Hi Patti,

I have just completed Nevar's history and posted it. He was diagnosed with bloodwork. I will add some salt as he has been checked for all of the other obvious reasons for choking. (I guess he needs it anyway per the guidelines here) I guess my concern is he isn't eating (in my opinion) that much of the TCSS so I am thinking he isn't getting what he should be as far as balancing the minerals in his diet. I am thinking he is between 1300 - 1400lbs (vet's guess) and I know he is not eating 15 lbs of hay/feed. I would happily feed it to him but he refuses to eat it. He will eat some of it sometimes 2/3's and every once in awhile will finish it but it is rare for him to do so.

Pelleted might be an option for me as long as it will soak down to mush but he chokes on cubes. I tried cubes at his inital dianosis and after soaking them for 2 hours and me physically breaking up the obvious harder pieces for over 2 hours he of course found that one hard piece and had one of the worst choke episodes he has ever had. Plus I board at a facility and they will only do so much. I make sure I am the one to give his meds every day just cause there are too many variables it seems when you board your horse.

I will check out the safety guides and compare them to the new feed I am considering and will post any questions that I have.

Thanks so much for your suggestions..

Angela

I have just completed Nevar's history and posted it. He was

diagnosed with bloodwork. I will add some salt as he has been
checked for all of the other obvious reasons for choking. (I guess he
needs it anyway per the guidelines here) I guess my concern is he
isn't eating (in my opinion) that much of the TCSS so I am thinking
he isn't getting what he should be as far as balancing the minerals
in his diet.

Hi Angela ~
This is the url for Nevar's history (include this in future posts : )
http://www.sportshorses.com/cases/corvidlover.Nevar.htm

Hmmm - blood results are interesting. His "signs" all point to
insulin resistance - but the lab work, presuming there was no problem
with handling - and sounds like the new vet is savvy - doesn't.
The G:I ratio is 44.5 (glucose divided by insulin, <4.5 is IR,
between 4.5 and 10 is "compensated" IR) and RISQI is 0.71 (<0.32 is
IR).
His ACTH is elevated; this "could" be seasonal rise. But the
elevation, combined improvement with pergolide, would point to
Cushing's.

One thing I feel you should do is to start weighing Nevar's feed -
either take a bucketful home or take a scale to the barn and see how
much of the Safe Starch he's actually getting/eating (people are
usually surprised when they actually weigh their feed).
But, as a ballpark, if a bag lasts him 3 days, he's getting enough
and does not need anything else in the way of minerals (except for
the salt).
Also, would be a good idea to weight tape him - they're not 100%
accurate but gives you a starting point to tell if he's
gaining/losing weight or staying stable.
Start the salt really small (a pinch or 1/4 teaspoon) and work up as
slow as need be (a couple of weeks) to get him up to 1-1/2 to 2oz/day.

Hay pellets will generally soak down to a mush - the Mtn Sunrise
Timothy pellets are small and soft (no binders or fillers).
Continuing him on a low sugar/starch diet certainly won't hurt.

BTW - you can download the G:I and RISQI calculator for your vet -
it's an Excel file in the files
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/files in folder #8,
under "calculators".

Patti K
Vail AZ