Thursday, February 5, 2015

Supplement Land

Omg guys- a non diary post! Finally! Lol

Oh supplements. Do they work, or nah? Here is my story:
Growing up, my moms horses were on supps. I can't tell you which ones because I don't remember that kinda stuff from when I was 10. I am 90% positive Gleam and Gain was one of them. Pretty much my mom had her nice horses on them and that was it. 

Well, mom no longer has a horse. My pony was not on any grain or supps. Then comes Riesy. He needed weight, bad. We did beet pulp or alfalfa pellets. Switched to a new barn where he went on Senior. 

His breakthrough was when he was in Del Mar in full training with a half-leaser (um who says no to having your horse in paid full training by the beach?). They loaded him up on all da supps. I dont know which ones tbh. 

The half-leaser went off to college and now Riesling was back in inland territory. His beautifulness left the building. I was disappointed. It was then I decided he needed supps to be fat and healthy. 

I went to a Del Mar Dressage Grand Prix and shopped around. I then met Tech Mix supplements. Riesling was on a weight gain/gut health, joint(preventative), and a hoof supplement. We got a free 30 day trial of electrolytes so he got those too. I fed it to him in a rice bran/senior mix. In about two months he was looking pretty swell! 

Then we moved to Idaho. I couldnt get my supps up here. My friend worked at the local tack store raved about RenewGold feed. So I bought it. And when I got a job at the tack store, the first thing I did was stand in the supplement aisle and stare. I had mang discussions with the fees guy and finally landed my perfect supplement. 

TightJoints Plus. Economical, highly concentrated, joint supp. The RenewGold was taking care of his weight. TightJoints worked great for Ries. But alas, the tack store went out of business. In a way to make use of my discount, I bought the last of 4 different joint supps to equal that of my TightJoints (someone bought it out before I could!). 

And then Riesy became a picky eater. He said no to nasty powders. Damn. I have 3 months worth of this crap. What was I going to do now?! 

I pondered the land of Smartpak. And then, the angels from heaven shined light on me. I found it. The holy grail of all supplements. Exceed 6 way. Picky Eater approved. Added to cart. 

And it arrived. Took forever, but it arrived. He eats it. Most important part. Now time will tell if it works. 

So do you have any favorite supplements /grain or are you anti-supplement? 

P.S. I hope you enjoyed random (except for last pic) photo dump. Apparently I forgot to post photos after my ride one day. And needed another one to break up the text, so therefore, SB with a bonnet. 

3 comments:

  1. Ooh love the pink pants (and the teeny bonnet)!! I don't use supps but my horse does get joint injections once in a very long while. I think for him this way is more economical and less complicated, but maybe someday I will discover the magic of supplements as well :)

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  2. glad you found a combo that works for Ries!! my mare has typically been an easy keeper, so she only really gets ration balancer and a little bit of grain... tho after treating suspected ulcers i put her on gastric support (mostly magnesium and calcium)... but so far no reason to add anything else!

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  3. I use supps when the girls need them - so far this year we are managing well without.
    Love the polka dot saddle pad and your matching jacket & polos - such a gorgeous colour ♡♡♡

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