Horse Health and Diet Part 1
Owning a horse is a lot of work, and one of the main things we must focus on with our horse/s is their health and diet. A horse's health is extremely important. It determines how long the horse will live, how strong they are, (internally and externally) and how they will be able to fight bad diseases and illness's. Having a healthy horse is so important, so I wrote up this post all about it. Including what they digest; their diet.
So we are going to first focus on a horse's health, from the outside appearance first. I'm going to start with the hooves;
Hooves:
The hooves are the most important feature on the horse's body. They hold the whole weight of the horse, if your horse's hooves aren't healthy and strong, the horse won't be able to live easily on their feet. I'm going to name a few herbs and supplements that are 100% safe for your horse to digest and that are very beneficial in promoting healthy, strong, shiny hooves:
1. Flaxseeds.
You can buy these seeds from a health-food shop and even online. They are very good for the horse's coat, joints, and promote healthy shiny hooves, preventing cracking and the hooves getting all dry. The best thing, this is a very natural, but beneficial way of caring for your horse's hooves. They are also very healthy for horses' guts too. Feeding half a cup of flaxseeds to your horse daily is a really good idea if your especially trying to strengthen the hooves and prevent cracking and hooves drying out. You don't necessarily have to buy the organic flaxseeds, but organic flaxseeds are even better, they are just a little more expensive. Here's a good deal I found online for buying organic flaxseeds in bulk:
Another thing, you can actually use flaxseed oil instead of the whole seeds. It's up to you. But if you were to use the flaxseed oil make sure you don't put any more than 1/8 of a cup of it in with your horse's concentrates/pellets. Too much flaxseed oil can have the opposite affects on your horse.
One more thing: you can also rub flaxseed oil into the hooves. Like on the outside of the hooves, not underneath.
2. Coconut oil.
Coconut oil is really good to massage into hooves that are cracked and dry. If your horse has cracked or dry hooves, applying a little bit of coconut oil every day and massaging it into each hoof (on the outside) will really help repair the hooves.
Here's a true fact: Most "hoof conditioners" for horses' hooves are actually really bad for your horse. Not just because of all the bad chemicals in them but because most of them actually dry out the hooves! That's right, they don't help to moisten the hooves and repair them, they have the opposite affect!
So I definitely recommend never buying any conditioner, ointment, or moisturizer for your horse's hooves, instead, go natural and use herbs and different natural supplements. As I've said before, it's so much more beneficial for your horse and so much more healthier to go natural! If your new to this whole "natural" way of caring and owning horses, and haven't read my post about this all, here's the title of it and I recommend you check it out! Just type up in the search bar:
Why Choose Natural over Chemicals for Horses?
Also, here's another good deal I found for buying organic, coconut oil:
3. Chia seeds.
If you can't get flaxseeds, then I'd be getting Chia seeds! They help with keeping the hooves healthy, and especially are great for strengthening them. You can mix chia seeds in with your horse's daily feed. (Concentrates/pellets/grains.) Here's a link to a deal I found online:
4. Rosehips, garlic, fenugreek, and seaweed.
All these herbs combined all help promote fast, strong, healthy hoof growth, along with strengthening the immune system. They may also benefit those horses prone to acute laminitis. (Laminitis is a painful hoof condition/disease.)
Another very important thing: Not just giving your horse all these natural supplements and herbs will promote healthy strong hooves; Picking out the hooves is also extremely necessary if you want your horse's hooves to be healthy. Even if you have a horse who's always out in a huge pasture, say if the horse is just a companion, not a riding horse, you still must pick out each hoof at least once a day for the hooves to stay clean and healthy.
Same goes for if you have a horse who your riding all the time; it's especially important to clean out the hooves more than once a day. Make sure you pick out each hoof, back and front, just before each ride and even if your only doing groundwork with your horse, always pick out the hooves before any physical work, whether that be light work or hard work.
