As I look out my window right now Bud is running up and down the fence line screaming like a maniac. He kept me up most of last night with the same behavior. It seems that now that my mare, Cerise, is in heat she thinks Bud is wonderful. Last week she was charging at him across the fence and making the ugliest faces.
It turns out that Bud was not gelded until he was 8 years old and he definitely retained the memories of being a stud. Now I see everybody is running, including the goats. What a difference a few degrees lower temperature can make in everyone’s energy level.
The good news is Bud feels good enough to act like an idiot and not have any repercussions. He ran around all day yesterday and last night but ate well this morning and seems to have plenty of energy. Luckily, I think Cerise is going out of heat.
Bud has been doing fantastic on his beet pulp and low starch feed. I checked him for food sensitivity to timothy and rice bran and he came back borderline for both so it looks like he will not be getting any hay or fat supplement for awhile. His manure stays cow patty like but I suspect this is because he has no long stem fiber in his diet.
Bud is only getting a few pounds of beet pulp and when I tried to increase it he started eating dirt so I cut back to 1 pound three times a day. He still gets his Simplexity
essentials, 1 pack a day, 3 Simplexity
Zymes plus three times a day and 1 TBS Digestive Product green clay once a day. I am not giving him any aloe or slippery elm but will start back on it if needed. He does get 1/2 tsp glutamine twice a day plus cabbage which is high in this amino acid. He gets cooked carrots and some basil with his beet pulp.
I can put out 5 to 6 pounds at a time of the low starch feed and he will nibble on it throughout the day. This makes it much easier when I have to be gone on calls. I can remember it was only a month ago that I could not give him more than 1 pound of feed at a time or he would colic. I think his digestion is improving but I have to be patient and not ask him to handle too much beet pulp at one time. I can get away with more low starch because he eats it slowly and it is pretty much predigested.
Even when Bud is acting like a stud he is still very polite and a pleasure to be around. I just went out and grabbed him by the grazing muzzle and led him to the gate so he could be closer to Cerise. He walked very politely with me and as soon as he got through the gate and I was clear he took off at a full gallop. If you ever wonder why I put so much emphasis on having the digestive tract in good shape to have a healthy horse, Bud’s case should help you understand. Madalyn
Bud running fence