Feeding My Underweight Thoroughbred

In Beet Pulp II - How to Soak and Feed Anonymous wrote:
Hello! I just recently bought a five year old thoroughbred gelding in june. He was in rough, rough shape. Bad case of rainrot, and a bag of bones. I have put about 50lbs on him. His teeth were done in june, he was dewormed in june, and a vet had checked him before, also in june. I just recently slowly started switching his grain over to Legend Equine Senior Feed and Beet Pulp. He gets fed 2x a day. 4 flakes of hay in the morning, and turnout in the evening until the morning at 8 a.m.

I was curious to know around about how much I should be feeding him? I gave him 3 qrts of senior feed, 2 qrts of his previous feed, his supplements, and I gave him about 1/4 of 3 qrt scoop of beet pulp. I mixed it all together, then soaked it. Should I do this 2x daily? Or beet pulp mixed in with feed only in am, and then regular senior feed in pm? He needs to gain weight, like badly. So, please help! :)

 Good for you for seeing the potential in this young horse and for spending the time and effort to find out how to bring out his best.

For safe weight gain, we want to feed to his "ideal" weight - which, for an adult Thoroughbred we expect to be between 1000 and 1200 pounds.   The foundation of his ration should be forage - hay, pasture, beet pulp, hay pellets - at least 1.5 to 2.5% of his ideal body weight, using the upper range for weight gain.  If he should weigh 1100 pounds, then he should be getting a minimum of 22 to 28 lbs of forage.  Because we can only estimate how much he consumes when he is turned out in pasture at night, at least half to two thirds of that  (11 to 18 or more pounds) should be hay, spread out over the day.  If he comes in from pasture seeming really hungry in the morning, he should be getting more hay.

If the hay and pasture are good quality, they will provide most of the protein, energy (calories) and major minerals that he needs.  If a portion of it is alfalfa, which has high protein and calcium levels, he might not even need supplemental "feeds" unless he is working. If this is the case, then all that is needed to be added would be a quality supplement that supplies generous levels of trace minerals and plain salt - 2 to 3 ounces/day.

Fish Scale from Walmart

You should be weighing all his feed - nutrition requirements are based on weight and volume measurements (quarts, cans, etc.) are not accurate.  The weight of a "flake" or "leaf" of hay can vary considerably depending on the size of the bale and how tightly it was packed.  With different varieties of hay in my barn right now, I have some "flakes" weighing as little as 4 pounds and some weighing as much as 9 pounds.  One of the best (and least expensive) investments you can make is a "fish scale", available in sporting goods departments of stores such as Walmart and Target for under $10.00. This can be used to weigh hay - in hay nets or in a muck bucket - and to accurately weigh concentrate feeds and grain.

If at all possible, spreading his hay feedings over more than just the morning meal will also help your horse gain and maintain his weight. Using small mesh hay nets can help smooth out his hay intake and help avoid any lengthy periods when he is without forage in his stomach.  We tend to think of using these to help lose weight but they work as well when your horse needs to gain.

Supplemental concentrates and grain are generally used to take up the slack if forage and pasture don't meet all the horse's requirements for calories and protein.  I tend to be a fan of using "straights" - grain such as oats or barley plus a quality supplement - instead of premixed feed concentrates. This lets you keep the vitamin and mineral supplementation separate from energy and protein supplementation.  Vitamin and mineral requirements tend to remain fairly stable while energy and protein needs can vary more depending on work level and other factors (age, pregnancy, etc.).  But pre-mixed concentrates can contribute quality protein and energy sources.  They tend to target basic calorie, protein and mineral requirements for a specific class of horse (senior, growth, performance, pasture ornament, etc.) and the main differences are in the amount of processing and level and type of carbohydrates.  

Senior horses often can't chew well and produce less saliva so can benefit form more highly processed feeds - this helps make up for their poorer digestion.  Senior feeds are often designated as "complete" feeds and need to be fed at high levels if you're counting on them to supply vitamins and minerals.

Pre-mixed concentrate feeds need to be fed at levels specified by the manufacturer to provide the vitamins and minerals needed by your horse.  If fed at lower amounts, his ration could become deficient in essential nutrients. One way I compare feeds is to see how much needs to be fed to supplement a desirable level of copper - 125 mg per day for your 1100 pound horse.. 

 It would take about 7 pounds of the Legend Senior (pelleted) to provide the daily requirement for copper. Legends Grow & Perform would require about 5 and a half pounds.  You would only need 4.6 pounds of the Mare & Foal pelleted feed to meet the copper requirement.  Concentrates should be spread over two or three meals when possible.

