Grain to Grain Free... Better for your horses and your wallet!

Hey Ya'll! I hope everyone is doing very very well as I am! A little bit of a life update, I had gotten through my rough patch in life, things have changed for the better and I am giving all of my worries to God this time instead of being me and trying to control the things I literally have no control over LOL.... that being said, Me and my Husband, have been searching for a new house with acreage and the Great Lord, has blessed us with an opportunity, even with this high crazy housing market right now that would be stupid to miss! While we have not talked to the bank yet, we are however going to go look at the house tomorrow which has almost 20 acres and it butts up with my parents land so it also helps my dad because he is trying to buy up all the land around us so it for sure is a win win!! The best part is I will FINALLY have my horses back at my own house instead of having to board them or have them at my parent's house!! Thank you Jesus!!

Anyway- So over the summer... I had some issues develop with my mare, Mia. I started her on the barrel pattern and started hauling her to season her since it was too hot to trail ride, and with this process came hauling by herself and getting her used to being without her trail/pasture buddy. So while when I was in her sight, she would still be a little nervous and anxious but when I would leave to go pay my fee's and such she would get super anxious and get the runny poo's and later on, she started getting super sensitive to being brushed and being super cinchy.... however riding was fine and her behavior did not change there and her appetite and neither did her weight or anything so I just thought she was creating some type of goofy behavior. However because it really was not like her, the more she did it, the more I unfortunately suspected...ulcers....

I started to feed her a half to whole scoop of alfalfa pellets prior to being rode or while I was saddling. I also have already had her on a gastric support supplement, Redmond Daily Gold however it just must of not have been enough. I had also swapped grains or feeds per say because what I originally was feeding, she would eat around the Daily Gold and or not get it in general due to our other mare, Opal getting her feed because at the time she had not been getting tied up. The down side of having my horses at my parents because it is extra for my mom to take care of on top of her own so sometimes things just do not get done "right" to no fault of anyone. So with Mia not getting all her feed for an extended of time and or not even eating the supplement in general... I have swapped to some feeds where the supplement would stick to it. However those feeds too ended up being a little more higher in starch and sugars vs the other feed.... So I got myself back in the same boat basically while she was getting the supplement, it was basically canceling itself out because of the raise in starch and sugars that aren't meant to naturally be digested.

Horses in general are not designed to even digest grains...and that is why they came up with so many different supplements in general I feel like it is just a money pit scheme in general. When you think of it anyway, horses are natural grazers and foragers and so they need more fiber than anything, even protein they need more fiber. Fiber is their source and the body's preferred source of carbs/energy. When you have a higher protein vs fiber feed, the body results in breaking down the muscle tissue to use for fuel instead. Which in my mind will result in muscle loss, fat loss, and a hard keeper and or if you are pouring the feed to them, they are just having poor muscle recovery.

Not only that all of these said "high quality" grains/ feeds are processed by products and high in starch and sugar for calories instead of a fiber source of calories. While every horse is different, I do feel like they are in a case of all being the same as far as how they digest... and I honestly wonder to if why many have so many issues is not due to cause from grained diets. Disclaimer, this information and opinions are off of my own research, personal reviews from horses i have seen on just a alfalfa/timothy pellet diet etc. In fact, a lot of trainers, like Clinton Anderson for example, while there are some methods of his training I agree and do not agree with, that is beside the point of the fact or how well his horses look and all he feeds is a the Timothy/Alfalfa pellet mix by standlee. Which is not only affordable, natural, but easy to come by in almost any feed store or places like Tsupply or Atwood's. He also feeds a salt block and a mineral lick called "horse lic"

Simply adding just the alfalfa to my horses diet prior to being ridden has helped her tremendously when she gets anxious and nervous she does not get the runny poop's anymore it is normal and I have also seen a huge difference in her behavior just with that alone. However with ulcers you do have to treat them not just supplement,

Treating them is EXPENSIVE.... I have looked at all kinds of things that I could do to treat without having it cost an arm and a leg. There is this product called CEP Gut Check. It doubles as a treatment AND a supplement. The best part is as used for as a supplement you do not have to do it daily, just when you haul. As for treatment, you give double the dose (20cc) for 30 days and then 10cc for about a week (for peace and mind i will be doing this but it is not like omeprazole where you have to) and then when you haul give the 10cc prior to trailering or riding. Mia has only been on this product for a week and I can already tell a difference. PLUS the horses LOVE it... Mia is already easy to give products to like dewormers and i also sometimes when she is coughing, give a medicine called air power and she will literally take the syringe from me, and she does the same with the CEP. She was a little weary about it at first but now she realizes it is helping her and making her feel better and now she can't wait to take it.

I actually have to make a trip to the feed store this weekend for feed, so I am going to be switching to the Grain Free diet and see how they do. Both of my mares love alfalfa pellets already so that is no issue and they can't wait to get it in fact, when I go to catch them to ride, I can lead them out of the gate, drop the lead rope and they will go straight to the trailer to where their buckets hang and eat up!

My horses never get stalled and they also are on free choice round bale in the winter as well as pasture and when the grass grows back in the spring, they eat that. Which due to them being on pasture 24-7, it helps alot on why we typically have never had ulcer issues with our horses, however, it for sure can still happen.

Since Mia does still have ulcers currently, I may end up also adding or well prior to riding, giving her some purina outlast which is a gastric support supplement, however... I may do more research on that due to the fact that if she is grain free, the fiber alone and alfalfa should create enough of a barrier against the acid but she also probably wont produce much more acid in her stomach since she is not going to have to try and digest all of the grains that come in the feed.

I will update on the process of her as well! I do have before pictures of her at the beginning of the CEP treatment, but they are also pre grain free diet pics as well so once she is done with the CEP treatment and about the same days into the grain free diet, I will post the before and after pics and give an update on her behavior and performance as well!! I am so excited to see how she does!

I hope everyone else is doing great and hopefully fuel prices drop soon so we call can hit the trails more often!!

God Bless and Happy Trails!