|
Disclaimer & Disclosure: It is always advisable to speak with your veterinarian about your horse’s unique situation. This post is in no way a substitute for medical or nutritional advice from your veterinarian. My recommendations and reviews are always independent. However, if you click on the link to the product and make a purchase I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. It has been a little over a year since our gelding, Jack, was diagnosed with chronic respiratory condition. His symptoms were a cough that would range from mild to severe. There were no signs of illness otherwise. While at the vet, we did bloodwork. His bloodwork came back clear, his lungs sounded clear, and no nasal discharge. Our vet explained that it is somewhat common for miniature horses to develop this condition. Since there were no signs of infection, she prescribed Jack an anti-inflammatory but no antibiotics. She also recommended giving him a supplement for respiratory support for the long term. That’s where our search for a respiratory supplement began. I like to shop in my community, so I went to the feed stores in town, and figured out my options. There was not a lot of options at any of the stores. I ended up purchasing Farnam’s Cough Free Horse Cough Supplement pellets. It had mixed reviews, but I needed to try something. I fed it according to the recommended dosage and noticed a little improvement. A lot of reviews mentioned that the horse didn’t want to eat it, but Jack ate the supplement just fine with his grain. Over the course of four months, Jack didn’t improve much. The coughing was less severe at times, and somewhat less frequent. Overall, I was underwhelmed with the performance of the supplement. After a couple months, I started searching for other supplements I could order online or purchase in the Treasure Valley (Southwest Idaho). In a random conversation with a fellow equestrian, Jack’s cough and the search for something that truly works came up. She had a miniature horse with the same problem and recommended Silver Lining Herbs Respiratory Support. She said it worked very well on her horse, and since the miniatures are so small the 1-pound bag lasted about 6 months. My husband and I were willing to try it since nothing else was getting results. Silver Lining Herbs Respiratory Support is a fine powder. It comes in a 1-pound resealable foil bag with a scoop. The dosage is based on weight, so you need to have an idea of how much your miniature or pony weighs. I mix it into his grain. Jack doesn’t really like the taste of Respiratory Support. He will refuse his grain occasionally with Respiratory Support mixed in. If he does that, I will put it in his hay, or mix it with applesauce if we have it on hand. I was very surprised at how quickly we saw improvement after starting the supplement. Jack was coughing less and not as severely in a week. By three weeks, he was only coughing occasionally. He has remained virtually cough-free since we started the supplement in August 2022. If you are searching for a respiratory supplement that actually works, I highly recommend Silver Lining Herbs Respiratory Support. 
0 Comments
Disclaimer: It is always advisable to speak with your veterinarian about your horse’s unique situation. This information is to be considered a guideline of where to begin. It is no way a substitute for medical or nutritional advice from your veterinarian. Feeding your miniature horse or pony doesn’t have to be stressful. It can be as simple as good quality hay, clean water, and a salt block. Throw in a treat every now and then, and your little horse should be happy. So how does it go wrong? Why do so many little horse owners have overweight or underweight horses? Read on to get better insight on feeding the average miniature horse or pony. The biggest problem I see is portion control – either too much or too little. Every horse, no matter the size, needs to consume 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent of their body weight daily at bare minimum. That is the total of all food sources, whether hay, grain, pasture, hay pellets, beet pulp, hay cubes, etc. Most of that should come from forage, i.e., hay, hay cubes/pellets/pasture. That means that a 300-pound miniature horse needs 4.5 to 6.0 pounds of feed from all sources per day. If the horse doesn’t get much exercise, you probably should start at the low end of 4.5 pounds. If the horse is worked a lot, such as training or conditioning for an event, you will likely need to feed more. Keep in mind that miniature horses and ponies tend to be easy keepers, which means they are great at maximizing their feed. This is why they tend to be overweight more often than underweight. Some miniature horses and ponies do well on pasture, but often they cannot be on pasture 24/7. If you need help with the math, there are many feed calculators online, such as this one from Standley Forage.  Weighing hay for evening feeding Every horse, no matter the size, needs to consume 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent of their body weight daily at bare minimum. How often does your horse need to be fed? How do you make sure they are getting the correct amount? We feed our horses twice a day which is pretty standard. You can feed more often, such as 3 or 4 times per day if your schedule allows for that. Another option is having hay available in a slow feed net 24/7. Each option has benefits and drawbacks. Each portion of hay for our four horses is weighed. I am not good at eyeballing or estimating weight, which resulted in some chunky horses and wider variations in their weight. Managing our horse’s weight has been much more consistent since I started weighing their feed. It is also nice to be able to tell our veterinarian the exact quantity of hay or grain our horses are getting. This may sound extreme to some, but you got to do what you got to do in the best interest of your herd. Our pony, Whiskey, who is somewhere around 500 pounds gets 3 pounds of alfalfa-grass mix hay morning and night. In the evening, he gets 1.5 pounds of grain with a hair and coat supplement. Based on his weight, he is getting 1.5 percent of his body weight – the bare minimum. Prior to last summer, we were feeding straight grass hay and alfalfa pellets to supplement the hay. We decided to purchase a mix last summer so we didn’t have to deal with alfalfa pellets. I’m trying to keep our feeding program as simple as I possibly can. After feeding the mixed hay for a month or so at the prior hay’s feed rate of 7 pounds total per day, I saw that he was getting a little pudgy. So, I scaled it back to 6.5 pounds for a few weeks, and he was still a little chunky. I scaled it back another