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A horse is a forage animal, the majority of their diet should be forage, preferrably low sugar/starch grass hay. To help keep a horses diet balanced, because of vitamins and minerals lacking in the hay, supplements are used to meet a horses daily requirements. The NRC (
Nutrient Requirements of Horses: Sixth Revised Edition) is a must have book for any horse owner. This book gives the basic nutrient needs of the horse according to their age, exercise and many other factors to help the horse owner feed a balanced diet. Here is a handy link to calculate the daily nutritional needs for your horse,
Equi-Analytical NRC Calculations
What do I feed my horses and why?
-Tested local grass hay. I use
Equi-Analytical Labs, send in samples from 8-10 bales, what is especially important to me is my sugar and starch levels. High sugar/starch in a horses diet can lead to weak, compromised feet. I use slow feeder hay nets, which allows less waste and slows down the horses intake, making their forage last longer, which is better for their digestion. An empty stomach is not healthy and can lead to ulcers and digestive upset.
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California Trace Minerals. Sally Hugg has made balancing a horses diet so much easier. A fellow barefoot trimmer, she developed the CA Trace Minerals based upon the numerous hay test showing the same minerals lacking in our West Coast hays. Feeding this economical horse supplement to my herd of five, and every training horse that comes in for training, I have the peace of mind that the horses are receiving their daily requirements.
-Ground Flax Seed. Flax seed provides the Omega 3 fatty acids needed in a horses diet, usually this is provided by pasture. I buy a 50lb. bag from Kipperts and use a small coffee grinder and grind daily because its economical. My horses do not have access to pasture, and some have compromised feet and can't be on unlimited pasture, the Flax Seed provides the Omega 3's they need daily. If grinding your own flax seed isnt convenient, Simply Flax by Manna Pro is pre ground flax seed, check at your local feed store or online for a source.
-Salt. A horses daily requirement of salt is 1 oz. I provide a white salt block, the red salt blocks are meant for cattle and are very high in iron. (Everything we feed horses has iron in it, sometimes too much and they do not need to be supplemented with more iron.) Since a horse can not lick enough salt to meet their requirments, and sometimes they wont eat enough loose salt, I put it in their supplement mix.
-Timothy pellets and soaked
beet pulp. I use both, or either, as a carrier for all of the above. For hard keepers, or elderly horses that can not chew well, soaked beet pulp is a wonderful feed and up to 50% of a horses diet can be beet pulp.
Additional links:
Merck Veterinary Manual Nutritional Requirments
Disclaimer: I am not a vet nor an equine nutritionist. I have taken Dr Kellon's
NRC Plus course, December 2010, and Sally Huggs nutrition clinic 'Between the Twines', April 2011 to become a more informed horse owner and as part of my PHCP certification requirements.
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