Picky! Picky!

Well, it has been a little over two weeks since Zeus came.  He is doing great and seems happy here with us.  Almost all the hair on his right shoulder and face has grown back where he had rubbed due to allergies.  Since I shaved the top of his tail and the bottom half of his mane he has quit rubbing those areas as well.  However, I have noticed with the mane he has left he is rubbing in two other spots so we just went ahead and roached (shaved) the remainder of the mane today.  So now he has no mane...just his forelock (the hair between the ears that falls over the forehead and eyes) is left.  He looks funny but I had so much success with the other areas I shaved that I decided it was worth it.  My main objective is getting him feeling better before looking better but the two will walk hand in hand for the most part.  I rubbed iodine into the neck where the mane use to be.  I am not exactly sure why this works but it seems to keep the skin more moist and less dry so it doesn't itch so much.  It also seems to kill any bacteria that might make its way into the dry, dead skin which would cause secondary problems like infection on top of the allergies.  It was also time to trim his hooves again.  I know it seems like it was only two weeks ago...and that would be because it was LOL but the type of hoofcare James and I believe in resembles natural wear like that of wild horses so we have to imitate that ourselves by maintaining the hooves every 2-3 weeks as opposed to every 6-8 which is what most ferriers recommend.  We find this to be WAY too long between care...allowing too much overgrowth and time for the hooves to change negatively.  He did very well.  Much better than the first time.  I have been giving both horses supplements now since the 18th of this month, June.    Each horse receives the following:

Zeuster Rooster (Zeus)-
Burdock Root (for inflammation, relieves allergy symptoms)
Biotin (hoof and hair growth and health)
Kelp (overall health and immunity)
Yeast (gut and intestinal health)
Slippery Elm (intestinal and stomach health/ulcers)
Flax Seed (vitamin E and Omega-3)
Calc Fluor (joint, skin and ligament health)

This is given in a base of *beet pulp.  I have found Zeus to be rather picky and he will only eat it dry.  I also have to ad a small amount of rice bran and BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) to convince him to eat it.  Thus far I have only been able to ad a small amount of the Burdock Root and Biotin to this mix.  I will slowly add in all the other supplements until he excepts them all.  The above supplements have been chosen to help him build his immune system, ad omega-3 and vitamin E as much of this is lost in the process of drying grass out into hay, relieve his allergies, help his joints and dissolve a few bone spurs, help him digest better and just overall feel better!  I was rather frustrated the first few days with his pickiness but now that I have discovered he will eat the beet pulp dry I think I will be able to get him to accept all the supplements over time.

Fatty Patty (Major)-

Chaste Tree Berry (for pituitary health)
Biotin (hoof and hair growth and health)
Kelp (overall health and immunity)
Yeast (gut and intestinal health)
Slippery Elm (intestinal and stomach health/ulcers)
Flax Seed (vitamin E and Omega-3)
Calc Fluor (joint, skin and ligament health)


This is also given in a base of beet pulp.  I do not have to ad the rice bran or BOSS to convince Major to eat this.  I add a little water and ACV (apple cider vinegar) to Major's mash and he gobbles it all up!  He is not picky by any means and would eat anything.  I am also working towards a healthier immune system for Major as well as gut and stomach health, bone and joint health, hair and hoof health and the chaste berry is for his endocrine system.  It has been proven to help horses who struggle with insulin resistance to help balance the pituitary and other endocrine glands.


So that is it for now!  Keep watching out for the progress of this great boy!


*Beet pulp (pictured) is what is left from the beet once the sugar has been extracted from it for sweeteners.  Horses love it.   It is high in fiber and protein but very low in sugars, which I avoid at all costs with my horses.  Therefore, I find it a much better product than grain which is hard for horses to digest and usually loaded with unneeded sugars and carbs.  10 pounds of beet pulp has about as much sugar as two small apples.  They each get maybe a 1/4 of ONE pound only daily.  It looks like dried mushroom shreds or small playground bark shreds.