Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
Welcome to my forum.
Here you will find more than 6 years of questions and my answers. It is searchable and offers a great deal of information.
Currently, I am discontinuing new questions. This may change in the future, but in the meantime, please know that It has been a true pleasure serving you.
Take a look at my Nutrition Library and Tips of the Month for a variety of answers on selected topics. Be sure to sign up for my monthly e-newsletter, Forage for Thought.
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All the best,
Dr. Getty
Hi Liz,
Looks like you're doing a good job with him. I do recommend Amiquell -- it is a comprehensive approach to stomach health and I've had excellent results with it.
Ration Plus is worth considering to help him gain weight. It boosts the health of the bacterial flora by feeding them (rather than adding more, as with a probiotic). This makes forage digestion more efficient, and hence, he obtains more calories from his hay.
Rice bran is fine, only if given consistently on a daily basis and you choose one that has added calcium to correct the high phosphorus levels. ADM Alliance makes a good stabilized rice bran product.
Finally, yes, additional magnesium from Quiessence is worth adding since most horses do not get enough of this mineral and even borderline deficiencies can produce behavioral changes.
I hope this is helpful. Keep me posted.
All the best,
Dr. Getty 
Where are you from? Bayfield, CO
Thank you for your response Dr. Getty! On the Amiquell, I noticed that it has some of the same ingredients as the Probios. Will it hurt to give him both or should I discontinue the Probios? And on the Quiessence, I noticed some of the feedback has to do with weight loss, should I be concerned about that since he is difficult to keep weight on? Lastly, I have to prepackage his grain and his supplements for the new barn, will it hurt to combine the Quiessence, Amiquell, Probios and his Recovery EQ in the same bag or is there a better combination for AM and PM?
Thank you so much all your help! Your website is a wonderful source of information for people trying to better educate themselves on the care of our equine partners!!
Liz
Hi Liz,
You can discontinue the ProBios when feeding Amiquell, since Amiquell already contains live microbes.
Quiessence is useful for behavior when given at a dose of 1 ounce per 500 lbs of body weight. For weight loss, I double this dosage.
Yes, you can bag all the ingredients together, divided between meals or all in one meal -- either way is fine.
All the best,
Dr. Getty 
Where are you from? Bayfield, CO