Feeding Guidelines for Equine Health
Horses need a diet which maximizes their health, both physically and mentally.
Dr. Kristina Hiney, PhD – Omega Fields® Equine Nutrition Advisor
Horse owners are continually being barraged with information concerning the dangers of grazing,
metabolic syndrome, obesity and ulcers. Sometimes it is easy to get lost in the conflicting
information and one might almost be afraid to even feed their horse. Hopefully we all know that
our duty as horse owners is to feed our horses a diet which maximizes their health, both physically
and mentally. Therefore we will discuss strategies for feeding horses that will optimize not only the
health of their digestive system, but keep them mentally sound as well. To understand how best to
feed horses, we first need discuss the true nature of a horse prior to its domestication and modern management practices.
Back to the Beginning
Horses certainly didn’t evolve on the lush pastures of Kentucky behind beautiful wooden fences.
They were plains animals who drifted about continuously looking for sources of food. Horses successfully existed through times of rapid growth of grasses in the spring but also through the
dormancy of fall and winter, times of drought etc. Compare that idea to horses who now have
laminitis issues when they graze lush pastures! Of course the horse has come a long way since he first grazed on North American plains.
If we examine how horses naturally forage, they are selective grazers who seek out the most nutritious plants at particular stages of growth. Thus they move continuously as they look for plants
with greater palatability and nutritional value to the horse. Feral horses will typically spend from one
half to two-thirds of their day grazing, moving continuously as they graze. That means horses are
meant to eat small nutritious amounts continuously and to travel extensively as they do so. Studies on grazing horses have shown that typically horses will cover 1-3 miles per day as they forage.
Fresh, live, natural forage contains essential fatty acids at the ratio of 4 parts Omega-3 to 1 part Omega-6. Stabilized ground flaxseed contains that same ratio of 4:1 Omega-3 to Omega-6. This
makes it an effective natural alternative for horses who are not allowed fresh live forage.
What is Omega-3 important for?
Cutting-edge research from facilities all over the world indicates that Omega-3s play a crucial role
in maintaining health. Omega-3 fatty acids make up the molecules in the membranes of every one of
the billions of cells throughout the body -- especially in all the organs (skin is the largest organ of the body), eyes and brain. They have been found vital in new tissue formation. Their anti
-inflammatory properties may be useful in treating immune dysfunctions and arthritis.
Too much grass?
The amount of time foraging is dependent upon the nutrient density of the pasture. The more sparse the vegetation, the more need for grazing time. Imagine wandering on the open plains
searching for feed compared to grazing on well manicured pastures in Kentucky! On modern pastures that are managed well and improved with fertilization and seeding, it does not take as
much time for the horse to meet its nutrient requirements. That is why we often see horses
managed on pastures which are able to get fat, compared to feral horses. They are also confined
to a greater extent, and thus may not be getting the amount of exercise a feral horse would receive.
Additionally, many breeds of horses were originally selected from individuals who were more
efficient at using feed. Think of our more docile breeds who have an easy going temperament.
This personality type is often linked with the “thrifty” genotype. These guys (think ponies, Quarter
Horses, Morgans, etc.) often have more problems with obesity and obesity related issues. These
types of horses, especially ponies, are often the most commonly afflicted with pasture-induced laminitis.
What’s going on inside!
From what we stated previously about the “normal” life for a horse, the horse’s digestive system is
designed to deal with small amounts of food taken in continuously throughout the day. When we
look at a horse’s digestive system, this easily makes sense. In comparison to dogs, or cats, a
horse’s stomach makes up a relatively small percentage of its entire tract. The stomach makes up
about 10% of the entire tract, while the hind gut of the horse comprises 65% percent of the horse’s
digestive capacity. While carnivores are considered to be opportunistic meal feeders (Eat as much as possible when you catch something because you never know when your next meal is coming!)
horses are designed to eat small amounts (or continuous steady intake) throughout the day. The
rate of passage, or how fast food moves out of the stomach, is fairly rapid. Two hours after eating,
half of the solid particulate matter has passed out of the stomach, with ingested food reaching the hind gut within 5 hrs, while the stomach will be completely empty 10 hours post feeding.
