It's almost the middle of show season and after months of preparation, training and schooling, horses are expected to be at their best and perform unconditionally.  Many horse owners are quick (and excited!) to purchase new tack and equipment, new show clothing, take extra lessons and even switch up their feeds to get the extra edge.  However, no matter how good you…

Continue

Here are some quick and fun myths and facts to read about nutrition... enjoy!

"Bran Mashes are Good for Horses"

Research studies have proven that adding wheat bran to the diet does not have a laxative effect.  Loose stools because of a bran mash could be caused rather from digestive upset because of the high starch.  Wheat bran fed long-term can result in a higher phosphorous to calcium ratio…

Continue

Your horse’s skin and coat form an important protective barrier against bacteria and infections. If his coat is short on shine, that could be an indication that his skin isn’t as healthy as it should be. Adding a high quality skin and coat supplement to his diet isn’t just a great way to boost his good looks, it’s an investment in his good health.

Fat Facts

To get a glossy coat, add essential fatty acids to optimize skin health. When comparing…

Continue

Horses have delicate systems that were designed for constant pasture grazing, but modern horsekeeping can throw your horse’s gastrointestinal tract off balance. High-grain diets combined with the stress of training and competition may leave your horse prone to ulcers, digestive problems and poor overall health. But if you build your horse’s diet based on his individual needs, you can help bring him back into balance.



Throw hay, dump grain, turn the horses out. Do… Continue

As the days shorten, good planning in conjunction with quality feeds and facilities can make the transition from warm autumn days into wintry nights a little less difficult for all involved.



One of the most productive ways of keeping horses warm and supply nutrients is to provide free choice, good quality hay.  The heat of fermentation when the hay is digested by microbes in the horse’s hindgut is the main source of warmth for the horse. The heat is produced during the biochemical…

Continue

 

Often when we hear the word calcium we think of it as a bone building nutrient, but calcium also serves many vital functional roles in addition to structural roles. As discussed in our previous blog post, Keeping the Horse Replenished – Equine Electrolytes, calcium is one of the most important electrolytes, which are mineral salts that create electrical current in the horse. When evaluating the distribution of calcium in the horse we see that:

• Approximately 99%…

Continue

Need help? Call our experts at 1-888-818-1459.



HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• the label from your horse’s grain bag

• a bucket with your horse’s normal daily…

Continue

Continue

There are different terms tossed around today in relation to gut health. Terms such as prebiotics, probiotics, and direct-fed-microbials are all used and sometimes cause confusion for horse people. The technical definitions are below.

Prebiotic – products that can't be digested by the animal but does promote the growth…

Continue

Last week we told you in part one of this blog that there were five factors that influence starch digestibility in the small intestine. Here they are in more detail.



1) Source of starch

Over 80% of the starch in oats is digested in the small intestine, whereas less than 30% of the starch in whole-corn and barley is digested in the small intestine. Starches are made of sugars, predominantly glucose. So why is glucose from oat starch digested differently than glucose from corn… Continue

There are some truths, but numerous misconceptions regarding nutrition and your horse's attitude. The confusion comes from the challenge of measuring what "attitude" really means. There is limited proper scientific research regarding the link between nutrition and attitude. Furthermore, many practices used in the industry to change a horse’s attitude often cause secondary side effects that can be detrimental to your horse's welfare, one of the worst is to withhold…

Continue

The concept of a balanced ration in equine nutrition is similar to humans eating the daily portion of the four food groups.



The first step is to balance water intake. Here the balance is very much like money, you cannot have too much. Water is the most important nutrient in your horse’s diet and needs to be closely monitored.



The second nutrient to balance is long stemmed-fibre. However, much needed research is necessary to substantiate what long stemmed-fibre implies in… Continue

Provide free access to clean fresh water at all times” is the advice given by most horse management or equine nutrition books. The simplicity and brevity of this statement fails to reveal the complexity and importance of water in equine nutrition. Water is the most important nutrient and it is too often overlooked in a horse’s diet. Deprived of all nutrients except for water, horses can survive for 20 to 25 days. Deprived of water but not feed, horses will only survive 5 to 6 days at best. More… Continue