Let the Diet Challenge Commence!

Baby Maxwell has been doing fairly good with his weight as of late. However, he has been haunted by continual GI issues since day 1, when I started to switch him from the food he came on, to the food I was feeding my previous horse and had seen good results with. Seminole's Wellness line of feed is a great product, and I have a lot of confidence in their products. However, Maxwell was eating upwards of 18 pounds of their Wellness Perform Safe (controlled starch) concentrate each day. He already had a sensitive hindgut, and this just tore his insides apart. I cut him back a bit, added alfalfa pellets, and divided his meals into 3 servings in hopes of him better absorbing the large amount of food he was consuming each day. His loose manure persisted, and I was at my wits end. Showing all the classic signs of an upset belly, I couldn't stand by and do nothing any longer, even if he didn't look like a complete skeleton.

I had a very informative and friendly conversation with the wonderful lady who got Maxwell off the track, Summer (along with many other OTTBS, if you're looking, I know who you should go see!). We talked about the price differences in food choices, what worked for him while he was in her care, and more about his overall GI health. The next day I got a call back after she had contacted the Cavalor rep for our area. She fully endorses Cavalor feeds and products, and many of her OTTBs currently eat their products. However, the reason that I trust Summer's thoughts on the feed routine, are simply because she does what works for the horse, and sometimes that may not involve a Cavalor feed. Maxwell was on a mix of Cavalor FiberForce and another brand's senior feed when I obtained him. Upon finding out the price of the FiberForce (initial sticker-shock IS a B), I made the decision to switch him over to the food I had confidence in. Obviously, two months later, I realize that it's not doing any good for his tummy.

Cavalor has selected 4 people in the US to trial a new product they have come out with. Essentially over the last week I was to transition Maxwell back onto Cavalor FiberForce, and when the trial supplement arrived, begin  adding that to his ration. The new weight building supplement is called WholeGain.

Cavalor WholeGain is marketed as a Cool Energy weight gainer & ration balancer. Because the product is so new (It JUST arrived in the US THIS WEEK from Belgium) there isn't a heck of a lot of information out about it. The following are two links describing the product. I assume more information as far as ingredients and more in dept feeding instructions will soon follow.
Information about WholeGain
More in Depth Breakdown of WholeGain

This stuff smells amazing. It's sweet, but not too sweet. It's refreshing, and it actually tastes good! (Yep, I tried it). 

FiberForce is another Cavalor product. It was designed for horses with dietary restrictions such as those who struggle with Ulcers, GI upset, insulin resistance, laminitis, cushings, etc. Maxwell was originally put on this formula by his previous owner to hopefully help his hindgut heal. As we know, it's a cold day in hell when you come across a fresh OTTB that doesn't suffer from some sort of GI or Ulcer issue at least in the beginning. As I said, I made the decision to transition him off the FiberForce (and senior) and onto the other food I had fed. Here I am, two months later, and Maxwell just finished his week long transition back onto the FiberForce.

FiberForce is a high fiber, low starch food which is forage based. High fiber, low sugar, low starch. Three things I like to see in a food designed for the equine's gut health. Here is a nice blurb from Cavalor about FiberForce, I figure it's better to just link it rather than try to put it into my own words. The second link goes into more depth, and if you click through the links at the bottom of the page, it gives in depth details on the guaranteed analysis and ingredients.
FiberForce Overview
Extended Information about FiberForce

Here is a stock photo of Cavalor FiberForce. The aroma is absolutely spectacular. Smells of the freshest alfalfa you will ever find.

Now for the fun stuff! This is Maxwell's new feeding regiment as suggested by the Cavalor Rep who offered this trial to me. She suggested slowly working him up to his maximum of 1/2 pound WholeGain per day, so the numbers below reflect what he will be receiving. Right now as he is acclimated to this product, he's receiving half of what is listed below for the WholeGain.

