I am looking for a product to improve my Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse mare's hooves. She grows little hoof between farrier visits, and the hoof wall she does grow is extremely weak. She is currently in glue-on shoes. I was about to purchase Bio-Bloom PS but then became intrigued by Total Wellness. Does Total Wellness have enough "good stuff" to potentially improve hoof strength? Should I consider both products? Cost is a factor, but I also want to give her the best I can afford.

I am looking for a new joint supplement for my draft-cross gelding Zeke, as the product I use now has been discontinued by the manufacturer. He has allergies to oats, bran, flax, corn, soy, barley, and rice, and he will break out in hives when fed certain things. Do you have a joint supplement that does not contain these ingredients? Zeke is 17 years old and weighs 1,500-1,600 lb (682-727 kg). He holds his weight well and is not a finicky eater. He currently receives alfalfa pellets (a couple of handfuls), three flakes of alfalfa hay, and one flake of local grass hay per day. In the evening, he gets a vitamin/mineral supplement. He is allowed 8-10 hours on grass five days per week and 8-10 hours on drylot the other two days of the week. He is ridden four or five days per week, jumping only twice each week.

I own a 13-year-old, 1,000-lb (450-kg) Missouri Fox Trotter gelding. Right now, he’s too heavy, with a body condition score of 7 on the 1-9 scale we use. He’s stalled for much of the day, though is allowed into a drylot for a few hours daily. He is fed teff hay when it’s available, but coastal Bermudagrass and timothy at other times. He’s also fed 1 lb (0.5 kg) of a low-starch, low-sugar ration balancer, 2.5 oz of ground flax, and 2 lb (0.9 kg) of timothy pellets daily. He has access to a salt block. He is battling laminitis, so I am focused on managing the current episode and preventing a relapse.

I own a seven-month-old Hanoverian colt with physitis. He was weaned about a week ago and brought to my place from the broodmare farm. The physitis was first noticed about two months ago. At that time, his fetlock joints looked boxy, and the veterinarian advised his caretaker to reduce his feed intake. Fast forward to now and I am worried about him. Though he is not lame, something is not right with the joints. I understand that proper feeding is key to improving this problem. He currently gets 1.5 quarts of a high-fat, high-fiber feed providing 12% protein, 10% fat, and 17% NSC as well as an MSM supplement. I added the MSM when he arrived. I don’t think this is the appropriate feed for him but, because I didn’t have a better solution, I continue to feed it. Help, please! 

To complement an all-forage diet (grass hay and pasture grass), would I use Micro-Max or All-Phase for my two-year-old Arabian mare?

I have two Miniature Horses, both of which I show. One is four years old, the other five years old. Both are 250-275 lb (114-125 kg). I feed 0.2 lb (0.1 kg) of sweet feed to each per day. I don’t allow them to graze long and give them about 1 lb (0.45 kg) of alfalfa daily. Neither gets much exercise besides walking and longeing occasionally, and they’re both overweight. I’ve been asking friends for advice. One friend suggested a diet of alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, ground flax, and a mineral mix. Another friend told me to feed a ration balancer and forage. Now I am flooded with suggestions, so I thought I’d come to you.

We are the lucky owners of a high-performance mare that carries one copy of the polysaccharide storage myopathy type 1 (PSSM1) gene. She’s a four-year-old Quarter Horse in professional reining training. She is always stalled except when she is being ridden, and she is in heavy work five or six days a week. She’s fed free-choice alfalfa hay, 6 lb (2.7 kg) of a commercial pelleted feed intended for performance horses, and a slew of supplements: an all-in-one “muscle recovery” product, fish oil, electrolytes, and free-choice Himalayan salt. She’s had two known incidents of tying-up, one last month and one five months ago. The latest was much more severe than the first. Am I doing everything I can for her from a nutritional standpoint?

My horse is currently receiving an amino acid supplement because he has myofibrillar myopathy (MFM). I would like to switch him to MFM Pellet, recommended by my vet for the critical amino acids it contains. How do I phase out the old supplement and phase in MFM Pellet? How long do horses typically stay on this course of supplementation? 

Our pony hunter (Welsh-cross, 13.1 hands, 750 lb or 340 kg) has been on EquiShure for a long time, and this product has helped him a lot with hindgut problems. This summer, with its unrelenting heat, we started him on the electrolyte Restore, which increased his stamina but has seemingly loosened his manure. I would like to continue to use both products, but not if there’s a longstanding negative effect. The pony is currently being fed timothy hay, ration balancer, 1 oz table salt, 60 g Restore, and 80 g EquiShure. What do you think?

Marsha is my 22-year-old Morgan mare that I trail ride. She weighs about 940 lb (430 kg) and should lose some weight for better health, as she only stands 14.1 hands. She has been diagnosed with equine metabolic disorder (EMS). She is allowed to graze for two hours in the early morning, though I am flexible with her turnout based on temperature and grass stress. She is fed 16-17 lb (7.5 kg) of soaked grass hay daily, always fed from a haynet. She also receives 1 lb (0.5 kg) of ration balancer twice daily. In addition to these basic components, she is fed supplemental salt, chromium, magnesium, ground flax seed, and joint support. What else can I do for her?