# How much Spirulina to feed



## Busybusybusy (8 July 2013)

My horse has no topline due to being out of work since last November as a result of foot problems, and we recently found that he had severe kissing spine which has just been operated on. The vet prescribed him Equitop myoplast to help with his muscle build up, but when I looked at the ingredients discovered that it was 60% sugar, which is an absolute no no for his feet. So I know I can feed spirulina in powdered form which is the main ingredient apart from the sugar, but have no idea how much of it to feed!
Does anyone have any idea? - he was meant to have 50g of myoplast per day.
The rest of his feed is finely tuned to help muscle build & feet & I am aware that working will help muscle build which will be happening but he is only 1 week post kissing spine op so starting to do walking next week, but for the moment he is being turned out in a very small pen as its way too hot for him to be in his stable 24 hours per day!
Also does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can get the spirulina from?
Thank you!
Emma x


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## lornaA (8 July 2013)

I have never used spirulina but I have just started my mare on lysine which is meant to be good for building muscle.  I only started using it today so obviously don't know if it will work or not but it was only about £8 for 900g inc postage from pro earth on eBay.


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## Hen (8 July 2013)

Forageplus stock spirulina powder, I think also Thunderbrook might, I have seen it elsewhere online but can't remember where. I think 20g twice a day is a reliable dosage but it may take quite a lot of getting used to, I can't get more than 11-12g at a time into my horse and that's immersed in sloppy beetpulp, having built up from a dose of 3-4g. (OK, one really fussy horse!!!!!)


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## JillA (9 July 2013)

I thought its main use was as a natural antihistamine? I've got some, bought by a friend for her itchy pony but he wouldn't eat it. Mine, on the other hand, won't let something that tastes funny put him off his food! It is very light so 10g would be a fair bit. Mine came from an ebay seller, Pro Earth I think.
Lysine is the main protein that they need, TBH if I was looking for muscle build up I would get lysine from Forageplus in preference to spirulina, but why not ask them - they are very helpful IME


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## Busybusybusy (9 July 2013)

I emailed forage plus and they also suggested lysine, he has pro hoof which has some in it, but my understanding is that the other feed he's getting might also have some - copra, oats & linseed or have I got that completely wrong? Forage plus said that he needs 20mg per day. am off to research the lysine contents of his feed now!!!


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## Busybusybusy (9 July 2013)

Ok...done it - with the pro hoof, copra, linseed & rolled oats he is getting 22g lysine & 3000mg methionine per day - so therefore shouldn't actually need any more!


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## Lucky Lady (24 July 2013)

H Emma

if you would like to private message me I can tell you a product that works and is full of nutrition. Equitop Myoplast is full of amino acids and not nutrition.


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## JillA (24 July 2013)

Lucky Lady said:



			H Emma

if you would like to private message me I can tell you a product that works and is full of nutrition. Equitop Myoplast is full of amino acids and not nutrition.
		
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Protein breaks down into amino acids when it is digested, and amino acids are the building blocks of soft tissue. I don't understand your comment - nutrition is a combination of protein for tissue repair and the immune system, carbs for energy and fibre for the digestion and heat. With any vitamins and minerals to supply the system, exactly which bit of "nutrition" are you proposing to PM Emma? Could you share it with the rest of us please?


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## Fintan (25 July 2013)

Well Myoplast is Spirulina and when you follow the lab analysis of this you will figure out that a dose of 50 gram myoplast has not more lysin then 300 gram of oats or 160 gram of beetpulp.


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## Busybusybusy (25 July 2013)

Fintan said:



			Well Myoplast is Spirulina and when you follow the lab analysis of this you will figure out that a dose of 50 gram myoplast has not more lysin then 300 gram of oats or 160 gram of beetpulp.
		
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Yes this is what I found - equitop myoplast in a nutshell, is spirulina and sugar - not something I want to be feeding my barefoot horse, as I said earlier, I have now looked at all the breakdowns of everything he is being fed (this took me ages!) & he is getting all the nutritional requirements he needs, including optimum levels of essential amino acids, so therefore does not any extra anything, so I am going to stick with what he's currently having, with no changes.

I do worry though, that people, who are perhaps a little more trusting about what their vets are saying, may end up feeding things that are totally unnecessary, without taking into account the whole picture. Not once did the vet ask me what else I was feeding him, and could not really answer any questions as to why I should feed it apart from 'to build up his muscle' & when I pointed out the sugar content and its relationship to poor feet, I got a silly reply.

I might be slightly obsessive, but I do now look at all the ingredients on whatever I put into my horse as I can't afford to compromise his feet, having now spent months and large sums of money trying to get them right.


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## Fintan (25 July 2013)

The lab thing and nutrition is my job. And when you take all these tings apart, you willl relize that the biggest business of the feed industrie is selling dreams and not contents. 

Like JillA did say, protein is a building block. And if you overdue this you will keep liver and kidney busy, more than it is beneficial. They have to run extra shifts for to get a rid of the overamount and also toxic by products like amonia from the metabolism cycle of the protein. 

A horse has requirements and they have to be full filled for best possible results. If a horse is not able do deal with the full filled diet, there is something else wrong and it makes more sense to fix the problem instead of topping up till under the roof.


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