Could I be seeing a light..?

Ok.. I don't want to jump the gun too soon, as those of you who have read my story with this mare.. Nancy Poos, aka NantesseZ, you will know it has been very much up and down journey, mostly down, but, I could may be coming out of my dark tunnel of frustration.. maybe??

Calm Healthy Horse

For the past 6 weeks, I have had Nancy on the calm healthy horses supplement, Grazezy. I won't go too much in to detail but many horses are what the CHH team term, 'grass affected'. The symptoms are many, from metabolic (cushings, laminitis), head shaking, stubborn, sensitivity to the touch, aggression, spooky, lack of concentration, unable to move back end properly and a whole lot more.

Nancy displayed most of the symptoms apart from head shaking (She is (was) metabolic on the brink of laminitic. If it wasn't for the fact that I feed a very basic hard feed (with no added molasses and all the other junk they add to commercial feeds), and that I add sodium to her feeds, I'm pretty sure she would have been more susceptible to a full blown episode of the dreaded disease. Every year I have struggled with her weight in summer, as her behaviour made it impossible to exercise her, and the fact she is greedy.

Since having had her on the Grazezy I'm seeing some very positive results. Grazezy is designed to counter act the potassium and nitrogen fluctuations in grazing. Weather causes these changes and obviously, UK weather is always changing!

Nancy is barefoot, and often she has been 'footy' walking over stones, reluctant to move and I've had to pop boots on her. Touch wood, so far, she is rock crunching! Even after rain last night 🙌🏻

Her aggression appears to have subsided. She is a lot more willing, and she appears to be calmer. Things are still not perfect, but I appear to be getting somewhere. I do, however, have to be very careful feeding any supplements with magnesium in as this seems to tip her over the edge and send her spooky again (and when I say spooky, I don't mean normal spooking, I mean absolute fear of nothing spooky). I was feeding a balancer, from one of the better feed companies out there (ie, not a commercial company), but I wasn't able to give her the recommended dose as it tipped her over the edge regards the mag! So, Ive decided to go more natural with the vits and minerals and allowing her to graze the various grasses, milk thistle and other plants available to her at this time of year. Its interesting to see what she chooses. These do however contain potassium, which I am trying to reduce by limiting her grazing. However, I am also a believer of...

...Self Selection (Zoopharmacognosy)

Years ago, when I had 3 horses, I tried the above. I bought little buckets, various herbs and placed them in the stables. It was really interesting to see which horses chose which herbs. Nancy was in ridden work at this time, so it obviously worked, BUT, she was also on a track system with very little grazing. Horses, like most animals, are good at self regulating.. but when weather fluctuates and changes grass structures, and we don't supplement other minerals (sodium, calcium and magnesium) we get an overload of potassium. So, am i doing the wrong thing letting her eat the various plants whilst trying to reduce her potassium levels? On the other hand, I have to allow for her to choose what she knows she needs, especially given I can't give her vitamin and mineral supplements due to the magnesium levels. Sometimes, we have to stop trying to micro manage every aspect of our horses diet and allow them free choice!

Conflicting and confusing

Of course, there are many supplements on the market today saying this and that causes certain behaviour. So, its no wonder, those of us wanting a cure all for our horses with 'problems' are left feeling confused and conflicted with the various products claiming to do this that and the other. When you have a behavioural problem and an unhappy horse you are left scratching your head so you end up going down a deep rabbit hole, with lots of advice, most of it different. Unfortunately, for Nancy, I haven't found a one size fits all supplement. Too much magnesium and too much potassium are both negative, and to get a perfect balance would mean no grass.. so I work best with how she is on a given day.

This means that I may never ride her again as she may always have that unpredictability, right now its just too early to tell. But, that's ok. as long as I have a horse I can walk out in hand, and do a bit of schooling from the ground up calmly, I'm happy.

I must keep practicing that Spanish walk though 😃