An optimised diet for horses

We have all heard of the importance of a balanced diet for our own health (though many of us ignore it) but what about our horses? Balanced Equine Nutrition provides an optimum diet for your horses, taking into account breed, age, workload, reproductive and health status.

I take the guess work out of feeding.

The basic nutritional management for horses should be the same, whether you have a much loved member of the family in the back paddock or are feeding a horse to win an endurance ride, a competitive trail ride, or the Melbourne Cup. The ultimate goal in feeding should be to have a healthy horse able to perform at the best of their ability at their level of fitness and conditioning with a robust immune system. A horse must have a balanced diet which includes all the essential nutrients in the proper proportion and sufficient amounts.

Dr. Eleanor Kellon VMD, says

"Healthy young to middle-aged adult horses will tolerate a wide range of minimal imbalances with no obvious outward signs, but many of the things we take for granted as 'usual' in horses, such as sun-bleaching, tendon/ligament/joint issues, immune system imbalances, poor fertility, muscle and nerve problems, bone problems can all have a nutritional component. All problems are a combination of genetics and outside influences. The list of outside influences is huge, but worth investigating since it's in our control. Horses on pasture, not under any stress, may show no outward signs at all of mineral deficiencies - until their immune system is stressed, they become ill or have an injury."

Feeding horses properly is an art and a science. Working out the best diet for your horse or horses from the enormous and confusing array of commercial feeds and supplements, or from more than 100 basic feed ingredients listed in the 2007 Nutrient Requirements of Horses from the National Research Council (NRC) can be overwhelming. There are so many products on the market for a huge spectrum of issues that you could easily over supplement, especially performance horses by concerned horse owners. This is not in the best interests of your horses.

Burt Staniar, PhD, assistant professor of equine nutrition at the Pennsylvannia State University USA, says

"Not only must we supply proper amounts of certain minerals and protein a certain horse requires, but also be aware of energy in the diet and how it affects the horse's metabolism. We must understand how the way we feed horses affects growth, maintenance and performance."

I am an independent equine nutritionist, I do not work for any feed or supplement companies. I do not push any particular product unless the product is in the best interests of your horse and you. The only products I will sell are those that are otherwise unavailable in Australia or extremely difficult to get.

Contact details:

Carol Layton B.Sc, M.Ed
Balanced Equine Nutrition

Phone: 02 4953 2580
Email:

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