This message is from: "Sue Harrison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi everyone....regarding the "bad teeth" issue.....would that have something to do with the amount of mineral available in the hay (from the soil) in different areas? Storm is still getting sweet feed...but now we are feeding less of that and supplementing him by giving him whole oats instead. When one cuts out the grain, how can it be assured that they are getting enough of necessary supplements (present in grain) to maintain healthy bones and teeth. We buy from Blue Seal....but how does one get their powdered supplement into a horse without putting it in grain?? Are the supplements really necessary anyway? Our area supposedly has insufficient amounts of Seleniun in the ground. I wonder what a defficiency in this mineral can do to a horse?... Our vets here say a horse needs sweet feed...and highly recommend feeding grain to every horse...even a Fjord. Steve, as a vet...what do you feed to your Fjords? And in your opinion what makes a horse hard to handle...the molasses or the oats? There seems to be a big controversery on this. We have always fed grain to our horses ...and some have been hard to handle...is grain the culprit?
About nipping in horses...we have always hand fed....but not so often that nipping has ever become a problem. Storms thing is to have his nose rubbed...he will drop his head, get all sleepy looking and out comes 2 or 3 inches of pink tongue. He loves having his tongue taken hold of and rubbed. He started doing this as a baby (he is coming 2 in April). Does anyone else have a Fjord that likes having his tongue rubbed? I thought it was a great thing since he was very nippy (before we gelded him) and having his tongue between his teeth prevented him from being able to bite. I would rub his nose, out would come the tongue, and I could safely pet and talk to him. Now he never nips and is very gentle about accepting hand fed treats. This guy will even leave his dish of grain to come over to the stall door and socialize, even though we have no treats. All we have to do is walk by his stall and he will leave all food and come and beg for attention. We have never had a bigger baby....in all our 29 years of owning horses....and are thinking strongly of getting another one....aren't Fjords habit forming???? ((: (Like peanuts very hard to have just "one") Well have a great day everyone... Sue in N.B. (Desert Storm's mom)
