Bud is coming along nicely. I have been slowly cutting back on his low starch Kool and Kalm horse feed and adding some timothy hay cubes. I tested him for sensitivity to timothy and he came back borderline. I waited over a month for him to heal his gut from the bermuda and alfalfa sensitivity before using any timothy and he seems to be handling it with no colic.

I still have Bud on about 2 pounds of beet pulp, divided into 3 feedings, which I soak and add enzymes ehanced with fennel, ginger, and cayenne  to to help him digest it. I am not happy that Bud is on so much processed food so I do add about a pound of organic carrots each day and some herbs like basil which I have in my garden. Vegetables offer a nice organic source of food for horses that don’t have access to grass. I am in the process of adding some Finally feed which is an organic food for horses based on timothy but with good digestive support and organic minerals added.

Since bud is getting so much processed food that is not from organic sources I am keeping him on some herbal liver support until I can get him on a more organic horse feed. I also give him 1 pack a day of bluegreen algae, probiotics and enzymes. We have been having lots of rain here so I took a chance and let Bud out on my pasture without a muzzle. I hoped that the grass would be very easy to digest since it is growing now.

Needless to say, Bud was thrilled. He ran around shaking his head and flipping his tail over his back in joy. Unfortunately, I only let him stay out about an hour and he was much less thrilled when I showed up to catch him. He ran off from me and as I was pursuing I let him know his turn out privileges could be ending. Like the good boy he is, he walked up to the gate for me to let him back in.

The great news is I am seeing no repercussions at all from his time out. As a matter of fact, his manure is looking much more normal now that he is getting a bit of long stem fiber. I will let him out again today for a little longer. Bud’s owner is building a barn for him at her house so he may be going home soon. I will sure miss him. Madalyn

Bud eating his beet pulp