Equine Nutrition

In my book, Common Sense Horse Keeping, I reference a book I found in my grandfathers library, titled Horseowner and Stableman’s Companion, by George Armatage. Even though it was written in 1869, the basics are the same when it comes to feeding horses, although research has dramatically improved what we feed our mounts. Yet despite diets that consisted of turnips, potatos, beans, peas, barley, corn, and bran, horses lived not only long lives, but they were hard working creatures: one horse that Armatage tells the story is of a mare by the name of Maggie Lauder, who pulled a dry boat twice a day between Glascow (sic) and Edinbro (sic) for a total of 32 miles a day, 6 days a week and was retired and sold at the age of 29 years old, never having been sick a day in her life! In his book, Armatage stresses the importance of feeding good quality grain in order to keep a horse healthy. Another horse that he tells the story of was a celebrated mare named Old Sal, who ran in a coach line between London, York and Leeds, 14 miles out and 14 miles back, six days a week. When she retired sound in her twenties, it was said she was “fresh as paint!” Can you imagine any horse alive today who could accomplish such a feat?

And yet despite better nutrition, our horses are buggered by metabolic disorders such as Cushings and Insulin Resistance and most of us struggle to keep our horses sound and healthy into their teens, let alone their twenties! What happened?

According to the Horse Feed Global Market Report of 2023, the horse feed industry grew from $7.58 billion in 2022 to $8.14 billion in 2023, with an expected growth of more than $11 billion by the year 2028. The American Horse Council Foundation states that the horse population in the U.S. is over 9 million as of 2021, which will continue to propel the growth of the horse feed market.

Feed companies employ equine nutritionists and spend countless hours and millions of dollars in research to improve the quality of horse feed. Major companies are concentrating on developing new and innovative products, including microbiome optimization, supplements, veterinary diets for certain diseases, immunomodulatory nutrition, and improving digestibility and palatability.

With all of this research, one would think our horses are healthier, stronger, and sounder. Are they?

I am always impressed when I encounter a horse who is still sound and being used in his twenties. When my oldest daughter competed at the USPC Championships in 2004, one of her eventing teammates was competing on her 26 year old Thoroughbred, Bubbi, who was the oldest horse at the event. Bubbi went on to be used for several more years, into his 30’s as a pony club mount. My youngest daughter’s first horse, Dolly, came to us in her 20’s and was euthanized at the age of 30, only after she was injured in the pasture, which resulted in painful arthritis settling in. I have known several more ponies and horses who were still going strong into their late 30’s and one even into his 40’s. But are these the exceptions rather than the rule? My daughter’s beloved USPC mount, Impulsive, developed Cushings at 17, after she was retired the same year. A former advanced level eventer, she had lots of miles on her and it is a testiment to her heart that she was still going strong at the upper levels at 17. My own Tucker was diagnosed with EPSM around the age of 9, which was micromanaged through diet and exercise, until he was retired due to soundness issues at the age of 14 (despite not being backed until he was 3, not cantered until he was 5 and no jumping until 6. With time off due to the EPSM, he was what I consider a “low milage, low level” eventer and should have never been lame.)

Metabolic disorders used to be something older horses were diagnosed with, or that only certain breeds had issues with, but now it seems all horse breeds and all ages are being diagnosed with some type of ailment. I don’t know if there is any validity to it, but one theory I have is that the numbers seemed to begin to rise when sugary treats became the norm. It used to be there were just a few options for horse treats but now, tack and feed stores have entire rows dedicated to treats, many which are decorated to look like cupcakes or donuts, with icing and sugary toppings. Somehow feeding healthy treats such as carrots and apples fell to the wayside in favor of convenience and feeling good that we are giving our horse something so special!

Additionally, growing up in the 1960s & 70’s, everyone I knew who had horses fed them either oats or corn and made sure that hay was plentiful. Horses mostly lived outside where they grazed all day long. It didn’t matter if the horse was an expensive show horse or just a pleasure pony, they were outside as much as possible! I don’t believe I began to feed a sweet feed or pellets until the early 1980’s!

Tucker’s diagnosis of EPSM caused me to take a good look at not just his diet, but everyone in the barn was scrutinized. I became a big fan of Hilton Herbs Herballs treats, which have no added sugar and the horses absolutely love them. Since their introduction to the market, other brands of treats have become available that are healthy and safe to give to horses.

Deciding what to feed your horse doesn’t need to be complicated! There are several good books that discuss equine nutrition and hopefully your vet will be well versed in nutrition. I have been fortunate to find a good rep for the feed that I settled on for my barn (Hallway Feed.) Some considerations one should take into account are where the feed is manufactured, how often is it being shipped to your areas for a quick turnover and most importantly, whether or not they manufacture feed for other animals in the same facility. A good quality feed will only manufacture horse feed and nothing else in their facility. The risk of contamination from deadly ingredients, such as Monensin, is not worth the risk. Monensin poisoning has been reported several times, with probably the worst incident occuring in 2014, when 22 horses in Davie, Florida, were accidently fed the cattle feed additive that is 100% fatal to horses.

Nutrition is such a fun and expansive topic! Please leave feedback on my Facebook …I would love to hear about your experiences with metabolic disorders, your favorite treat to feed your horse and what your favorite grain is! This topic will continue in the next blog!

Meanwhile, stay warm in this bitter cold! It snowed…really snowed, in parts of Florida! It didn’t quite make it to where I live, but today’s high is 35, so it may as well have snowed! No complaints from this mountain girl!

Don’t forget to hug your horse!

Lori