So what does this mean for the horse? Interestingly, the horse’s ability to salivate is directly tied to
mouth movements. In other words, they salivate when they chew. In other species, such as cattle,
the salivary glands continuously produce saliva, of which a significant component is sodium bicarbonate. This continuous salivation buffers the rumen (or the foregut) of cattle and helps to
prevent a drop in pH (or preventing an acidic environment). Compare this again to our meal
feeders, (dogs, cats, and us), which salivate when we anticipate a meal. This helps the food slide
down the esophagus with greater ease. Horses in the natural state have a relatively steady supply
of saliva entering their stomach, with buffers included, as they graze throughout the day. However,
compare the natural state to what happens when we manage horses in the typical box stall setting.
Horses are provided with feed twice a day, with sometimes a prolonged period of time between their evening meal and the morning feeding. When the horse has not been provided with feed after
5-6 hours, the pH of their stomach begins to drop. This is why feeding strategies can directly
impact our horse’s health. With a repeated drop in pH, the horse becomes susceptible to ulcers.
Couple this with other risk factors for ulcer development and we can get a pretty unhappy horse.
So our first rule of feeding horses is to provide enough forage to prevent the horse from being without anything to eat, ideally for less than six hours but at least avoiding a completely empty
stomach 10 hrs post eating.
The stomach of the horse is not the only part of the digestive tract we need to be concerned with.
As horses are designed to graze, their natural diet consists of long stem forages. While they
possess the digestive capacity to utilize grains such as corn and oats, these would not make up a
significant portion of the horses’ natural diet. However, we sometimes need to supply our horses
with more energy dense sources of feeds when their energy requirements go up, such as moderate or intense exercise. We may also find ourselves sometimes short of hay due to prices, drought,
supply shortages etc. Thus we may need to look at alternative feed sources than our typical baled
hay. However, as horses are designed to ferment forages in their cecum and hind gut, it is important
that we keep that fermentation functioning properly. To ensure this proper function, we need to
feed horses at least 1 % of their body weight in forage per day. That means if your horse weighs
1200 lbs, it should never receive less than 12 lbs of hay or forage per day. Now if you actually
weigh that out, you would see that really isn’t that much at all. Ideally, the horse should receive
closer to 2% of their body weight in hay per day. So double that 12 lbs to 24 and you will be
much closer to what the horse would naturally consume. On their own, horses will consume about
2-3% of their body weight per day. How we provide that amount, or if we provide that amount of feed, is up to us.
For horses that have high energy requirements, it may be necessary to provide them with extra
concentrate. However, large meals of concentrates may not be great for gut health. If the rate of
concentrate intake exceeds that of the horse’s ability to digest it in the small intestine, it escapes to the hindgut of the horse. Here, there are types of bacteria that will thrive on this meal of simple
carbohydrates. Unfortunately, these carbohydrate fermenting bacteria will produce more acidic by products. The lowering of pH in the hindgut can set off a chain of unhealthy
events, including laminitis, colic, diarrhea etc. Thus, horses should never be fed concentrate meals (the grain portion) in levels of over 0.5 to 0.6% of their body weight
at one time. Beyond this point, we exceed the capacity of the horse’s small intestine to digest and absorb the meal. For our 1200 lb horse, that
means that his grain meal should never be over 6-7 lbs. If the horse truly requires that much grain
(12-14 lbs per day), the best solution would be to split the concentrate into multiple, smaller meals, rather than just two meals per day.
Following these simple guidelines can get you much further down the path of having a content and happy partner, with less health issues to worry over. Omega Fields® is a wonderful recommended source of highest quality, Omega-3 rich, stabilized ground flaxseed products. The preferred supplements are Omega Horseshine® and Omega Grande® COMPLETE .
Omega Nibblers® has the most Omega-3 in any treat on the market (one half of the formula!).
The selection is rounded out by Omega Antioxidant and Omega Stabilized Rice Bran
For information on premium stabilized ground flax supplements that are rich in natural Omega-3 to
help maintain a shiny healthy coat, strong solid hooves, and top performance – and for clear and concise labels – for horses in all life stages – please click on Horse Health Products .
Omega Fields® provides premium, stabilized ground flax products for equine, canine, feline, poultry, and human nutrition. Online-based consumer distribution includes OmegaFields.com
and OmegaFieldsHealth.com .
Omega Fields’ mission is to offer the finest quality, most nutritious products at a fair price and
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