Also, regular, good hoof trims are essential. If your farrier is doing a bad job with trimming the hooves or if you trim your horse's hooves and your new to it say, and you know your horse needs it done better, either change to a different, more experienced and knowledgeable farrier, or study more on trimming yourself and get properly taught by professional farriers. Or, if your still not confident with doing it yourself, just hand all the hard work to an experienced farrier.
Coat and Skin:
Okay so now that I've talked all about horses' hooves, we will get into your horse's coat and skin. A healthy, shiny coat starts with the horse's diet, but before we get into diet we will first talk about ways other than what you feed your horse, to promote a clean, shiny coat.
Washing your horse is one of the main ways of keeping your horse's coat and skin healthy and clean, so we will start with shampoos and conditioners that you use when washing your horse's coat.
So many horse owners use chemical shampoos and conditioners for their horses' coats. This can be really bad for their skin. As you probably have found out by now, if you've read my article on natural over chemicals, I am all about going the whole, "natural way" with horses.
Not only do I prefer natural, but I know through a lot of research and study that it's so much more healthier and beneficial for horses to be treated with natural products, and fed natural supplements, including herbs.
Okay so, the shampoos and conditioners we were talking about... as I was saying before, most horse owners use chemical shampoos and conditioners for their horse, and it can be really bad. But why? Well, a lot of these products actually are not healthy for the horse's coat, and some can also cause bad skin irritations and problems when applied, because of all the bad chemicals contained in them.
So, what natural products can you use to replace the chemical shampoos and conditioners? Well, there's a herbal, (herbs are part of nature so "herbal" products are natural, unless they have chemicals contained in them which is super rare.) shampoo I have found, and I do highly recommend it:
Here's a natural conditioner for horse's coats too. Conditioners are usually just for promoting "shiny" coats, but if natural they not only promote shiny coats, but also healthy coats, which is even better:
Now that you've got your natural shampoos and conditioners for your horse's coat, let’s look at what you can feed and do to your horse to help promote a healthy, clean, shiny coat.
Brushing. Brushing your horse's coat with a curry comb and then a dandy/body brush is the first thing every owner needs to do at least once a day, whether your horse is just a companion or a horse you ride; like with picking the hooves, horse's need to have their coats brushed thoroughly before you tack up and ride.
And even if your riding without tack, still get into the habit of always brushing your horse's coat before a ride. This is to keep the coat clean, as well as to make sure no dirt/grit is digging into the horse's back underneath a saddle pad, or your body, (if your riding bareback) which could cause skin irritations, itching and discomfort.
Worming. Yes, worming your horse on a regular basis will actually cause your horse’s coat to always look generally clean and healthy. (Unless the horse has been rolling in mud or dirt then obviously it won’t look clean.) And that’s a way you can tell if a horse has a build-up of worms in his/her stomach; if the horse’s coat looks all messy and unclean, but not because of any mud or dirt, and there are just little patches of hair where the hairs are longer than normal, than that indicates that your horse has a build-up of worms.
Then, to tell if your horse is mainly free of worms, he will have a shiny, clean, healthy looking coat, and his coat should be smooth and all of the hairs should be the same length, (unless you clip his hair in certain areas).
So worming actually is a huge part of keeping your horses coat clean, healthy and shiny. So make sure you do worm your horse regularly. 😊
Now let's talk about a horse's diet, since I said before, a healthy, shiny coat starts with the horse's diet; so we will get into that now before we get into any other features of the horse's body that you need to keep healthy.
Diet:
Your horse's diet is extremely important. I'm going to start with what exactly to feed your horse. If you want a healthy horse, on the inside and out, I recommend you start off by allowing your horse to have easy, free access to grass; not necessarily super lush, green, healthy grass, but at least just grass that is green and not dead, and does not have any toxic plants growing throughout it.
A lot of horses, like performance horses, are stabled 24/7 and never get access to grass; they live on only concentrates/pellets, and hay. They get between 2-3 meals a day, while also grazing on hay a little. No grass at all. That's it! Can you believe it! How un-natural and un-healthy is that.
What do horses in the wild eat? Grass! Grass and plants, that's basically it! They live on grass just fine in the wild don't they? