Black Oil Sunflower Seeds

[Mellifluous]

After doing a bit of research, I have decided to supplement my 2.75 year old gelding with BOSS. I have tried corn oil and that did not go over very well. He has always looked a bit unthrifty. I did all of the powerpac working stuff and had the vet out. He attributed it to him being an *accidental* cryptorchid and spending too much time pining after the girls instead of eating.

He has put on weight since I had him gelded, but he is still a little ribby and his coat is not that great. I am hoping that the BOSS will make a difference.

Now, I was also thinking about adding this to Lexi's diet. She is my older gal and will be 23 this spring. I have noticed that she has very dry skin and has dropped a little weight this winter. She has a problem with choke so I have to feed her wet feed. Do you think adding the seeds will be an issue?

Curious.

Here are some fairly recent pics of the two that I am thinking about supplementing - yes, they are filthy - I know. You can make comments about them, won't hurt my feelings. ;-)

Spirit
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/legado/dirty_Spirit.jpg

Lexi
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/legado/dirty_Lexi.jpg

[Blameitonbrio]

At the barn where we kept our horses before the one where they are now, our horses were given BOSS. They loved it, and it is so much nicer than messing with oil. Their coats were great on it too. I just bought a bag to start giving our horses here.

I don't know about the choking issue, but if you check out the forum
www.nchorsenews.com
and search for BOSS, you will find lots of endorsements of using it. They may address the choking issue; I am not sure. However, I know that the folks on there who love BOSS would be glad to talk about it.

[Linda Y]

Are you using the seeds with or without hulls? The only ones I have found here are actually sold as bird seed, but it is a huge bag of black oil sunflower seeds. I fed it once and didn't see much difference, but maybe you have to feed it for a year or so...I only went through the one bag.

[Blameitonbrio]

We fed them with the hull, and it needs to be the black oil type, not the striped type. I noticed very shiny coats after a few months. Of course, that is not scientific -- could have been something else! But the horses loved them.

[Terry Wallace]

Yes, Mel. he looks a little thin...but..please realize that he is changing out teeth on a regular bases until he is five years old...he may be "unthrifty" because he has caps coming off... OR..he may be "looking unthrifty" because he is in an UPWARD growth spurt. It takes a lot of energy to grow BONE...You may want to up the sweet-feed a bit. Look into his mouth and check for caps that may be stuck, cutting his lip or cheeks in an area, or perhaps putting him on daily strongid wormer will help him better utilize his feed.

[Mellifluous]

Yes, Mel. he looks a little thin...but..please realize that he is changing out teeth on a regular bases until he is five years old...he may be "unthrifty" because he has caps coming off... OR..he may be "looking unthrifty" because he is in an UPWARD growth spurt. It takes a lot of energy to grow BONE...You may want to up the sweet-feed a bit. Look into his mouth and check for caps that may be stuck, cutting his lip or cheeks in an area, or perhaps putting him on daily strongid wormer will help him better utilize his feed.

He has caught up with his mom in height over the winter.

I've been feeding him the 14% protien beet pulp based feed by Platform. I think I could up his amount safely. The daily wormer is something that I have been considering too. I never have had a horse that I could not put weight on - I think this is what bothers me so much about it. He is very high energy...less since he has been gelded but still runs and plays quite a bit.

I'll check his mouth out tomorrow and see if I find anything.

I am considering selling him, and I know that no one would give him a second glance in his current condition. It really is a shame because he will be a nice horse once he grows up. He has a great "personality" - especially for an arab.

[GeorgeGuns]

I don't know of any problems with BOSS, just not sure its the right approach.
For the gelding, I wouldn't really worry about it, he's still growing - read: stretching his skin. They go through funky stages, can look "thin" when they are just growing bone before body mass. I'd just give him a little more of what he is already getting.
Now for the older one, that is a different issue. Older horses often lose some capacity to absorb nutrients as the gut ages. What they usually need is a little more protien, and help absorbing the other nutrients. Triple Crown makes a great 30% protien supplement that is chock full of goodies, you only feed a few cups a day. I'd also give her (the gelding too) a panacur power pac to cleanse her system not only of any lingering parasites, but its a good antioxidant. I'll assume you have her teeth floated every 6 mos. She may also be having some mild pain issues that need to be addressed, nuthin like a good chiropractor or massage therapist! Just doing range of motion exercises (TTEAM has some great stuff to do) can help her out, and there are some good books out for basic equine massage.
Just some ideas..

[Mellifluous]

Oh, I don't want Lexi to gain a bunch of weight. I give her senior feed and have to watch it when the weather gets warm because she gets fat in a heartbeat. I would rather have an oldster on the thin side rather than carrying too much weight. That was Lego's problem.

The old gal is going strong. No popping or arthritis - she runs and plays with Spirit. I keep a close eye on her and do keep her teeth floated. I am not worried about her. She will tell me when she is ready to be old.

How often can you powerpac a horse? I did Spirit the worming cycle before last. I worm every 6 weeks.

All of my horses get TTouch ;-) They LOVE it.

[GeorgeGuns]

Powerpac probably best done the next time after they are wormed for bots. I haven't done it yet, going to soon on Bri. I did get a bit paranoid about parasites this winter and everyone got panacur 2 weeks after ivermectin. The two horses I was most worried about now look much better! Bri is getting the powerpac in about 2 weeks as part of his treatment for whatever the heck has been wrong with him...

I agree older horses shouldn't be fat, also think they should be out 24/7 and spoiled rotten!