FEEDLINE…….. MARCH - APRIL 2007 No 46

Maglyte is the ideal Magnesium supplement to feed when horses start eating more grass and cutting down on existing feed. It will counteract Mg deficiency in spring grass. Mg uptake is slow in spring grass and much of the quantity shown in analysis is locked in the chlorophyll fraction and unavailable for assimilation.

If you take two Emp-19C Capsules – before going to bed you get a really deep relaxing sleep. You wake up drowsy and comfortable for a few minutes as you do from emerging from a good sleep but you don’t feel drugged. All morning you have a more serene attitude. They are safe and non-habit forming and the Ayurvedic formula we make up has been used for thousands of years. 60 Capsules are £12.13 net through our Trinity Office in Jersey, telephone 01534 863495.

E-Mail from France - Poor Jigolo was very ill on Saturday.  He had what’s called a ‘Pyroplasme’ in French which is caused by ticks and destroys red blood cells.  ‘His legs swelled up like an elephant’s and he was very unwell.  Fortunately we got the vet out straight away because it can cause multiple organ failure if not treated very quickly’.  Anyway, the treatment was very effective though it did give him a mild colic which then passed.  ‘Please send me some L94 to help his recovery, particularly the fact that his liver may have been affected’.  He was looking much brighter yesterday and should make a full recovery so we are told. It’s called ‘piroplasmosis’ in English and it’s a disease not seen in the UK but is seen occasionally in this area of France and there seems to be some sort of local epidemic going on at the moment because the vet reported having treated many more cases than normal the last couple of weeks.  Jigolo was treated with ‘Imidocarb’ as he presented with an acute infection.  The treatment seems to have had a positive immediate effect.  This Imidocarb is a toxic product in its own right (giving rise to even more concern about his liver) and can produce a fatal colic in some horses.  After a worrying hour he showed no negative reaction and the swelling in his legs started to go down. ‘I went to see him at lunchtime and he seemed less bright than yesterday but ok.  The swelling has gone from his forelegs but remains around his fetlocks in his hind legs with some weakness (he couldn’t stand up properly when I picked up his feet). The vet will be seeing him again tomorrow and treating him with Imidocarb again’.  Apparently it will take at least a month before he can go back into full work (that’s if things go well).

Dietary Selenium levels have an effect on hoof growth and hoof quality. Too much results in hooves sloughing off, too little results in flakes, cracks, slow growth and greater susceptibility to infection. Too Much - We were asked to investigate the feeding of an Arab horse in the Midlands. Its hooves had started to slough off typical of too high a level of dietary Selenium and the owner suspected the feed was the cause, we had our suspicions that it might not be the feed as none of the other horses fed the same food were affected. Analysis verified no unusually high levels of Selenium to be in the feeds but careful inspection of the field revealed Mare’s tail growing in a damp area behind a mound on the far side of their field and the affected horse seemed to spend a great deal of time in that area to the almost total exclusion of the others. We deduced that quite uncommonly the horse had developed a serious liking for the plant. Mare’s tail (Equisetum) accumulates Selenium. Too Much - Some endurance riders and Sport horse enthusiast might remember MediEquus a supplement company that suddenly appeared on the commercial scene a few years ago with sponsorship deals and a lot of pseudo science then some valuable Polo Ponies hooves started falling off, it turned out that someone had got the decimal point in the wrong place on Selenium, they were never heard of again. Too Little - Many years before this we had been made acutely aware of the coloration between Selenium and hooves when asked to improve the overall health and performance of livestock on the then Prime Minister’s farm, which despite good management and feeding were mysteriously unthrifty and poor. With what was then the latest analytical techniques at our disposal and a host of eminent government scientists to talk to, we identified low dietary Selenium on the farm and for the first time fed supplemental Selenium to the animals. Gradually the animals on the farm began to respond and what was especially noticeable was the quality and strength of hooves. Just right – Last month a Podiatrist from the North West rang to ask if we ever investigated good results as well as bad ones. She knew of a farm where the hooves of the horses were uncannily good and what was more interesting was that any horse moved to the farm with poor feet started to have good hooves. We said we were interested and would do a forage sufficiency test. Whilst waiting for the result we also approached the regional Environmental Agency for information. Coincidence! They were aware of a local phenomena in the ground water indeed so different to the normal were samples found to be that they had suspected some degree of pollution only to find there was no pollution to the water coming up from a deep natural flow. The results from the Lab are now back, amongst a number of interesting figures is Selenium, if the hay is fed at a normal intake level the Se is 2.1mg per horse per day without any supplementation which corresponds exactly to requirement. On most farms (not counting those in Eire) all we can expect is between 0.2mg and 0.6mg of Se per horse per day something like 5 times less.

Selenium – An essential nutrient. Occurs naturally in the soil but distributed unevenly throughout the world. A deficiency can lead to anaemia, heart disease, liver disorders. The correlation between low serum levels and cancer is impressive. In communities where food and water are low in this element high rates of cancer and heart disease are observed. It promotes activity of both red and white blood cells. Arrests the aging process, scavenging for unwanted free-radicals. Enhances the body’s self healing ability. It is prescribed as an anti-oxidant to detoxify the body against poisonous metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury. A fine level exists between deficiency and toxicity More on Selenium can be found on the Trinity website www.justbespoke.com

Outbreaks of wet dung have been prevalent in the last few months, the following notes may help

Ensure sufficient fibre is being fed and any haylage is not too acid (low pH), too high in free nitrogen or mouldy. Ensure that any fatty foods (Linseed etc) are freshly cooked and not rancid.

1) Be sure it is not caused by worm infestation if worming use an Ivamectin type wormer if not already done.

2a) If not already tried feed a good probiotic (one that shows EU approval on label) for at least a week. Feed according to manufacturers instructions. If from Trinity use S/F Plus 2 Billion CFU/g at 25ml per day.

2b) Mix 2 parts of Sugar to one part of Salt and feed the mixture for three or four days; feed two Tablespoonfuls (Desert spoon for ponies). One in the morning mixed into the regular bucket feed and again in the evening. If this helps introduce Electros at similar amounts.

2c) If the droppings are reasonably formed but accompanied by brown liquid (especially if it is foul smelling) feed T7 for 10 day at 25ml or 50 ml depending on severity

3a) If the horse or pony is gassy feed G21 at one measure (25ml Spoon) at least twice or if necessary thrice per day. This can be at the same time as T7 or afterward.

3b) If the horse or pony is not particularly gassy feed G23 at one measure (25ml Spoon) at least twice a day or if necessary thrice per day.

Sudden Anticipatory evacuation is not easy to control without dulling performance however where it is a problem Mentax Mild can be of benefit

The above actions are for when horses of ponies are in good health and thriving despite chronic loose dung. Horses and ponies that suddenly develop diarrhoea/dysenteric scours must be referred to a Veterinarian if at all possible, especially if the horse or pony is off colour and unthrifty.

Just as bees will turn on themselves or at least vacate their hives when they are placed under power lines or near radar or large radio installations so some animals and indeed humans who live in the proximity of such installations do not thrive as well as they ought. Although it may not be possible to especially feed all the animals, people living in the proximity of such radio fields may find it helps to take S/26 Stoneflour everyday with a little milk or water. S/26 Stoneflour, which we use in Tenderfoot and Recovery formulae, is high in Silicic acid which is of utmost importance for all living creatures because the supporting structure of cells consists of silicic acid crystals. Silicic acid crystals (Quartz) emit waves that serve to stimulate cell membranes. If cell membranes do not function properly viruses are more likely to invade and some actually attack the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in chromosomes. Such uncontrollable excrescences heighten the risk of tumour. By retrograde transformation of the atomic lattice, S/26 Stoneflour, intercepts and influences the smallest highly vibrating charges (and therefore radiant particles of radio active precipitation). It is no coincidence that even earliest man sought the protection of crystal forms such as garnet, Lapis lazuli and others precious formations and the first reason for their high value was more of health than ornament. One report of S/26 Stoneflour helping in this regard is of a refugee with Antinotoxemia from working in a Uranium mine. He suffered terrible itching and his hands trembled uncontrollably however within a short time of taking the Stoneflour the tremulation ceased along with the itching.

The freshness of vitamins is very important; their potency decreases steeply as soon as they are included in any feed particularly if it has a significant salt content. After a while the rate of degradation plateaus out into a longer period of half life and then suddenly they become totally inert. Much is now done to preserve the active life of vitamins but there is a limit to how much they can be protected before making them unavailable. Over a twenty year period from the 1960’s many feed compounders were bought out and at one time three of the largest feed compounders in the country were all owned by the same company and unbeknown to many of their farming and horse customers, all the feeds produced were very roughly the same but presented under different names. This made it difficult for any one of the companies to get trade off one another especially if their price was similar or even higher than the others. This was especially true in the pig business where a pig farmer would often decide whether to change to a new feed supplier on the results of feed trials between one feed and another. Knowing that besides all the sales hype there was no way of showing better results one of the companies started to make sure that for any farm trials their mill would leapfrog old stock and break open the freshest vitamin premix they had, reverse stock routine of last in last out with regards to their ingredients and send the newly made feed direct to the farm involved. They started to win all the trials, there was an investigation and the practice was stopped.

Goldenmeal 5104 at a mugful or so per feed can be particularly useful in helping retain or regain condition in those horses that are beginning to feel the effects of a long wet winter and do not have the prospect of a lot of grass to come. It is invaluable as it does not change temperament. Just include it with existing feed and some cooked flaked barley if it is necessary to increase weight by quite a lot, especially with the Showing season in mind. Golden Meal 5104 with its excellent Lysine levels helps balance the calories fed, allowing daily energy to be more available for the growth of new robust cells.