To really optimize his ration, having hay analyzed and supplementing based on the hay test results provides the best, and usually the most cost effective way to form a feeding plan.  This can be done together with using a concentrate feed as most feeds are "balanced to themselves".   When using both a supplement and a fortified feed, you need to watch that the total levels of selenium, vitamin A and vitamin D aren't too high.  This isn't a problem when using "straights" to boost calories and protein.

Finally, although "high fat" has been the latest fad, fermentable fiber (hay, beet pulp) still remains the best way to provide calories for weight gain.  But when you do add fat, make sure it's not just empty calories - make it count nutritionally.  Stabilized rice bran and stabilized or fresh ground flax  can add fat calories plus provide essential fatty acids (Omega 6 and Omega 3) and boost protein.  Rice bran is high in Omega 6, so make sure you provide an equal or larger amount (by weight) of flax, which is high in Omega 3.  

Best regards,

Patti in Vail, AZ


Links:
Southern States Legends feeds http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/g-179-legends-horse-feeds.aspx 
Walmart - Berkley Fish Scale http://www.walmart.com/ip/Berkley-Scale-with-Tape/16637411
Article Small Mesh Hay Nets  http://www.desertequinebalance.com/articles/small-mesh-hay-nets
NutraFlax http://www.horsetech.com/nutra-flax.html
Omega HorseShine http://www.omegafields.com/equine-products/omega-horseshiner.html
Analyzing Hay and Feeds http://www.desertequinebalance.com/articles/analyzing-hay-and-feeds

What is The Emergency Temporary Diet?

The Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistance (ECIR) group, co-owned by equine nutritionist and author Eleanor Kellon, VMD, has long supported using a low sugar/low starch diet for horses showing signs of laminitis, founder, insulin resistance (IR) or Cushing’s disease (PPID - pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction).

The Emergency Temporary Diet by Dr. Eleanor Kellon as posted on the ECIR group is not intended as a long-term complete diet but as an initial measure to bring symptoms under control until hay can be analyzed to check for suitability and mineral balancing. While some horses may begin to show improvement right away when high sugar/high starch triggers are removed from the diet, most won’t show real changes until their diet has been balanced and their trim optimized for a few months.

I have slightly modified the ECIR Group Emergency Diet (with permission from Dr. Kellon) and added some suggestions based on local Southwest availability. The complete article can be read on my website www.desertequinebalance.com and a pdf version is available there to download and print.

Tested low sugar/starch hay

The essentials of the Emergency Diet include:

• Grass hay - either tested for a total sugar (ESC) plus starch level of <10% or soaked/drained
• Iodized salt - 1to 2 heaping Tablespoons per day to start
• Magnesium - 5 grams until hay is tested (about 2 teaspoons of magnesium oxide)
• Vitamin E - 2,000 IU from natural vitamin E gel caps
• Flax - either fresh ground flax seed or a stabilized flax product

These are the only basics your horse needs until you have had an opportunity to take a deep breath and sort things out.  Horses lived and evolved for thousands of years on the nutrition basics provided by forage and salt - your horse does not require any additional bagged feed in most circumstances.

However, the “emergency” diet is a temporary measure and will, at some point, need to be mineral balanced.  The ideal way is to have your hay analyzed and use a custom supplement based on the results of the analysis.  The analysis will also give you information on digestible energy (DE - calories/energy) which will help guide the amount you need to feed, and crude protein (CP), sugar, starch and mineral levels.
  
Feeding a custom supplement based on your hay analysis may often cost less than using a quality “off the shelf” supplement. If unable to test your hay there are options for addressing deficiencies and excesses using regional supplements.

Don't spend your hard earned money on expensive specialized supplements until you understand what your horse needs.  There are no magic bullets in a bag or bucket that will take the place of an accurate diagnosis, eliminating excessive sugar and starch from your horse's diet, a correct balanced trim and exercise (summarized by Dr. Kellon as DDTE).  Once DDTE has been addressed you can take your time finding the most appropriate and cost effective supplements for your horse.


Best regards,


Patti
Desert Hoofprints in lovely cool Vail AZ (which won't, unfortunately, last long)


Links

The “Emergency” Temporary Diet - with modifications and suggestions for Arizona and the Southwest 
ECIR Group http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/

NRC Plus equine nutrition courses by Eleanor Kellon, VMD
Analyzing Hay and Feeds - http://www.desertequinebalance.com/articles/analyzing-hay-and-feeds

High Quality Horse Forage - Not Straw

Many of us subscribe to newsletters from theHorse.com.  

