Michele,

So sorry to hear of all your difficulties. Dr. Getty will have something to add to this too I am sure. I personally owned a IR horse for 9 years, until he was 25. I lost him over a year ago. He had IR for 4-5 years before anyone gave a proper diagnosis. He had foundered 4-5 times by then, and by then had what they call chonic laminitis. When I finally found a vet to treat him properly and we got him on a NSC hay of below 10% 85% orchard grass/15 % alfalfa with a non molassas beet pulp and Triple Crown Low starch( at the time Well solve was not on the market) a vit/min mix with Dr. Gettys help to balance it all out, he did well the last few years he was alive, though he was never sound again, he could walk around fairly well outside with proper shoeing and pads, he was on bute for the last 5 years of his life. Finally the last year he developed a hoof abscess we could not heal, we tried every treatment available, his immune system shut down, and he developed a heart mummer. It was time to let him go. Which I did, and miss him to this day.

All I can say is be very careful about changing hays,or anything in his diet, even the smallest amount of extra sugar or carbs can set some of these horse off. Mine got set off in the spring for whatever reason, even though he was on a dry lot. Test your hay keep it below 10% NSC if possible,I fed my hay free choice as it was a safe hay. Have Dr. Getty recommend a vit/min that compliments your hay and the Wellsolve.

If you want to learn more go to safergrass.org. it is a very good site.

I wish you well and hope your horses remain healthy!
Della

Where are you from? WI

Della, How can I get my hay tested. I'm not sure who in my area can do it. What did you mean when you said keep it below 10% NSC?

Where are you from? Washington

How did you locate this forum? a friend

Charlene,
I have my hay tested at Equi-Analytical www.equi-analytical.com. You can go on the web page and request a sample bag and forms. You need a hay tester, they are expensive, so I go to my local co- op and borrow theirs. They are hard to use but you need one to get a good sample. You need to sample at least 6-8 bales of hay. Their site explains alot of this.

NSC is Non Structured Carbohydrates or the total of sugar and carbs/starch, they now do it a different way.
Now the test is ESC(simple sugars) and starch the combo of these 2 should be below 10% if possible some horses can tolorate 12% or more but the rule of thumb is 10%. My hay is from the same hay grower and I contract a years worth, it is always below 11%. I get the trainer test which has everything you would need, the ESC,starch, WSC, minereals,protein,Digestiable energy,lysine,acid detergent fiber,neutral detergent fiber,non fiber carohydrates,potassium, etc. the cost is $49.00, they will email the results right away.

I have my hay tested each batch,so I can taylor my horses vit/min etc.
My last test was: ESC-8.5% starch 1.4% total 9.9%. With a relative feed value of 159.

Hope this helps you!
Della

Where are you from? WI

Hello Michelle, Della, and Charlene!

Lots of good information posted here and thank you, Della, for your description of the benefits of a low Starch diet and hay analysis.

Michelle... I am delighted to hear how well your horse has done on a low starch diet. Purina has finally gotten on the low starch bandwagon and it is a pleasure to recommend their Wellsolve products. It is fortified with vitamins and minerals, but if you are not feeding it according to directions, you may want to add a supplement to fill in the gaps.

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO