Herbal blends help us in weathering the winter months with our 8 horses. Two of them are 23 years old thoroughbreds. One mare, coming 19, is a highly competitive, very fast appendix mare. Our 11-year old paint gelding is also very competitive. He tends to lose weight quickly if he is stressed in any way. We have a yearling buckskin QH filly, a 10- year old Arab mare, a 12- year old palomino/ QH mare and a 3/4 TB, welsh pony cross pony.
The easy keepers are the Arab, palomino, pony and yearling filly. The lean, mean running machines and older horses don’t keep the weight on as easily.
So what do we do to keep them in top shape?
The secret to keeping horses healthy is to feed them well and make sure quality water is always available. We like to feed non-molasses whole grains when it is really cold out. We also supplement with quality herbal blends. We use a variety of blends as needed for preventative care, specific health issues and blends for the old or infirm. Floating the teeth is also recommended. Some of our horses, young and old needed their teeth floated; this is a big help as the teeth need flat surfaces for proper chewing and digestion.
The older and competitive horses get extra herbs and plant-based nutrients from Garlic n Roses for its immune, circulation, anti aging properties, and a tumeric blend like Free Flowin, for its anti arthritic, digestion, and anti oxidant properties.
A base formula, like Thumper, with its slippery elm blend keeps the gut buffered and supplies B vitamins and iron, is sometimes essential for the older or poor doers.
Why Switch Working Herbal Blends
Keeping horses on the same herb formula indefinitely is not recommended. The body changes and conditions change. Every 3-4 months, changing the formulas to something else that may be needed for the body, or going without any supplements, relying on good nutrition from the food is also important. It is best to give herbs for 6 days per week. We change it up over the seasons. After all, variety is literally the spice of life!!