By the way, he started a 4 day course of Bio Sponge for his diarrhea. It was still loose when I went out to see him last night to drop off his meds, but he didn't spew in the cross ties, so it looks like it's getting better slowly on it's own. The medication should help. I'll have to ask if I can give it to him in a preventative manner before hauling, or if there's a different drug (it has to be USEF legal).
I put links to each product in the table:
| Product | Pounds | Number of Scoops | Price | Cost Per Day | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chia (2oz serving) | 12 | 96 | $39.98 | $0.42 | $152.01 |
| Chia (4oz serving) | 12 | 48 | $39.98 | $0.83 | $304.01 |
| SmartGut Pellets | Paks | 28 | 39.85 | $1.42 | $519.47 |
| SmartGI Pellets | Paks | 28 | $46.50 | $1.66 | $606.16 |
| Progressive Nutrition Soothing Pink | 15 | 60 | $129.95 | $2.17 | $790.53 |
| SmartGut Ultra Pellets | Paks | 28 | $63.60 | $2.27 | $829.07 |
| SmartGI Ultra Pellets | Paks | 28 | $89.25 | $3.19 | $1,163.44 |
| Doc's OCD | 15 | 240 | $309.00 | $1.29 | $469.94 |
Doc's OCD isn't for the gut, it's for general bone and joint health (and Penn gets it already so I included it's cost in my table). I will stand by that product ALL DAY LONG as the best joint health supplement (I've used several). I wish I had x-rays of Mikey's hock after surgery, and then 5 months later so I would have proof of its abilities. We were planning on taking a set a year out from surgery... but well now we can't. Penn had a slight bone inconsistency in one angle of one of his fetlock joints, so we're going to take the same shot next August to see what it looks like.
I did Chia before. I didn't really notice anything with Mikey (maybe it did work and I just didn't know?), and we decided to take Penn off of it. The 2 oz serving is a maintenance serving, the 4oz is a problem serving. I always did the problem serving because well, it was cheap enough to do it! I'd be interested in making cookies out of it because the seeds are so small and prone to static cling, but I'm having trouble coming up with a binding agent that will hold 2/3 of a cup of the stuff together (that's 4oz). Suggestions?
I'm neutral to the SmartPak supplements. To be honest, after seeing the price tags I'd really only be willing to give SmartGut or SmartGI a try since they're cheapest. SmartGI Ultra Pellets comes with the $7,500 in colic care, which is great, except Penn is already insured and for an additional $1,163.44 per year, I'll triple his value on his policy as soon as he's worth it and then he'll have more than $7,500 in surgery care.
A friend with a neurotic OTTB tried Soothing Pink to great results. Except that $130 tub lasted one month for her, making her horse's dose cost $4.33 per day and $1,581.06 per year. Not happening for Penn, sorry! We think Penn can get away with that bucket lasting two months since he weighs less and doesn't have the nervous issues that her horse has.
So I'm in sticker shock here- I'm game to try things, however the end cost of $600-$1,500 a year is not happening. So blogosphere, do you have a favorite gut supplement that you swear by?
Well...I have a sensitive flower in my barn and we have been having good success with the platinum balance probiotics. There's another one that my vet recommends (also works well) but I'm blanking on the name at the moment. I'm also giving aloe juice. I mainly started the aloe to stick the probiotics to her alfalfa pellets...A friend who is a vet tech attended a conference where a vet spoke about giving 1 cup of aloe juice per day to help with ulcer prevention. Can't hurt might help...I'm in! Good luck. The loose poop is a super frustrating issue and there are SO MANY supplements you could try.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about Platinum products!!! *scurries off to research* They aren't a bad price for a year either- less than $400.
DeleteThere are so many options of what to give- I'm happy to take any suggestion of products that people like and think work!
I've used U-Guard (comes in pellets or powder) with pretty good luck. Hampton stays on it all the time through show season, and I will supplement with Ulcerguard during shows. I also had REALLY good results with the blue pop rock things (omneprezole).
ReplyDeleteYou know, I googled "omeprozole blue pop rocks" and they popped right up, hahahaha! You mean AbPrazole? It looks like they come in pre-measured packets. I'll check out U-Guard too! Thank you!
Deletemy mare gets u-guard for daily maintenance too, and i actually have a shipment of abler's omeprazole on the way too :)
DeleteI used to use Platinum, but to be honest, after doing tons of research, Platinum products tend to be overpriced for what they offer. I love SmartOmega3 specifically for gut/coat health. I also used to have Fiction on Exceed 6-way, which seemed to greatly benefit him in every aspect of his health.
ReplyDeleteMagOx. You can get a 50 pound sack of it for about $12, and it lasts FOREVER. The only problem is that it's not very palatable. Aloe juice helps, and so does alfalfa.
ReplyDeleteIf Penn is looking ulcer-y, definitely try to blue pop rocks. They work and are significantly cheaper than the alternatives.
I had TC on u-guard for a while and it seemed to do good things. Rico was on a probiotic and a prebiotic after his bout with ulcers a year and a bit ago, he did super well on them. I can't for the life of me remember what they were though... I'll try to find out.
ReplyDelete