For
quite a while before last winter, we had been having muscle problems with the
horses and it had held them up quite a bit, especially at the start of the
National Hunt season. I also hear it is
becoming more of a problem, especially in racing. We were getting muscle enzyme readings coming back on blood tests
that were far too high and I had known things were not right. Finally our vet, Buffy Shirley-Beavan whom
we had just moved to, said it was probably caused by a mineral imbalance (she
was the first person to come up with this after a very long time seeking advice
and getting nowhere from other vets, feed companies, haylage analyses, water
analyses etc.). I can’t tell you how
long I had spent looking into absolutely everything and analysing everything
that went into their mouths, including the water. We nearly spent £12,000 on a water filter for them!
In the
end, knowing it was a mineral imbalance but not how/what was causing it, Tracey
Sloan (part of EPDS racing), mentioned Clare MacLeod to me who is an
Independent Equine Nutritionist. We had
met Clare many years ago and boy I wish we had her advice a few years
earlier. Clare is a qualified expert on
equine fitness and nutrition and is completely independent so she has no bias
towards a certain feed company. To have
knowledge of both the physical side of exercise and nutrition has to be a major
plus as the two go side by side.
Since
Clare came to see us and suggested the changes to their diets, all the horses
have improved and muscle enzymes returned to normal. I am often in contact with her about any individual requirements. Clare is not frightened to tell you what she
thinks, which is what you want and I had to trust her and take a jump and do
some things that other people have said to me not to do. Thankfully all was sorted very soon after
Clare came last autumn and finally I feel we can write about it.
We are
feeding high fibre, high oil and controlling the amount of starch they are
getting. We have also noticed that the
horses’ feet have improved and so too have their skin and general condition and
well being. I can’t recommend Clare
highly enough for anyone experiencing any nutrition/fitness/muscle problems
with their horse. Please see her
website for more details: www.equinenutritionist.co.uk
Funnily, I have employed Clare to advise me on what to feed Bertie (aka Bemused) so as to keep condition on him, benefit his bare feet and not encourage any sharpness. Bizarrely he's now fed a stud mix which is high in calories but low in starch and seems to be doing very well on it, along with various vits&mins and supplements. As you say, I'm interested to wait a few more weeks, and see the results then.
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