Dry skin?

[Katrina]

Hi everyone, I have 3 minis and am noticing some dandruff and dry looking skin. Any reason? Anything I can give them to make it better? They are on a good quality orchard grass hay. I also use a probiotic (Probios) chews mostly as their treat. They were rescues and loaded with worms when we got them a year and a half ago, so just trying to make them have a healthy gut after worming. These are my first horses, and we also have a larger pony he has a little too and it has always been there. Is it just normal or can I fix it?

 

[dalvers63]

I would look into a balancer to feed along with your hay. We feed Triple Crown Gold Balancer and it really makes a difference for my guys. It has supplements for coat, skin, gut health, joints, and general vitamins and minerals that might be missing in your hay or other feed. My minis get 1/2c twice a day along with their hay and a little Haystacks Special Blend pellets

 

[Katrina]

Thank you, I was feeding (mostly just on colder nights, or when I do sand clear) the Purina mini and pony grain but was told they don't really need it so I stopped. Any idea if that is decent feed? I have a full bag now and can totally feed it, then switch if needed. They do seem to love it, I just worried it would make them gain weight.

 

[Cayuse]

Vitamin E supplement usually will help a lot with funky skin. One of mine is prone to flakey dry skin and I bath him occasionally with dandruff shampoo. Between the shampoos and the Vit E he is now good.

 

[Dragon Hill]

I feed Manna Pro Max-E-Glo (stabilized rice bran) to my horses every Spring to help with shedding out and getting rid of winter crud. Just a small handful a day for the minis.

 

[Katrina]

Vitamin E supplement usually will help a lot with funky skin. One of mine is prone to flakey dry skin and I bath him occasionally with dandruff shampoo. Between the shampoos and the Vit E he is now good.

How much do you give and is is specifically for horses, or just the stuff we take?

 

[Dragon Hill]

The Max E Glo provides natural vitamin E and other antioxidants if you want to go that route.

 

[Cayuse]

I get the Vitamin E from Santa Cruz Animal Health. It's about $32 a bag and I figured it out to be about 1/4 of a scoop per mini (think the instructions are 1 scoop/1000 pound horse. I have 2 minis and a medium pony on it and a bag lasts about 3 months. It's powder and the scoop is tiny so they don't notice the small amount in their pellets.

 

[chandab]

Vitamin E dosage is 1-2IU per pound bodyweight, so 250# horse would get 250-500IU Vitamin E. Natural E is best, if you have to use synthetic E, you have to feed 30% more for full benefit. Human gelcaps are just fine, just toss one in their feed, most will eat them as is; a few you need to pierce the cap and squeeze out the gel on their feed. I have larger minis, so just give one 400iu gelcap daily to each, when using gelcaps. [Currently feeding a horse product that is working well.]

 

[GraceandPoppy]

I used to feed my girl the Purina as well. However, she absolutely hated it and WOULD NOT eat it. I tried EVERYTHING. She was also having dandruff and dry skin. Then, I switched to Gro n' Win by Buckeye Nutrition, and I will never look back! She does not have dandruff anymore and LOVES it. I also heard very good things about it including my farrier who said a lot of owners swear by it. It is a ration balancer and I get it off of Smartpak. I give her a 1/4 of a cup twice a day.

 

[MaryFlora]

Hello Katrina! I feed my minis 1/2 pound Purina Senior twice a day October through April. Our winters in MN are cold and hard and they do well on this along with free choice round bale quality grass hay. Once May is here the four “middle age” minis transition to whole oats, one measuring cup, twice a day.

They have been able to maintain a soft coat and shed out well with shiny coats. I switched to whole oats upon recommendation for the summer and its been a good feed for them. Our vet sees them on average twice a year and is happy with their weight.

The senior ponies (27-30) get Purina Senior plus alfalfa pellets all year round. The oldest is the tallest at 38” and gets 4 pounds twice a day to maintain a healthy weight. His last dental visit resulted in two molars pulled as the vet noticed they were splitting so Buddy really needs the extra!

The vet did recommend ordinary vegetable oil at 1/4 cup twice a day for Buddy to add extra fat to his diet which would also help with his coat. It seems to help and is certainly cost effective!

Probably more info than you need, Katrina! . Good for you adopting and giving your little ones a better life!❤

Mary Flora

 

[Katrina]

Hello Katrina! I feed my minis 1/2 pound Purina Senior twice a day October through April. Our winters in MN are cold and hard and they do well on this along with free choice round bale quality grass hay. Once May is here the four “middle age” minis transition to whole oats, one measuring cup, twice a day.

They have been able to maintain a soft coat and shed out well with shiny coats. I switched to whole oats upon recommendation for the summer and its been a good feed for them. Our vet sees them on average twice a year and is happy with their weight.

The senior ponies (27-30) get Purina Senior plus alfalfa pellets all year round. The oldest is the tallest at 38” and gets 4 pounds twice a day to maintain a healthy weight. His last dental visit resulted in two molars pulled as the vet noticed they were splitting so Buddy really needs the extra!

The vet did recommend ordinary vegetable oil at 1/4 cup twice a day for Buddy to add extra fat to his diet which would also help with his coat. It seems to help and is certainly cost effective!

Probably more info than you need, Katrina! . Good for you adopting and giving your little ones a better life!❤

Mary Flora

Thank you so much, it's never to much info. I love to learn as much as possible. I love these little twirps. Lol

 

[Katrina]

Vitamin E dosage is 1-2IU per pound bodyweight, so 250# horse would get 250-500IU Vitamin E. Natural E is best, if you have to use synthetic E, you have to feed 30% more for full benefit. Human gelcaps are just fine, just toss one in their feed, most will eat them as is; a few you need to pierce the cap and squeeze out the gel on their feed. I have larger minis, so just give one 400iu gelcap daily to each, when using gelcaps. [Currently feeding a horse product that is working well.]

Thank you, can I ask what the horse product you are using is?

 

[chandab]

Santa Cruz vitamin E pellets, previously used the powder, but getting to be too many powders in their feed and they were leaving some behind. They eat all the pellets in their dish.

 

[Katrina]

Santa Cruz vitamin E pellets, previously used the powder, but getting to be too many powders in their feed and they were leaving some behind. They eat all the pellets in their dish.

How much of the pellets do you feed daily? I have 1 picky eater, do they like the taste?

 

[chandab]

How much of the pellets do you feed daily? I have 1 picky eater, do they like the taste?

The directions in the package are for a fairly large dose, for an average 1000# horse; I feed close to what a mini needs for maintenance levels, 5ml scoop full (double that would be ok too). 5ml is a teaspoon.