I just received the first edition of their Nutrition e-newsletter, which links to an article called Nutritional Value of Forages . This hit one of my hot-buttons - perpetuating the myth that what we need for our horses is poor quality hay. 

The article quotes Jerry Chatterton, PhD, Research Leader of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Forage and Range Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah:

“Sometimes a little straw filler might be okay,” he said with a smile. In other words, lower-quality forage will keep your horse busy longer, is less likely to make him overweight and/or laminitic, and he’ll eat more of it to get energy--keeping his stomach full and at lower risk of ulcers.

What our horses do need is the best quality horse hay and forage we can afford - not lower quality. Everyone, from growers to veterinarians to horse owners needs to review their definition of high quality forage for horses - which is different than the definition for high quality meat or milk production animal forage. This difference does not make it any lower quality - just different.

Low quality forage (including "straw", which can be extremely high in sugar) or insufficient quantities of forage can cause nutritionally-based problems. By the time you see the signs on the outside - dull coat, lackluster attitude, poor hoof quality - the changes have already occurred on the inside.

High quality horse forage

• Should provide adequate but not excessive DE (digestible energy/calories expressed in Mcal per pound) and protein levels (by grams consumed, not “percent”) suitable for the horse’s age, reproductive status and level of work
• The DE needs to be low enough that the horse can consume sufficient forage to ensure good gut function without taking in too many calories.
• Should provide major minerals at least at the levels known to be required by horses (or have levels that are easily corrected)
• Should smell good, be free of dust, mold or toxins and be palatable to the horse
• Hays from species that are known nitrate accumulators or were grown in stressful conditions should be tested for safe nitrate levels
• Horses may need time to adjust to the taste/smell of a new variety of forage
• Should be tested for “safe” sugar/starch levels for horses who might be prone to IR (insulin resistance) or laminitis
• Not all “fat” horses are IR; not all IR horses are fat
• IR is not a “disease” – it is a metabolic evolution that allowed horses to develop and thrive in harsh conditions

Most of us are learning by now that the only way to accurately determine if a hay or forage is appropriate for our horse is to have it tested (see Analyzing Hay and Feeds) and using the results to determine if corrections are needed. While sugar and starch in forage, as emphasized in the article, are important for metabolically challenged horses, there is a lot more you need to know about the nutritional value of the forage you give your horse. What works for your pasture ornament may be inadequate in many ways for your performance horse, and what works for your performance horse when he is training/working might set him up for laminitis when he's idle. 

Forage testing (even if only done as "spot checks" for an idea of what you're feeding if you can't store large quantities of hay) is cheap insurance - at $30 to $50, a lot less than a vet bill. "Correcting" excesses and deficiencies by targeted mineral balancing can be done economically - often for a lot less than buying an "off the shelf" standard supplement which may or may not provide what's needed (and often adds a lot of "stuff" that's not needed).

So - when looking at forage for your horse, think in terms of the "best" quality you can afford. Take words like "rich" out of your vocabulary; they tell you nothing about your hay. Forget "old", "last year's", "poor quality" and "straw" when trying to find low sugar/starch hay.

Think in terms of how many Mcal your horse needs per day, how many grams of protein he needs, and calcium/phosphorus balance based on test results, not on whether it's "grass" or "alfalfa". Look and test for sugar plus starch equal to 10% or less for an IR or laminitic horse - low sugar/starch does not mean compromising on energy, protein or quality. Avoid excessively high iron levels in forage if you can - it may be an indication of poorly maintained fields or high surface contamination, and has been shown to be "pro-inflammatory". 

You can figure your horse's requirements in many places (see the  Analyzing Hay and Feeds article), find out what your forage supplies from the test results, then the rest is just addition and subtraction. (Well, maybe not "just" but not rocket science either. You might want to try on Dr. Kellon's basic nutrition class - NRC Plus - for starters.)

And use the straw for bedding your cows and goats.

Why Weigh Feed?

I was browsing through some messages on the Equine Cushings and IR group when I came across this - 

Can someone also put the emergency diet in laymens terms (cups/flakes). I don't have a weight scale and not sure what things weigh. 

The Emergency Diet - for those unfamiliar with it - is a short term low sugar-low starch maintenance ration for horses experiencing laminitis or suspected of being insulin resistant. It was developed by Eleanor Kellon, VMD and is meant to be a temporary diet to safely help your horse through the critical acute period while you, the owner, catch your breath and start getting a correct diagnosis.

So why is it important to weigh your horse's hay, feed and supplements? 

The entire concept of determining equine nutritional needs, then meeting their requirements with forage is based on weight. Weight of the horse and weight of the forage and feed.

