound (not a cup) that it can cause issues. Ben eats 1/2 pound a day. He loves the taste & it has no added ingredients like many other products that are flax based.
The last supplement he gets is of course his Assure Plus for sand removal. Again this is the best & most recommended product for removing sand. It is proven more effective & has the added benefit of pro & prebiotics.
With bug season quickly approaching & Ben switching to a more natural approach to life (which is proving its worth very nicely) I have decided to try garlic. I know some of you say yay some of you say neigh. Yes I have read literally every piece of literature about garlic prior to my decision to use it. I have also check with trusted friends who use garlic & both his vets including the specialist that saw him at the hospital for his ulcers. Every single person has given garlic the green light to go. So with that I bought Springtime Incs. Bug Off Garlic! Ben was a little wary of the new taste but seemed agreed with its aroma straight off the bat. After a sprinkle on some carrots he seems to rather enjoy eating it to my surprise! So since he has been on garlic for only a few days I cannot give my full experience with it yet until bug season has been in full swing & its had time to fully get into his system which takes 2-4 weeks alone (hence start early).
So this is where things are currently at to keep Ben happy & ulcer free! Let's not forget along with these things he also receives 24/7 turnout & 12-16 pounds of alfalfa hay a day & free choice grass hay always available. Making changes for your horse is very important when first diagnosed with ulcers. I am happy to say I finally found the perfect program for Ben & he is thriving on it! He has never been so happy!
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