AM:

1 1/2 scoops (roughly 4.5 quarts) FiberForce

1 cup (1/4 pound) WholeGain

3 quarts Alfalfa Pellets

2oz Actiflex 4000

1oz U Gard Pellets

PM:

1 1/2 scoops (roughly 4.5 quarts) FiberForce

1 cup (1/4 pound) WholeGain

(alfalfa pellets in PM as needed)

Timothy/Alfalfa/Orchard mix hay in unlimited quantities fed in a slow feed hay net (to reduce mess and waste)

12 hours on grass overnight

I'm very optimistic with this new feed regiment, and I hope to see great results during the trial so that I can hopefully continue this feed mix. Max's manure is proof that in just over a week of transitioning him to FiberForce alone, his GI tract has calmed down considerably. The goal of this feed regiment is to eventually be able to reduce the amount of FiberForce down to more around the range of 1 scoop twice a day (maybe even less when desired weight results are achieved) and the removal of Alfalfa Pellets from the diet.

The number one thing that turned me off Cavalor before I knew anything about it was price. The number two thing that turned me off Cavalor before I knew anything about it was NSC content.

Let me begin with the number two reason.

NSC's are an important thing in the horse world, and the craze is just starting to take over. There are many horses who need a restrictive diet low in NSC's due to metabolic issues, hoof issues, GI issues, etc. Contrary to popular belief, Cavalor DOES offer low NSC options, FiberForce being one of them. I do not believe WholeGain is low NSC, but fed as a weight supplement, there's no alarm in feeding a maximum of 1/2 pound of this supplement. It's also notable to add that the process in which Cavalor uses to produce their feeds, is done so in a way that allows the horse to better absorb nutrients, and to reduce risk of levels spiking. I'm not a scientist so I'm not about to try to explain that science, but it's definitely worth a read/watch (I THINK they have videos). Sugars and Starches are very important to me with Max as we combat post-track hoof issues which are slowly resolving. I would never intentionally put him on a food that would inhibit that safety, both for his feet AND his stomach.

Now onto the number one thing that turned me off in the beginning.

Price is probably one of the most important things many people take into consideration when making food choices for their animal (horse or otherwise). I know it's top of my list, because I'm responsible for providing my horse with whatever food choices I've made for him. It has to fit into the budget for me to be able to own a horse. Let me start by taking a step back into the recent past:
Bella was my gorgeous dappled buckskin pony. Bella was doing okay on her concentrate feed when I got her. The food was Manna Pro Safe Performance (a controlled starch formula. essential for ponies). Over the winter she had a notable weight loss. Obviously being in Florida you don't associate weight loss with winter, but grass does stop growing here too, and calories are restricted. It was around that time that the barn owner switched the boarded horses over to Seminole's line of feeds. I decided to make the switch as well, because Manna Pro had raised their prices and a few dollar increase for a much higher quality feed was worth the investment. This is how I came to know and love Seminole Wellness Perform Safe. With Maxwell, he was eating approximately 18 pounds of the Wellness by the time he was transitioned over, and though he wasn't losing weight, he was barely gaining. This was merely sustaining him to do work and live. If you do the math, and boy I did the math, Maxwell was eating around 9 50lb bags of this food a month. 9. That's a LOT of food. And Seminole isn't cheap either at $21 a bag! So I was spending around $190 a month not including alfalfa pellets and hay just to sustain my horse. During the course of conversation about nutrition with Summer (OTTB queen, Max's previous owner) we realized that honestly, he'd be eating less money if he was on the more expensive food. FiberForce bags are 33 pounds. Maxwell will be eating approximately 5 bags of FiberForce a month, at $34 a bag. This equals $170. That's a $20 savings, and a heck of a lot less concentrate sitting in his belly making it upset. I was told that WholeGain will be priced somewhere between $50 and $60 for a 44lb bag. Please keep in mind, that fed in the manner in which I plan to feed it, that's 88 days worth, so essentially that's around what? $20ish dollars a month when you break it down as such. So basically, I'm spending nearly the exact same amount on food (not including hay or alfalfa pellets) for a far more superb food which works far better for my horse's gastrointestinal needs. Not to mention, that as he rounds out in weight, a reduction in both the WholeGain and FiberForce will save me money in the long run. I'll let those figures speak for themselves. I suck at math, but I'm pretty sure my math is correct here ;-)


All in all, I'm very excited to try this out. Please follow along as I update on where we are with both training and nutrition. I'm hoping to show off a fat Thoroughbred by the end of the trial!

PS: Maxwell & I have our first lesson together Saturday morning! WEEE!