Is your horse’s diet balanced?

Dr Caroline Foote
Equine Consulting Services
www.equineconsultingservices.com.au

Does your horse have any of these conditions?

These are just some of the conditions which have been associated with some type of nutritional deficiency or dietary imbalance.

What happens if the diet is inadequate? 

Not providing all of the nutrients a horse needs for its level of activity will:

COMPROMISE PERFORMANCE
&
COMPROMISE WELLBEING

What are the important nutrients in a horses ration?

Energy - Energy is required to fuel the body processes including muscle contraction and provide heat to maintain body temperature.  The energy needs of a horse are influenced by the speed and duration of the exercise, the horse’s temperament, the weight of the rider and the horse, the type of working surface and the general metabolic efficiency of the breed or individual animal.

If the amount of energy provided in the horse’s diet is in excess, the horse will channel the surplus energy into activity, making it “hyper-energetic”, “above itself”, “fizzy” or more difficult to handle. 
In a quieter horse, it will be converted into body fat. 

Inadequate energy in a horse’s diet will affect the animal’s ability to exercise, grow or reproduce and the horse will lose body weight as fat and protein will be utilized to maintain daily energy needs.

Protein - Protein is the major structural component of muscles, blood and many other tissues. 

If there is not enough protein in the diet, there will be a breakdown of protein contained in muscle and the horse will lose condition.  Higher protein requirements are indicated in working horses to replace tissue degradation and losses in sweat and in lactating mares due to the protein being secreted into the milk. 

Excess protein in the diet is fermented in the hindgut, producing heat, which adds to the heat load of exercising horses. This basically means that excess protein isn’t good for horses that sweat as it increases the demand for water. 

Minerals and Vitamins – Dietarily, minerals and vitamins should be regarded as a group rather than individually.  As the intake of a mineral increases above that needed, the amount absorbed and/or excreted in the urine and/or faeces also increases.  An excess amount absorbed may be harmful.  That not absorbed may bind other minerals, decreasing their absorption and possibly resulting in a deficiency of these minerals.

It is the balanced amount of all minerals in the diet that is important.  Indiscriminately adding one or even several minerals to the diet is likely to be more harmful than beneficial.  Therefore, minerals should not be added to the diet unless it is known which ones and how much are needed.

So how do you know if your horse’s diet is balanced?

The best way to make sure your horse’s diet is balanced is by nutritional evaluation of the feeding program.  This involves weighing out each of the ingredients and then getting a nutritionist to compare the nutrient composition of the ration to your horse’s estimated nutrient requirements.  This is a much more accurate way of determining any mineral imbalances compared to blood or hair testing because it tells you exactly what the horse is getting. 

If you are using a complete/premix feed, does this mean your horse is getting everything he/she needs?

This all depends on how much of the complete or premixed feed you are giving your horse.  Each premix feed is formulated according to the requirements of an average horse.  If for some reason you are not able to feed as much as what is recommended (often this information is found on the back of the feed bag), then your horse might be missing out on some key nutrients.  On the contrary, if you are feeding more than the recommended level, some of the nutrients may be provided for in excess.  Below is a common example…

Misty, an 8yo Warmblood weighing 600kg, is in training for dressage.  She is a very good doer and is currently being fed 400g of Lucerne and oaten chaff, 2kg of a common premix feed, a cup of sunflower seeds and 2 biscuits of Lucerne per day.  Are her nutritional needs being met?

The graph below compares the nutrient composition of this ration to the recommended requirements of a 600kg horse in early training for dressage.  The line at 100% represents the recommended level of each nutrient.

As you can see, Misty’s diet appears to be low in phosphorus, sodium, zinc, manganese and Vitamin E.  While Misty’s body condition is good at present, these deficiencies can lead to problems down the track including reduced appetite, electrolyte imbalances, poor hoof condition, dry skin, joint problems and stiff movement.

In this case, supplementation using an appropriate vitamin and mineral supplement would be advised to avoid these issues from occurring.

Mineral imbalances are a common occurrence in equine rations, but are easily resolved. 

For further information on nutritional analysis of rations, please contact Equine Consulting Services on 0418 488 718, or visit www.equineconsultingservices.com.au