A 1,000 lb horse at maintenance (just hanging around the corral looking pretty) needs a minimum of 15 mega calories (Mcal, or 15,000 Calories) every day. A 250 pound mini needs only 3.8 Mcal, a working ranch horse might use up 24 or more Mcal a day when he's working.

A general rule of thumb is to provide a horse with 1.5 to 2% of it's body weight in forage (hay or hay plus pasture). That would be around 15 lbs of hay for the pasture ornament, 3-3/4 lbs for the mini, and at least 20 lbs a day for the ranch horse. 

Working with horses since before he could walk, the cowboy knows his horse is going to get skinny on 20 lbs of hay. While he might not be consciously doing the math, he knows his horse will need to be knee deep in grass hay and will probably benefit from something "extra" - more calories, higher protein, more carbs - so will also give him a bit of alfalfa and a measure of oats. Is he using a scale? No - but when your livelihood (and possibly your life) depend on the health of your partner, you've likely developed a keen eye and feel for how much is enough, too much or too little.

A lot of us don't have the life-long horseman/horsewoman's eye.

Let's take my weekend warrior who's a bit on the chubby side. I "know" an average bale of Bermuda hay in Arizona weighs around 100 lbs, +/- 5-10 lbs or so, and that if I split a bale over two days for three horses, they're getting around 16 lbs of hay a day.   That will work - as long as the hay is pretty "average", around 0.8 to 0.9 Mcal per lb. But, when I look at my "herd" of three, I see I'm actually feeding around 2550 lbs of horse (1000 lb mare, 900 lb gelding, 650 lb pony gelding) and they, collectively, only need around 38 Mcal/day.

And this last load of hay is really nice - almost 110 lbs per bale and the horses really like it.  My horses are fat and sassy - uh oh, did I say fat?  I weigh my "flakes" of hay - each one is closer to 9 lbs than the 5 or 6 lbs I have in my mind. So I cut back one flake per day (I've been putting out six). 

 I could probably have figured this out without a scale - but it made it easier. Like most horse owners, I tend to think along the lines of "Am I feeding them enough?" rather than "Am I giving them too much?" And, without a scale, I typically under-estimate the weight of the hay I am feeding (and this has been my experience with almost all the folks I have worked with).

Let's look at the mini. Our kind of average grass hay has around 8.5 Mcal/lb. The mini needs around 3.8 Mcal - if he's fairly active in a good size paddock. That works out to 4-1/2 lbs of hay a day - and nothing else (no concentrates, no grain, no treats). What if your "flake" weighs 5 lbs and you give him a whole flake every day? 

Over a week, that's an extra 3 Mcal, almost a whole day's ration. Over a year, that's an extra 155 Mcal - or enough to maintain your mini for over a month! You could have enjoyed your mini for 13 months for the same cost as 12 months, and he would be healthier!

One last example - as this is where we see a lot of folks get into trouble.

Your vet tells you to put your cresty necked 1100 lb horse on a diet. You, or your vet, interpret this as feeding less - a lot less - to lose weight. That's how people do it, right? So you cut back to two "flakes" of hay/day, plus a little senior feed to provide some vitamins and minerals.

What's wrong with this picture?

Your two 5-1/2 lb flakes provide 11 lbs of forage, or only 1% of your horse's body weight. This is not sufficient gut fill to avoid problems such as colic or maintaining immune function - your horse needs a minimum of 1.5% BW in forage to lose weight safely - or 16-1/2 lbs of forage (hay) a day. To see the disastrous results of using a "starvation" diet to get a horse to lose weight, read Perla's Story.

The hay needs to be low sugar-low starch - preferably less than 10%, with a DE of 0.9 or less (alfalfa, many small grain hays and some grass hays will exceed this - have your hay analyzed to find out the DE). 

Your horse does not need any "concentrate" feed at all (grain, "senior" feed, "complete" feed, etc.) as they likely contain too much sugar/starch and won't supply the necessary level of minerals and vitamins unless fed at the minimum levels shown on the product label (usually around 2 lbs/day or more for an "average" horse). 

Your horse does need minerals at least at the minimum levels recommended by the NRC or, even better, balanced to a hay analysis, plus some vitamins if not eating fresh forage/grass. As an interim measure, an iron-free supplement, such as the flax-based supplements from HorseTech, can provide basic support until you have hay analyzed and determine your horse's specific needs. A small amount of soaked beet pulp or hay pellets can be used as a "supplement carrier".

Basic requirements are available in tables at Equi-Analytical's website, or at the NRC's online program.  Neither the tables nor the online calculator tell you how to interpret or balance the results, and they both give you only minimum requirements - similar to the human "RDA", not the levels recommended for optimal health.