half-pound to 6 pounds hay total per day. He lost some weight and leveled out nicely. He has maintained his weight through our frigid winter very well, so I know I am feeding the right amount. I may have to adjust his feed this spring as we gear up for show season and begins his driving training. I choose to feed grain because it has extra nutrients that the horse’s may not be getting from just hay alone. Also, it is much easier to feed supplements for the horses that need them in grain. Not all horses need grain. It is perfectly acceptable to not feed grain to your horse. With that said, there are many types of grain and ration balancers out there. Do your research and pick what you think will work for your horse and your budget. You may need to do a little trial and error in finding the best option for your horse. If you decide to change type or add grain to your horses’ diet, start gradually and build up to the full ration. You will need to read the label and find out the recommended feed rate (portion) for your horse’s size. If the recommended amount is 1 cup, then I would start with a half cup for a week followed by the recommended 1 cup the following week. Do your research and pick what you think will work for your horse and your budget. It doesn’t happen as much, but some miniature horses and ponies manage to get underweight and need extra feed. You need to feed as much as it takes to maintain a healthy weight on your horse. Winter coats can disguise an underweight horse, so you need to be feeling under that coat to be sure that your horse is maintaining his weight. Also, some may mistake the extra fluffiness as the horse being overweight and cut back their feed causing them to lose weight unintentionally. I cannot stress enough checking through the heavy, thick winter coat at least a couple times a month. Ribs and hip bones should not be obvious. Also, do not make any changes to a horse’s feed ration unless you have thoroughly checked the horse out with your hands. Finally, make any changes gradual so the risk for GI tract upset is lessened.
A final note, be sure your horse has access to plenty of fresh, clean water throughout the day and night. A salt block is good for them, and it encourages water intake which can ward off the dreaded colic or general GI upset. Remember any significant change, such as pasture to hay or grass hay to alfalfa hay, can cause GI upset or colic if made suddenly. Your feeding program can be as simple or complicated as you make it. Be sure you have a reason for why you are feeding a specific hay, grain, ration balancer or supplement. Do some research before making any changes and make changes gradually. If your horse is healthy and happy your feeding program is on the right track. Do you have a hard time keeping track of your horses vaccinations, feed protocol, vet check ups, and other maintenance for your horse? If you answered yes, then you need to start a horse health record for your horse. A horse health record is at minimum a place to record dates, services, vaccines, and medications. Individual horse health records are very handy when you take your horse to the veterinarian. If you have a written or printed record, all the details your vet needs are right there. I am always a little embarrassed when I must guess or estimate when I gave a vaccination or how long ago prior injury happened. Keeping accurate records can also make future planning very efficient. There is no guessing which wormer you need to purchase, what vaccination is due, or how long a horse has been taking a medication or supplement. In this digital age, I know a lot of people don’t like handwritten records, however it is the handiest form if you need to grab it in a hurry. It can be stressful to search for things on your phone or computer while someone is waiting. I like to keep each of my horses’ records in a binder that is divided by horse and includes their health record, registration papers, and any other pertinent items such as a sales contract. Each document is in a page protector to make it easy to pull out. This keeps all the information in one place and organized. In the event of the sale of the horse, potential owners can be more confident in the care that the horse has received, and it will be a valuable resource for them once they own the horse. Finally, if you change veterinarians, farriers, or other professionals who work on your horse, you will be able to give them an accurate overview of the care your horse has received to date.  What should you include in a horse health record? A horse health record should include at minimum the following items:
Including notes on your horses feed is important. How do you know if your supplement is working? Or how long it took to make a noticeable difference? If you do decide to add a supplement or change feed, it would be helpful for your reference to note why you are changing or adding something to the horses diet and the date the change started. It can be hard to remember a year or more later when you are evaluating your feed and results. In addition, if the horse exhibits a behavior change, or has a problem (like colic or elevated temperature) you can add that change to the possible reasons. It will also allow you to accurately note if a supplement or feed is giving you the results you wanted. If you have a breeding program, you will want to include the date and details of each breeding for the mare and stallion. You would note if anything was abnormal and refer to it later if the mare isn’t successfully bred. In addition, a record of vet checks, ultrasounds, and details regarding the pregnancy and foaling are very important in determining which mares or stallion/mare cross you will want to breed again. You can and should tailor your records to fit your needs. Don't get intimidated by fancy records, or complicated systems. Record keeping can be very simple. The new year is a great time to get started, so gather those sticky notes with cryptic scribbles on them, wormer and vaccine packaging with dates on them, and all the other random papers floating around. Use them to get your record started. Be diligent in record keeping this year, and be amazed at how much less stress you have when it is time to schedule the next check up. |
Archives |
RSS Feed
About the Author:
Heather Bunting is a lifelong equestrian. She entered the world of miniature horses and ponies in 2016 when she purchased Dream and Tina. Since then the herd has grown with the addition of Jack, Whiskey, and River. She lives in southwest Idaho on a hobby farm with her husband, Jim, as well as their two dogs, three cats, two goats, and a small flock of chickens. |
Like and follow Resources For Little Horses on
|