Feeding & Nutrition
"Voeding en Voedingsstoffen"
Foundation of Feeding
A quality grass hay and pasture is the foundation of my feeding. Good hay contains low digestible fibers that are more difficult to breakdown and, thus, keep the digestive system moving and the horse feeling full. However, a downside to some grass hays is that it may not contain all the nutrition needed. The same goes for pasture grasses. A very important component is to know what you're feeding through forage. You can find out by sending samples in for testing - both hays and pasture grasses. The horses' digestive tract is meant to take in small quantities of food almost continuously. In order to accommodate this physiological design, my horses are kept fed 24/7 with slow feed bags (fed at near-ground level) all year long. They are kept low as this is the more natural position for the horse to eat. It also keeps the horse from |
What about alfalfa?
Alfalfa, (Medicago sativa), also called lucerne or purple medic, perennial, cloverlike, leguminous plant of the pea family (Fabaceae), widely grown primarily for hay, pasturage, and silage. (Britannica.com) Alfalfa has many great benefits for horses, especially for different life stages (pregnant or lactating mares, growing horses, etc.), hard-keepers, seniors or those with other health issues (such as metabolic, PSSM, etc.). It's a tasty, highly palatable source of nutrition for horses. It also contains lots of calcium, but is poor in phosphorus. It's important to maintain an 'ideal' dietary calcium to phosphorus ratio per the horse's needs. |
What about grain and supplements?
Grain and supplements are useful when your horse is lacking nutrition from its forage/hay. In order to know what you are lacking, you need to test your forages. From there, you can build up an adequate feeding plan for your horse(s). Also taking note of their activity level such as training, a mare with a foal or pregnant, a breeding stallion, in competition etc. It is also important to understand the concept of water-soluble vs. fat-soluble when it comes to vitamins and minerals. Water-soluble means that the vitamins or minerals dissolve in water. They are used but not stored in the body and are more easily excreted. The benefit is that the likelihood of reaching toxic levels is "unlikely" if overfed. The disadvantage is that you will need to make sure to continue to supplement enough of the vitamin/mineral to ensure the nutritional needs are being met. |
Probiotics for Horses
There is not much out there for 'concrete evidence' in research when it comes to the use of probiotics in horses - either for or against their use. Essentially, probiotics are thought to be beneficial microorganisms added to the digestive tract. These are usually types of bacteria or yeasts. There are both human and horse probiotics that contain several of the same types of microorganisms. However, we know that both digestive systems are very different from each other. In order to be beneficial to a horse, these organisms must also make it to the part of the digestive system where the main part of the fermentation process happens. For the horse, this is in the area known as the hindgut. |
If you do want to feed probiotics, make sure your probiotic contains the correct types of bacteria or yeasts that would be of the most benefit to the horse; such as those find in the hindgut.
Be sure these probiotics were stored properly to ensure the microorganisms are still alive and will be effective once consumed. |
Educational/Formal Articles & Studies:
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