You can learn more by checking out the other articles and links on this blog. Joining the Equine Cushings and IR group will give you access to a wealth of science-based information that's been developed over the years, as well as support if your horse is currently laminitic (or suspected of having laminitis). Eleanor Kellon, VMD has begun offering a series of online equine nutrition courses, from the very basic through nutrition for the elite equine athlete, which you can complete at your own pace.

My own bit of cynicism -

I am always amazed at the folks who will pay large sums for the right tack, a new truck or trailer, correct riding clothes, but balk at $30 for a good scale, $26 for a hay analysis or taking the few hours to have someone help them to "learn the math".

Obviously, if you've read down this far, you aren't one of them. But, because you obviously care for your equine partner, you are vulnerable to any and all of the magic bullets offered to make us think we are doing the best for our horses. 

Your strongest weapon - and best resource - is knowledge. It's out there - I hope this helps you navigate the map but then its up to you to use it.

Sudan Grass Hay - Caution

I first wrote this when hay was really tight in AZ in the winter of 2005/2006. As hay continues to be in short supply in many areas, some will see the availability of Sudan hay as a solution.

There is a great temptation to buy Sudan grass hay as it is CHEAP - it can be found in areas around Arizona for about $6/bale and Bermuda and alfalfa are expensive! I, personally, do not feed Sudan grass hay (also known as Love grass, Johnson grass, Sorghum/Sudan hybrids) to my horses, or let them graze on these grasses.

Several varieties of Sudan grasses and hybrids were introduced because they are easy to grow, drought resistant and produce fairly high yields with, generally, good nutritional content. They are becoming popular as ruminant forages and can be useful for dry cows and meat-producing animals. Sudan grasses and hybrids pose two problems - nitrate toxicity and prussic acid (cyanide) toxicity. The extent of the problem depends on growing and handling conditions - neither of which we, as end use buyers, have any control over. If properly grown and cured, these hays can be "safe" but I would not feed to any horse without having it analyzed for nitrate content - http://www.dairyone.com/Forage/FactSheet/Nitrates.htm and http://www.dairyone.com/Forage/services/Forage/forage.htm.

[Note - for a pregnant mare, I would have ANY hay analyzed for nitrate content]

There is conflicting information as to whether ensiling hay increases or decreases nitrate content.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-BE_cca/INF-BE_cca01/INF-BE_cca0111.html
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant43.htm

Google "Sudan grass nitrates" for a further extensive list of information on these grasses.

Bottom line - your horse's safety. Hay prices typically increase this time of year until the first spring/summer cuttings are in. But I would avoid the temptation of the cheaper Sudan hay.

Extend your available Bermuda by adding some alfalfa (if only doing this for 3-4 months I wouldn't be too concerned about the higher calcium for an adult horse but would consider adding some phosphorus for a young/growing horse) or substituting some plain hay pellets such as Mountain Sunrise Bermuda or Timothy pellets or Lakin Lite pellets at the rate of one to one and one half lbs pellets to replace two pounds of hay.

You can also increase the amount of non-molassed beet pulp - substitute for hay at the same rate as for pellets.

You don't want to substitute grain based feeds for forage but could use one of the "complete" forage-based low sugar/starch feeds for some of the ration.

If you are using the AZ Regional Mix and substitute forage pellets or beet pulp for some of your hay, continue to feed at the 3oz/day (for "average" 1000lb horse getting 18-22 lbs dry weight of feed/hay). If you are using another supplement or fortified feed, continue to feed at a rate that will supply 90 to 125mg of copper/day for the same "average" horse.

A consideration if you have stands of Sudan grass (or its varieties) on your property is to remove it. Probably the simplest way would be to kill it off using a herbicide* [it is likely to be resistant to tilling or disking]. Then encourage growth of Bermuda or other grass, which is less likely to accumulate high levels of nitrates. If you are going to graze pregnant mares, it will be worth while to have your soil tested (spreading manure does increase nitrate levels) and have an extension agent take a look at your property/pasture to identify grasses and weeds for nitrate accumulators.

*Using a herbicide to control weeds and invasive grasses is safe as long as label directions are followed.
http://sanangelo.tamu.edu/agronomy/forages/weedcntr.htm
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1097.pdf

Non-chemical weed control will be more labor intensive, requiring year round attention (mowing and overseeding in winter and summer) and may take more time to produce a grazable pasture or paddock.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/weeds/fba12s00.html

Your best insurance for safe hay at reasonable cost is to plan ahead, find a reliable source and lay in a supply of good hay when prices are down in the summer. If your hay storage space is limited, invest in some good tarps and pallets and learn how to stack and tarp for long-term storage.

Our low winter rainfall will likely result in higher hay costs this year - we may want to rethink breeding or acquiring another equine mouth to feed. This summer will also be the time to lay in a supply of plain hay pellets - easy to store and safe to substitute if hay supplies become short next winter.

And it doesn't hurt to support your local rain dancer.

Developing a Horse Ration

The Foundation

Horses evolved eating plains grasses with only nature’s supplements. Our modern horses’ diet today should still be based on grass and hay for the foundation. But forage has changed since horses roamed the plains and our pastures and hay may be lacking in essential nutrients.

There are two simple ways to know what our horse needs

• We can look at what is known about our region and use a supplement that complements “typical” area hay and pasture or

• We can send a hay sample to a forage laboratory for analysis.

Using a regional “average” can work for most healthy horses when we are mainly concerned that the major minerals are reasonably balanced and they are receiving at least the basic requirements for protein, energy, vitamins and trace minerals. It’s a useful approach if hay comes from different suppliers in small amounts.

Horses with special needs related to growth, health, performance, reproductive status or advanced age will benefit from having their ration more tightly balanced to avoid problems.

Interpreting the Results

Using the hay analysis results or a regional average, we can see if the forage meets the horse’s requirements. The guidelines established by the National Research Council (NRC) combined with mineral balancing guidelines based on more recent research, can help us determine what is needed to address deficiencies and avoid over supplementation.

Selecting the Right Supplement

After reviewing the analysis results, we can select a supplement that will complement the horse’s forage. This may be a “Regional” supplement which has been custom blended to work with our area hays, an “over the counter” supplement with appropriate mineral levels, or it may be a “Custom Mix” formulated specifically to work with the hay you had analyzed.

We can also determine if additional concentrates need to be included to improve protein, major mineral or fat content. This could range from a simple hay pellet or straight grain to a commercial concentrate feed.

Goals

Your horse’s ration should

• Provide optimum nutrition for your horse

• Be cost effective

• Fit your feeding program whether you board or keep your horse at home

• Be easy to understand

• Be flexible and portable enough for traveling with your horse

Special Needs

Is your horse “nutritionally challenged”?

There is no “one size fits all” feeding program but there are simple and effective ways to work with hard keepers, “air ferns”, and other horses with special nutritional needs.

Horses with laminitis, Cushing’s Disease, Insulin Resistance or other metabolic conditions may have additional requirements needing a more targeted approach.

Mares and foals have increased requirements for many nutrients which can affect critical developmental phases.

Performance horses often require more of everything - energy, protein, minerals - the right nutrients balanced in the correct amounts to feed the work.

Teamwork

Any nutrition recommendations and suggestions should be shared with your veterinarian and other equine practitioners you may be working with. It’s in your horse’s best interest if we’re all working together as a team.

Herbs
A variety of herbs is often used to improve or maintain the health of your horse. Many herbs have powerful and potent actions similar to drugs and should be used only under the guidance of a certified herbalist (ideally, also a veterinarian). .

I do not suggest or recommend products containing substances that may interfere with herbs but you should be aware of interactions between any herbs or medications your horse is receiving. You should have at least a basic understanding of the purpose and possible side effects of any herbs fed to your horse

~ Education is the basis for Optimum Nutrition and Performance ~

Analyzing Hay and Feeds

(with updates 22 May 2010)

Relying on tradition or advertising to formulate your horses ration can be misleading - the only way to be certain of what your hay or feed contains is to have it analyzed by a forage laboratory. Despite traditional thought, many grass hays are more than adequate in calcium and protein for most adult horses. Sugar and starch content can vary dramatically depending on growing and cutting conditions. Some pellets and feeds do not provide adequate levels of certain nutrients and some nutrients may be in excess of desired levels (this is especially true of iron).

While most healthy horses can tolerate wide variations and imbalances, knowing what's in your feed can help provide optimum health and performance.

Where to Get Your Hay or Feed Analyzed

Dairy One Forage Lab
730 Warren Road
Ithica, NY 14850
1-800-496-3344
http://www.dairyone.com/Forage/services/Forage/forage_Price_List.htm
Submittal form
http://www.dairyone.com/Forage/services/SingleSample.pdf
Tests to request:
F-321 Forage NIR ($16) and
M-329 Wet Chemistry Minerals ($10)
or
Test # 10 – Basic ($28) plus
ESC-simple sugars ($7) and Starch ($9).
Also request Nitrates ($6) for breeding mares (and for sudan hay or for small grain hays grown in stressed conditions).

