The concept of a balanced ration in equine nutrition is similar to humans eating our daily requirements of the four food groups...
Unfortunately chocolate cake is not a food group! Like humans, horses cannot eat strictly one food group and remain healthy. If I were to eat only pasta and nothing else, I could maintain my body weight, but I would not be healthy. Furthermore, I could not be a professional athlete on such a diet. This is why ingredients like oats, corn, barley and even beet pulp on their own, are good horse feed ingredients but they need to be balanced.
The following five steps will help to ensure a balanced and healthy ration when dealing with fortified horse feeds.
- Balance water intake – With water, 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. Providing salt (electrolytes), sometimes forcefully, is the only way to induce a horse to consume and retain water. With salt – you can lead a horse to water and you can make him drink.
- Long-stemmed-fibre - More research is necessary to substantiate what is implied by long stemmed-fibre in equine nutrition. It is my opinion that it is about the size of an oat hull, but that is more of an opinion than scientific fact. The general rules to follow are:
- To provide at least 1% of the horses’ body weight from long stem fibre.
- The daily amount of starch-based feed provided should not exceed the amount of long stemmed-fibre provided (with the possible exception of young foals and racehorses).
- Balance caloric intake with expenditure – Most experienced horsemen are usually skilled at this one - whereby the amount of calories provided must balance the amount required to sustain life and growth, lactation or performance depending on the horse’s activity level. Calories are the easiest and only nutrient (even though technically not a nutrient) that can be evaluated with 100% certainty by looking at the horse’s body condition. Body condition implies fat stores only and not muscle mass or hay belly. Muscle development comes from a combination of diet, exercise and genetic makeup. Most importantly a hay belly is not fat – it is retained hay, hence the term ‘hay belly’.
Generally, an ideal body condition is where the ribs are not visually detectable but can be felt. Keep in mind that certain health issues may require deviation from this guideline.
To reiterate, the amount of calories needed above those provided by long stemmed-fibre should always be determined by the horse’s body condition and not other factors such as attitude, colic and numerous others. When other factors are involved, other than the type of calories provided, feed processing and management must be addressed, not the amount of calories. How to handle these issues is beyond the scope of this article.
- Balancing fat, starch and fibre - This step requires both good nutritional understanding and good horsemanship. It involves balancing the three calorie types:
Bear in mind that protein, although technically a calorie, is not an efficient energy source).
I like to use this analogy to illustrate the importance of this point - What is the best bit to buy? Well, it depends on the horse, what we are asking of him and the rider. If my objective is to go on a leisurely trail ride, bit selection might not be that relevant. But, if my goal is to compete in the Olympics, then bit selection becomes a more important issue. The same applies to calorie selection. The ideal balance of calorie types is dependent on the discipline or activity performed, amount and type of forage fed, amount of calories needed to maintain desired body condition, attitude of the horse, health issues such as colic and founder, and finally any metabolic issues such as tying-up or insulin resistance. Fat, starch and fibre all have advantages and disadvantages and the best feeding program is one that balances all of these things with what the horse is showing us. Unfortunately, this is not as easily done as it sounds, but it is achievable.
- Balancing minerals and vitamins - There are two groups of minerals: macro-minerals, which are required in grams/day and micro-minerals, which are required in milligrams per day. Macro-minerals include calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur and chloride. Micro-minerals include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, selenium and cobalt. The specifics of each mineral are beyond the scope of this article, but one must keep certain generalizations in mind. Most of us are aware of the importance of a balanced calcium/phosphorus ratio. Because of their interactions, minerals need to be balanced. Interestingly, the nutrient with the greatest variability in a horse’s diet is calcium due to its extreme variability in forages. This emphasizes the importance of hay analysis (especially when feeding broodmares and foals), where calcium and its balance with phosphorus are crucial for sound bone development. And micro-minerals can become toxic even when balanced. Selenium and iodine are the first to become toxic. (Note that as an equine nutritionist, I see deficiency on a daily basis and toxicity only once in a blue moon).
In theory, horses only need the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E. Since vitamins A and D are stored in the liver, they can become toxic. Vitamin E is stored in adipose tissue so toxicity is not an issue. The requirements for vitamin K and the water soluble B-vitamins should be met by providing top quality forage and, consequently, through bacterial fermentation in the hindgut. This sounds great in theory, but not so good in practice. High quality forage is pasture, and exercise and stress might have a negative effect on the micro-flora, hence the production of these B-vitamins. Unfortunately we have more questions than answers. As a nutritionist I cannot provide scientific research on the need to supplement B-vitamins to horses. However, as a horseman, I believe that supplemental B-vitamins are a necessity for their optimum athletic performance.
Balancing minerals and vitamins requires a strong nutritional background and time. Alternatively, a reputable horse feed company can balance them for you. However, you must read the feed tag.
- Is the feed formulated for the activity of your horse?
- Are you feeding the recommended amount?
If you are feeding cups per day of a feed that was formulated to be fed at 4 kilograms/day, are you still providing a balanced ration? No. If the horse already has the desired body condition, feeding more is also not the answer.
When in doubt, do not hesitate to call your feed manufacturer, they are more than willing to provide information to help you meet the nutritional needs of your horse. Your horse will thank you for it.
How Does Long Run Work?
