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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

I also have a growing number of recordings on "Teleseminars on Nutrition Topics that Concern You" as well as the new, Spotlight on Equine Nutrition Series -- printed versions of favorite teleseminars.

And finally, look for my articles in a variety of local publications and online newsletters, as well as the Horse Journal, where I am the Contributing Nutrition Editor.  

 

All the best,

 Dr. Getty 

 



Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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Re: Vit & mineral supplement

Hello Julie,

I recommend Mega Cell -- it is a palatable pellet and you can feed it along with the Nutra Flax. However, you will not need the Stay Strong vitamin/mineral supplement since Mega Cell is comprehensive.

I also recommend, in addition, giving your horse and pony Quiessence. This is magnesium and chromium, to assist in lowering circulating insulin levels. Give them 1 scoop per 250 lbs of body weight, up to 4 scoops per day. And, you can subtract 1/2 scoop if you are giving the full dose of Mega Cell (since it contains magnesium).

Let me caution you about a grazing muzzle. It is fine as long as your pony is not bothered by it. If it is causing stress and frustration, it can lead to a laminitis relapse. Stress causes the release of the stress hormone cortisol. When cortisol is elevated, it causes insulin to be elevated (insulin resistance). And elevated insulin leads to laminitis (it also causes body fat to be stored, which defeats your purpose if you're tying to help your pony to lose weight).

Keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Julie Sandstedt
I have a horse and a large pony both are on the heavy,
cresty side. The pony did founder about 2 years ago
but doing well now. They are on pasture in the summer
I have had to limit pasture time because they are both
very easy keepers, I feed Stay Strong Vit, Mineral
supplement and Nutra Flax. They do not get any grain.
Plain grass hay in the winter. ALso I use a grazing
muzzle on the pony in the summer. What Iam looking for
is just a ration balancer for grass. Do you have any
suggestions. Thank You

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO

Re: Vit & mineral supplement

I loved your book. You did respond to my question on the vit & mineral supplement and Thank you for that.
I want to mention that my pony and horse are 18 yrs old and I also feed MSM to both and my Appy horse gets
two Tbsp of ASA per day for recurrent Uveitis. Would
that change your recommendations of Mega Cell and
Quiessence? I am from Northern Minnesota.

Where are you from? Northern Minnesota

How did you locate this forum? Dr Getty Web site

Re: Vit & mineral supplement

I have a few more questions, I quess I am confused on a few things. I printed the Product labels for Mega
Cell and Quissence. Mega-Cell has wheat middling, dried grains and molasses. Would this still be ok to
feed to horses that are 18yrs, cresty with fat pads. I also found my hay analysis these are a few of the
resutls-Crude Protein 7.3, Acid fiber 36.5, Neut fiber
46.6, NSC 19.2, Phosphorus 0.16, Calcium 0.89, Potassium 0.27 and Magnesium 0.24%. My next question is on the magnesium, I know magnesium should not exceed calcium. Would I be over in my magnesium with
my hay and the two products you suggested. I just want
to be sure I am not doing more harm than good.
Thank You for your help.
Julie

Where are you from? Northern Mn

How did you locate this forum? web

Re: Vit & mineral supplement

Hi Julie,

The Mega Cell is pelleted and for some reason I thought you were needing a pelleted supplement. It is very low in starch, however, since middlings are grain by-products, not the actual grain.

But, to get even more aggressive, it would be best to go with Glanzen Lite Complete. This is flaxseed (Nutra Flax) based with the added vitamins and minerals to fill in nutritional gaps. You can feed this along with MSM and your pain reliever, as well as Quiessence.

Regarding your hay analysis, did it actually have a
%NSC on the report? Most reports require that you add the %WSC to %Starch to obtain %NSC. And did you quote on a dry matter or an as fed basis? NSC of over 19% is on the high side and it would be best to either soak it (which is difficult to do this time of year) or dilute it with a lower NSC hay.

About magnesium... your hay has .24% Mg and .89% Ca. So, if your horse consumes, let's say, 20 lbs of this hay, that provides 21.8 grams of magnesium and 80.8 grams of calcium. Assume that only 50% of the magnesium is absorbed, so they are getting 11 grams of Magnesium (half of 21.8). You'll want to bring the total magnesium level up to 20 grams per day (5 g per 250 lbs of body weight). So, your horses get 11 grams from the hay, and therefore, you would supplement Quiessence to provide an additional 9 grams (two scoops). The calcium will still be higher than the magnesium content.

I hope this is helpful. So bottom line... Glanzen Lite Complete -- 2 scoops per day, along with 2 scoops of Quiessence.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Julie Sandstedt
I have a few more questions, I quess I am confused on a few things. I printed the Product labels for Mega
Cell and Quissence. Mega-Cell has wheat middling, dried grains and molasses. Would this still be ok to
feed to horses that are 18yrs, cresty with fat pads. I also found my hay analysis these are a few of the
resutls-Crude Protein 7.3, Acid fiber 36.5, Neut fiber
46.6, NSC 19.2, Phosphorus 0.16, Calcium 0.89, Potassium 0.27 and Magnesium 0.24%. My next question is on the magnesium, I know magnesium should not exceed calcium. Would I be over in my magnesium with
my hay and the two products you suggested. I just want
to be sure I am not doing more harm than good.
Thank You for your help.
Julie

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO