I left you last time with some of the symptoms I was seeing in Keira and my gut telling me something was wrong. Well now it’s time for me to tell you what I tried and what finally worked!
How It Started
I think it’s best if I begin with the trigger that started the rabbit hole I went down. Hyperethesia. That was the diagnosis given by the vet and something real I could research. It kept coming up in forums and articles that this “symptom” is common in horses with Lymes. The more I read on Lymes the more I was convinced Keira could have it. However, the vet tested for it and bloodwork showed no traces of it.
I didn’t stop researching though. One of the big changes horse owners were making was moving to a forage based diet. Many owners were saying their horses were doing better when they removed grain. Horses were having less gut problems (i.e. ulcers) and behavior was better. According to some vets, certain ingredients in complete horse feeds are considered anti-inflammatory. Since I was starting to get desperate, a forage diet was a change worth trying.
Diet Changes for Gut Health
Therefore, I started switching all my horses to a forage diet with only a ration balancer given as “feed.”
After doing weeks of research, I learned that forage diets lack certain vitamins and minerals. This is especially true in winter time when grass is dead. I didn’t want to create a deficiency problem. Therefore, I had to analyze everything I was feeding to make sure I was hitting the NRC recommended amounts.
So to do this I:
- Had my hay tested (equi-analytical is who I used to do this)
- Tested my Well Water – ( I’ve used this company for years)
- Pulled the Guaranteed Analysis for each product I was feeding (hay pellets, ration balancer, supplements, etc)
I took the information I gathered and put it into a spreadsheet. Then I started converting it all to the same units (grams, mg, IU, etc). After that, I added up the totals of each nutritional component to see where I needed to balance things out. For my horses, I need to balance out high iron in the hay with more copper and zinc. In winter when the grass is dead, Omega 3 and Vitamin E are lacking. Therefore, I knew to add these into the diet as well. Salt is another important component I needed to add.
So this is where I started. Through all the research I did, I learned that vitamin and mineral deficiencies could cause some of the issues Keira. However, it takes time to see if the diet will make a difference. I patiently waited a few months to see what changes might happen on the new diet.
When All Else Fails, Do a Gut Check
From November to end of January, I fed the new diet and started to see small improvements in Keira’s appearance. Her feet were growing out better and thrush was starting to clear up. Her coat was becoming softer and not so rough feeling. She wasn’t walking with the head tilt as much, but she was still grumpy. Her body was showing change but her mind was the same.
As luck would have it, a friend posted about a gut product on FB. I had heard about before on the Feed Room Chemist Podcast and was intrigued.
Sidenote – if you haven’t listened to that podcast you should!
My gut (haha) told me I needed to learn more about this product and give it a try for Keira. I knew that it was given to horses with ulcer symptoms and hind gut dysbiosis. Both of which could explain Keira’s grumpiness.
Some symptoms related to hind gut issues:
- Poor coat
- Flank sensitivity
- Hard time holding feet up
- Excessive gas
- Grumpy
- Tiredness
- Stiffness especially in the hind end
Plus many more. Again, all symptoms that can mimic other illnesses or problems. And again, all symptoms Keira had, so why not give this product a try. So I did and FINALLY I started to see bigger and better changes in Keira.
Changes in Keira
After 2 weeks of taking the hind gut reset, she was less stiff and more relaxed. Her coat got even softer and shiny. Her mane/tail started to feel softer and not so brittle. The copper color hair strands started to return to black. Her grumpiness started to go away and I could touch her without being kicked at. She even started to yawn when I would brush her! She actually started to have a calm happy demeanor about her. I didn’t see her laying down as much in the pasture and she was standing normal versus slightly parked out.
I am 100% convinced this horse had hind gut dysbiosis! Looking back I started to realize all the “triggers” that could have caused it too.
- The stress of moving to a new place (I think this started before I bought her)
- 2 rounds of antibiotics
- Weeks on Bute
- Stress of traveling
- Stress of training
I only wished I had tried it sooner! This product works and has been a game changer for her!
After being on it for 4 weeks, she’s much more pleasant to be around. I now plan to give her lifeline+ and Gastro phix for another 30-90 days. I want to make sure her entire gut is good and stays that way. IMO, these are superior products for that.
So Tell Me…
Has your horse had gut problems? If so, what did you do to help the gut?
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