It's About The Horse

thebundychick

Has anyone heard of the above product?

http://www.drjenniferstewart.com/calsorb.html

We were told, back when I used to agist Sante at Glenworth Valley that the horses needed to be on some kind of calcium supplement.

We were originally feeding ridiculous amounts of DCP & some other product which i can't remember, but the more study I did, the more I realized that the two products actually contradicted each other, giving the horse little to no benefit. So they then bought in this vet who had been developing her own product (the calsorb) and we were all told to start feeding that.

I got a 20kg bucket of the powder, as well as a 20kg salt / mineral block.

Sante was very fussy about eating it, and it didn't matter what I did, I simply could NOT get him to eat the recommended dose, i had to be content with just under half the recommended dose.

Well... NOw that he's in his new home, with his sheltered lean to - I decided to put the mineral block in the lean-to. It went in on Friday. We still have the same issues with the grass at the new place, so the supplement is a must.

I checked the block on Sunday, and he hadn't touched it. I haven't seen him in the last two days, because i've got a really bad head cold at the moment - but I went down to see whether he'd eaten any of it today, and no kidding - he's anhilalated it!

The block is about 25cm cubed, its BIG, I'd say he's eaten a good centimeter off the top of it.

He seems to like the block product a heck ofa lot more than the powder form.

Clarissa · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:33 am Post subject:

I haven't heard of that supplement or seen that vet's research before.

However after reading almost the whole of the website, I saved several documents about laminitis, calcium, oxolates in grasses.

Perhaps Bundy, you could rename this thread to draw more attention to the contents of the website for people to read the very good research contained.
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thebundychick · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:41 am Post subject:

Julie · Member Joined: 07 Feb 2009 Posts: 1297

I just wondered - do you get your pasture tested for these minerals etc to see what is missing, which is something that we regularly do in the UK.

Its interesting the different research available in different countries, as well as the different feeds, for example we would rarely feed bran as it can cause problems.

The latest in the uk is that EMS can be switched off by letting the weight drop drastically over the winter as it would naturally. Also that when the sugars in the grass increases at its growing, the magnesium level drops leading to more laminitis as well as behavioural problems.
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Clarissa · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:27 pm Post subject:

Julie, Aussie soils are lacking in everything because they're so ancient.

Rarely would a property have an even soil type across the majority of it's surface & profile, so soil testing would involve many various regions of the one property.

Most farms do get soil tests but mostly for the purposes of fertilizing crops that may or maynot end up as horse feed. More that a balanced soil produces a healthy crop requiring less input of chemicals, sprays, etc so it's a money saving thing not an equine nutritional thing. Some studs get soil tests too so they can grow quality pasture.

Rarely do Aussies get their hay tested. There are just a very few labs here that do hay tests & it can take weeks to get a reply. Also hay can come from anywhere & a load may be a mixture from different producers. I'm sure the big studs have their hay specially grown & there's bound to be many private owners who get special hay too. But most people just take what's offered from the feed barn or wholesaler.

Regarding the soil, the usual way to go about things here is to use the chemical fertilizer formulated along generalized lines for that area. So the feed barn or rural dealer will keep a range of fertilizers that suit that particualr area. Farmers or landholders will just tell the merchandizer what their expectations are for the fertilizer & they are told which one to use. The other way it's done is when the farmer gets the services of the agronomist to do tests & make up a unique recipe for that farm based on what crops will be grown or what animals will be running there.

People who want to use natural/organic fertilizers have a different path to follow which may include some soil tests. They will use what folklore says has worked best in that area mostly plus make use of alternative soil health methods. It is very hard to create a totally balanced property all over it. Usually there will be a few paddocks that are treated the best & the rest are as they come.

Many people still feed bran or millrun to their horses because it was always fed & it is cheap & the feed merchants still keep flogging it to people! It's quite hard to get a feed merchant to get in a new line mostly because there are 100's of new lines & they can't have a few bags of everything or they would go off or get full of wevils, etc. So most keep the old standbys like bran millrun & pollard & a few new lines that are good sellers. I have to drive 30k's up to Gympie to get my feed because the 4 local merchants won't get in what I feed mine which is molassas free feed. Pretty much everyone still feeds grain covered in molassas!

The 2 feeds I use are very exxy because the manufacturers know horse people will (or have to) pay a motsa for a decent feed. We have to, or just use what is dictated to us. Then there is the feed manufacturers who dictate to the feed barn how many bags/pellets they have to buy in to get the good deal & it's usually a lot, much more than they would prefer to buy in at once for freshness.

Old habits die hard!!

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Most of L4 PNH achieved WooHoo!! happy10

Saddlebag · Member Joined: 02 May 2011 Posts: 25

Maybe count your blessings that the horse isn't cleaning up the calcium product as there's a good chance he'd develop kidney stones. Horses with too much calcium also develop what's call Big Head, yes his skull will get larger.

PasoBaby_CarolU · Site Admin Joined: 31 Jan 2009 Posts: 9013

We have a lot of calcium in our water, so much that it is also high in our pastures and hay. Calcium will give a horse enteroliths which can get so large they can cause an impaction and the horse dies. I would definitely be careful feeding any supplement.

Look at these things!

http://www.google.com/search?q=en...0CDMQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=573

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Corazon de Oro Paso Finos

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Clarissa · Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 12:43 am Post subject: