FEEDING BELIEFS PT 1

FEEDING BELIEFS  Don’t believe everything you think, especially when it comes to feeding horses! Today we’re going to look at some long-held beliefs, break them down, and talk about why they don’t work, or don’t do what you think they do. You may or may not decide to change your feeding routine based on this article, but I hope you will think about what you feed your horse, why you choose those products, and understand a bit more about how equine nutrition works. First, though, I’m not a veterinarian. I won’t be diagnosing medical problems. I encourage you to contact your veterinarian if you have questions about equine nutrition, if you have concerns about your horse’s health, and if you notice changes in your horse’s eating habits, health, or behavior. Your vet is a great resource as far as helping you diagnose feeding problems. If your vet recommends a certain feed, ask why. If your feed store doesn’t carry that particular feed, they may be able to help you match it up with something similar if you can explain why your veterinarian suggested that feed. Your feed store experts are a good resource too. Not only do they have knowledge of many different types of feed, they can also help if you have questions to ask of the manufacturer. Feed stores generally carry feeds from several different companies so they can help you compare products. Let’s look at a few beliefs. Some of these you may have heard, some may be new to you. There are a few that we’ve touched on before but are worth repeating. Some may have made sense “back in the day” but no longer apply. It’s hard to let go of old beliefs though. That’s why I encourage you to not believe everything you think. The best feed for horses is oats. Not anymore. At one time, oats made sense because they are easy to grow, horses like them, and horses worked differently than they do now. Oats are high in fiber, which is good, but also high in sugar, which isn’t so good for today’s pleasure horses. Although they can be considered an energy source for hard working horses, they lack the full balance of vitamins, minerals, and protein that horses also need. They typically contain more phosphorus than calcium, which is the opposite of what we want to see in a horse’s diet. The quality of the protein can vary considerably, which has ramifications if you are feeding young/growing horses or those who do heavy work. We now have many more choices. We have feeds that are suitable for performance horses or those with a heavy workload, feeds for horses that are pasture ornaments, and everything in between. This is a good conversation to have with your feed store. They can help you determine a suitably nutritious feed for your horse’s activity level. If you still want to feed oats, consider adding a ration balancer for the protein, vitamins, and minerals that the oats lack. It’s a good idea too to have your hay analyzed so you get an idea of how much sugars and starches your horse is consuming. All sweet feeds/pellets/senior feeds are the same. Nope. There are SO many varieties now. Feeds can vary in the amount of protein, fat, fiber, calories, and vitamin/mineral package. We see the biggest variation now in senior feeds, which may be low fat, high fat, low NSC (non-structural carbohydrates) and more. This is why your feed store cashiers may put you through twenty questions if you ask for a bag of sweet feed. They aren’t trying to be difficult or put you on the spot. They recognize that there are different textured feeds, pellets, and senior feeds, and they want to make sure you go home with the right product. To complicate things, feeds may be considered complete feeds, which means that they have contain a high amount of fiber, or non-complete feeds. Complete feeds can be used to provide everything that a horse needs in his diet if he is unable to eat long-stem forage. Non-complete feeds don’t have as high an amount of fiber as the complete feeds. Of course, in addition to the complete feed, you still need to provide water and free-choice salt! Certain breeds such as ponies and Morgans shouldn’t have sweet feed. I think this belief came about because traditional sweet feeds had a large amount of molasses. Our modern feeds are formulated differently. Of course, there are still feeds that contain a significant amount of molasses, but most sweet feeds now have been sprayed with molasses instead of having it mixed in with the dry ingredients. A more important question to ask is what is most suitable for your pony or Morgan. While certain breeds have the reputation of being easy keepers, or more sensitive to sugars, or seem to be prone to medical issues that could be related to feeding, it is more important to remember that each horse is an individual and should be fed as such. Keep in mind too that your hay is a huge part of your horse’s diet. You should probably be more concerned about how much sugar is in your horse’s hay. How do you determine that? Take a sample from several bales to your feed store and ask if they will send it out for analysis. It’s usually free, and the information is very valuable for all the horses in your barn. (One year we labeled the three hay sections in our barn as 1st crop, 2nd crop, and Morgan hay.) My horse needs a no carb diet. Not true. Your horse needs carbs. Why? Carbs provide energy, not just for the tasks you ask him to do, but for daily activities like…everything. Such as breathing. And the horse’s brain requires glucose, a simple sugar, to function properly. Remember too that fiber is a carbohydrate. A horse’s diet should be forage-based as much as possible. Clearly, a no-carb