SmartPaks

So I got a notification in my email in the last couple of days, sandwiched between all the cyber week emails that says that SmartPak is raising rates.  It's a $2.40 increase for me a month, so I'm not upset.  Violet is currently only getting two supplements through them.  But it brought to mind a discussion of supplements and what I have used and what I have had success with in the past.

When I first started riding Violet, she really was a mess.  She was not quite 4, had been turned out in a field from weaning until about 2 with a herd of horses and no supplemental feed, was rescued and held in someone's yard in a place that was described as "dirt lots fenced with upright pallets and random wire holding it together".  She got feed and hay, but it wasn't the safest place.  Then when she was "donated" to my old trainer, she spent a couple of days in one of the school horse stalls, but then got moved to the back field with the other youngsters.  She didn't get much attention for the first couple of months she was there, and when I started riding her, she was very happy to have someone love on her.  But she was skinny; ewe necked and hip high.  And she still had her full mane, which was cute on the baby, but was corrected in about 15 minutes in the trailer when on our way to our first show about 5 months later.  Unfortunately, I am not really able to find any of those pictures right now, so you'll just have to believe me.

So I started her on Cosequin first.  I have had people ask why I started her on that so early, or why a young horse needs it.  Truthfully, I don't really know if any of them are "needed" but it seems to me that if it does any good, why not start when young?  Then the joints can stay healthy, rather than having to fix them once they are an issue.  And I do put extra strain on her joints, since I'm big and she's little.  That is the one supplement she has been on for the 6 years I've had her, and I don't plan on taking her off.

Then we put her on a coat supplement, Gold as the Sun or something, for a while.  SmartHoof was in there to help her icky hooves, as well as Fat Cat to fatten her up.  She stayed on all that while she was in that facility, then we changed things up a bit when she moved to Jacksonville.

In Jacksonville, I dropped the Fat Cat and the coat supplement.  She was getting really good feed compared to what she was getting before.  She doesn't need a coat supplement, never really has, but I kept her on straight flax seed for a while because it was cheap and I like to use it myself, so why not.  I switched her to Farrier's Formula for her feet, and added something else for her feet as well.  Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name.  It was similar to Red Cell, but I had to order it directly from the manufacturer in South Carolina.  It had the side effect of being a calmer as well, and Violet used it for couple years.  Between that and the Farrier's Formula, we kept her pretty comfortable.  That is, until I had her shod.  Then I dropped all of it, and we just used turpentine for a while until her feet started to look fantastic.  Now she has no hoof supplements and only gets Coppertox when it's wet and HoofHeel on the outside.  And her feet look fantastic.

We tried a variety of calmers for the spicy red-head, including SmartCalm, straight magnesium and a couple others.  Now I just have her on Mare Magic, which seems to be working great for her.  While she does get a little backsore and tense when she goes into heat, half the time I can't figure out if it's her or me.  While she is a straight up hussy to all the boys when on the ground, once in the saddle, it's not really an issue. Fortunately, I don't have to worry with anything like Regumate or anything, which is good.

She is a carrier for worms, so we have to watch her pretty diligently for those.  For a while when we were somewhere that all the horses were not controlled the same, I had her on daily wormer, just for short term to try to lessen the load she was carrying at the time.  It didn't really work and I subsequently took her off.

I added SmartDigest in order to get insurance.  I don't carry any other on her, as I can't really afford it right now, so figured that little bit would be better than nothing at all, and I didn't see any issue with the supplement itself.

So that's it.  She's on Cosequin and SmartDigest with a Mare Magic chaser.  She has access to a salt lick, and the worms are under control. She gets a quarter scoop of Purina Wellness Calm & Cool twice a day, and a handful at lunch (so that she doesn't feel slighted when all the others get some) and eats plenty of hay. It seems to work for her.  She's shinier, sleeker and in better body weight than ever.  It's true that health shines out from the inside.

Believe it or not, this was with winter coat