I've been holding off on making this post as I truly believe it takes a honest 2+ months of a feed change to see a legitimate difference but at 60 days a massive change could be seen, so it's time!
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| About a week before I went and tried her |
When I bought Sierra, she was on Elite 3 Hemp Oil and a cup or two of Step 8. I dislike the Step feeds and all my horses were on Canpressco Oil and Buckeye feeds, so I switched her to that when I got her home. She was getting 2 Pumps of Oil along with Grow N Win and Cadence Ultra. She was in great shape when I brought her home, but she quickly began to drop weight at an alarming rate in the first few weeks of getting her home. I'm honestly embarrassed of how thin she got, and after struggling with it I decided to try something I never thought I would.
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| When I tried her out... looking thinner IMO? |
Many people in my 'circle' used to joke about "Hemp! It'll Cure Everything!" because of the obnoxious comments made online, typically by happy customers, when anyone had any sort of issue and was seeking help. Seriously, every post about behavior, ulcers, bad training, etc there was always at least 1 person tooting Elite 3's horn and swearing up and down it will cure all that ails your horse.. with a lack of scientific proof to a lot of the claims people were making, it became pretty overbearing and for that, I had zero interest in ever trying it.. plus, it seemed pricey.
Once I added up the amount of money being spent on Canpressco and Buckeye (though we got 2 free jugs of Canpressco due to my hubby being accepted into the TB Challenge in Saskatchewan, and Canpressco is the sponsor), I discovered that if the 'recommended dose' of Elite 3's products was accurate, I would be spending about the same amount as I was due to needing to feed above the recommended dose for the Buckeye products. The other plus side is that it's Certified Organic Seed, and because we are working on obtaining our Organic Farming Status we have to be careful what we feed our animals and subsequently, what we put into the soil.. As well, a good friend and fellow blogger (C) was having a lot of weight issues with her mare and tried Elite 3 with fabulous results and therefor I was ready to bite the bullet and give it a try - what did I have to lose?
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| A few weeks after getting her home..... ugh |
Though I have reached out to the local retailer multiple times with general inquies, this time I decided to try their Oil and Body Builder powder. She threw in a free 25lb bag of Evolve 5 to try as well. The 25lb bag of Evolve lasted about 1 month so I bought another, and at 1 day shy of 60 days on Elite 3 I still have enough Oil and Body Builder for a few weeks. My boarders decided to try it as well, and when I went to pick up more feed I purchased another bag of Evolve 5. I've since picked up more, as now our entire barn is on it.
In 60 days, I have to say, i'm thoroughly impressed with the exterior effects and now can *kind of* understand the obnoxiously passionate customers. I'd still like to see more weight on her but I have found a variety of improvements including an obvious improvement in her overall condition, her coat has drastically improved and her mane/tail and hooves seem stronger. They claim the products to have a 'calming effect', and I really don't know Sierra well enough to say that it's true, although I can still comfortably say she is * not* the half-closed eye, dead to the world Sierra that I tried out two and a half months ago...
Currently, Sierra is on the following:
1/4 Grain Scoop Beet Pulp (measured dry)
1 Grain Scoop Evolve 5
1 Heaping Cup Body Builder
2 Pumps Hemp Oil
I will definitely be keeping her on this feeding regime along with lots of good quality hay; this girl can put away the feed and I have noticed that since switching to Elite 3 she has an even larger appetite than she did when she was dwindling away to nothing.
For our photo - a comparison; the top photo was taken towards the end of June, a week or two after she started on Elite 3, and the bottom photo was taken August 22nd.
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