Hi Sue,
Glad to hear that Finn is holding his own at the moment. Good that you have been able to implement the emergency diet and have been able to stop the bute. Know how scary that can be but it really is much better for him.
It would be very helpful to see pictures of Finn's feet before your upcoming appointment if at all possible. They can be uploaded to the Photos section on the Case History sub-group. Do you have the previous set of xrays available? It would be good to see those too.
What is the Carb Free grain - which company makes it?
Why are you feeding chastetree berry? This might be an option for a PPID (Cushings) horse but is not for IR.
Good that you are adding the vit E. Also need to add ground flax and iodized salt.
As for the Rush Creek free choice minerals: NO, these are in no way suitable for an IR horse. Besides the added iron, which NO horse needs, they have added vitamin C, thiamine, niacin, soy bean oil, rice bran, oat groats, barley, licorice, yucca. Free choice minerals in general are not a good idea as horses do not "know what they need" - they eat these mixes sporadically because of what is used as flavorings so there is no way to know exactly how much they are consuming. The best way is to analyze your hay, then supply minerals based on the deficiencies and surpluses in the hay so you KNOW the animal is consuming the proper amounts.
Licking the iron bar in his stall is something to pass the time - it has nothing to do with mineral needs.
MSM can interfere with copper and selenium uptake so unless there is a specific need to use it, not recommended.
For now, it would be best if you stick with the emergency diet until you can get your minerals balanced to the hay analysis. Throwing the proverbial kitchen sink supplement-wise at Finn is not going to be helpful and is a waste of your money.
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Lavinia, Dante and George Too
Jan 05, RI
EC Support Team