These tests will give you Protein, DE (digestible energy/Mcal), NFC, NSC (sugar and starch), major mineral, trace minerals. The NIR test also shows fat, lignen and estimated lysine. Results are reported as "%" or "ppm" and require some math to put it into a useful format.

Equine Analytical Laboratories
730 Warren Road
Ithica, NY 14850
1-877-819-4110
http://www.equi-analytical.com/default.htm
Submittal form:
http://www.equi-analytical.com/Services/Sample_information_sheet.pdf
Test to request:
(601) Equi Tech ($29, NIR)
or
(603) Trainer ($49, wet chemistry)

This is the "equine" division of Dairy One. The comparable tests cost a bit more, however the report format also shows results in grams or milligrams based on the "amount fed" you indicate on the submittal form. There is a wealth of information on the website, including a "basic" version of the NRC tables. Purchase of a hay probe from Equi-Analytical includes one "free" hay analysis.

Litchfield Analytical Services
535 Marshall St/PO Box 457
Litchfield, MI 49252
http://www.litchlab.com/
Test 4T ($26) plus NSC ($32, includes starch and sugar) Total $58
or
Equus Plus ($49, preferred)
(Selenium is $38)
No specific “submittal” form; although their website is a little difficult to navigate Litchfield was the first to provide NSC (non-structural carbohydrates: sugar and starch) testing for us and is still considered to be the “gold standard”.

A&L Canada Laboratories, Inc.
2136 Jet Stream Rd.
London, ON
Canada
Phone: (519) 457-2575 Fax: (519) 457-2664
alcanadalabs@alcanada.com
http://www.alcanada.com/indexx.php (select Submission FormsFeed Submission Form)
Request Test F2 - forage package ($25) plus DE for horses and Cushings Sugar and Starch ($25)
Total cost $50
You must write in “DE for Horses and Cushings Sugar and Starch” on the submittal form
(Selenium is $25)

Should I request the NIR or Wet Chemistry Test?

The "wet chemistry" tests are considered by many to be more precise, especially for sugar and starch (NSC). I would recommend using "wet chem" to test hay for insulin resistant (IR) mares in late pregnancy/lactation and horses with persistent or recurring laminitis.

I have found the less expensive NIR tests results to be fairly consistent with "wet chem" test results when I have had both tests run on the same sample of Bermuda hay.

How to Send Samples

The forage lab websites all have sections on taking a good hay sample. Using a hay corer will provide a more accurate representative sample for analysis. Samples should be taken from several bales (I usually sample 20+ bales in a load). The samples are mixed well in a clean bucket, then a few handfuls are placed in a "zip lock" bag – enough to fill a one-quart bag.

For pellets, obtain about a cup from several bags, mix them together, then place about a cup of the mixed samples into a "zip lock" bag.

The laboratories will provide mailers, but using a priority mailer (envelope or box for hay, a box for pellets) from the U.S. Post Office works well. Mark the plastic bag containing the sample with a description of the sample (such as "Brand X Pellets" or "Bermuda Hay"). Enclose a check for payment and the submittal form in an envelope with the complete Lab address on it. (Be sure you put your email address on the submittal form to get faster results via email.) Place the envelope and the sample in the mailer and send via Priority Mail. You should receive your results within one week by email.

What to Do With the Results

If you are comfortable with numbers, I can provide you with an Excel spreadsheet or a "paper and pencil" worksheet that you can use to calculate your supplement needs. I can also assist with in depth interpretation of the results. I use guidelines developed by Eleanor Kellon, VMD, which expand on the basic recommendations in the NRC (National Research Council) Nutritional Requirements of Horses. Current research in equine nutrition supports many changes from the last published NRC recommendations, which, in general, are "minimum requirements" rather than optimal levels.

Because minerals are synergistic and many affect the absorption and utilization of other minerals and nutrients, it is important that they be balanced. For example, most horse owners are aware that calcium should be one and a half to two times the amount of phosphorus in a horses ration; but may not know that calcium and magnesium should also be balanced.

The general balancing ratios suggested by Dr. Kellon are:

Major (Macro) Minerals:
Calcium 1-1/2 to 2 times phosphorus and magnesium
Potassium 3.3 to 10 times sodium (3.3:1 is the ideal target)

Trace (Micro) Minerals:
Iron 4 to 10 times copper (4:1 is the ideal target)
Copper generally not to exceed 4 times NRC value (based on kg of dry feed)

Update - higher levels of copper are more commonly seen now with the guidance of an experienced "balancer"
Zinc and manganese 3 times copper, with manganese lower than zinc

Update - we shoot for manganese to be 1.5 x NRC and for manganese to be at least 50% of zinc (the Cu:Mn ratio will often be lower than the previous 1:3 ratio).

There are additional considerations if manganese is high, if horse is iron overloaded or if major minerals are extremely low or high.

Healthy horses can tolerate fairly large deviations from these ratios but many circumstances call for staying close to ideal targets. Pregnancy, lactation and growth increase the requirements for protein – both amount and quality – and calories, and lessen the tolerance for imbalance, as do strenuous work and stressful conditions (climate, travel, environment). Metabolic conditions, age and illness also lower the tolerance for imbalance.

Other factors may affect balancing a ration, including long standing excesses or deficiencies, high levels of toxic minerals (molybdenum, aluminum, etc.), area water mineral levels, iron overload (which requires specific blood work to diagnose). These conditions may require addition of minerals beyond the normal "safe" levels, diluting the ration with forage from a different growing area or outright rejection of a forage or feed.

High iron levels in hay and feed are a fairly new concern in equine nutrition for adult horses (it has been studied fairly extensively in zoo animals) and it has been shown that excessive iron can be "pro-inflammatory" in some circumstances.

Nutrition Consulting

If your hay or feed falls outside acceptable parameters or if your horse has performance or health issues, it can be helpful to consult with an equine nutritionist. Good resources are extension services and university veterinary schools. Veterinarians who specialize in reproduction or equine sports medicine are more apt to be current in nutritional research. While many field vets rely on feed companies for nutritional education, many more are becoming involved in independently studying equine nutrition.

Eleanor Kellon, VMD, is an Equine Nutrition specialist and provides ration consults for race/performance horses and breeders and also provides assistance with equine metabolic problems. Dr. Kellon's basic and advanced nutrition courses can provide you with the tools and knowledge to effectively balance your own horse's ration. Dr. Kellon can be contacted through her website at http://www.drkellon.com/.

Many feed and supplement company representatives are nutritionists; however some sales representatives only have limited nutritional education. Look for one who shows how their products can meet your horse's nutritional requirements, not how they can fit your horse's requirements to their products. Because they hope you will buy their products, feed company nutritionists do not charge for services.

Some of Dr. Kellon's nutrition class graduates are available for assistance on the EC Horsekeeping group at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ECHorsekeeping/.

While I am not a certified nutritionist, I have studied equine nutrition for the past several years and can help you determine requirements and interpret feed analysis results. My emphasis is on education so the horse owner obtains the knowledge to make informed decisions about their horses' diet.

I tend to be skeptical of "magic bullet" feeds or supplements and of those whose advice is biased by the products they are trying to sell. While many feeds, supplements and herbs are useful and helpful, I feel the horse owner is responsible to understand what they are and how and why they work. You can reach me at DesertEquineBalance@gmail.com.

All feed and supplement recommendations should be reviewed with your veterinarian.


RESOURCES

NRC
National Research Council Nutritional Requirements for Horses (NRC)
Sixth Revised Edition (2007) http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11653

NRC Online Program

This program will calculate the requirements for your horse based on age, weight, reproductive class and activity level. It is a little more precise than using the NRC tables.

http://nrc88.nas.edu/nrh/

The NRC Nutrient Requirement Tables are available on the Equi-Analytical website at
http://www.equi-analytical.com/default.htm under the "Putting results to work" tab.

The entire previous NRC Nutritional Requirements for Horses (1989) book is available online Update - this is no longer available

Horse Journal Guide to Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals by Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD,

http://horsebooksetc.com/products/Horse_Journal_Guide_to_Equine_Supplements_and_Nutraceuticals-879-0.html is an up to date comprehensive review of supplements and their uses.

Equine Supplementsand Nutraceuticals by Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD, (no longer in print but you might get lucky) is available from Breakthrough Publications, www.booksonhorses.com (and other sources such as Amazon) and contains excellent discussion on general and specific needs as well as information and maps concerning toxicity.

Dr. Kellon's Equine Nutrition Courses (basic through advanced) are available at http://www.drkellon.com/.

Equine Cushings Group – Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistance discussion, research and support moderated by Dr. Eleanor Kellon with reams of nutritional information.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EquineCushings/

EC/IRHorse.com is a sister web site to the Equine Cushings group.

Susan Evans Garlinghouse, DVM's website contains "must read" articles on nutrition for endurance horses.
http://shady-acres.com/susan/index.shtml

Kentucky Equine Research is a forerunner in equine nutrition and has a wealth of information in the articles in the Library section at http://www.ker.com/index.html?region=na



Patti Woodbury Kuvik
Desert Equine Balance
Vail, AZ
DesertEquineBalance@gmail.com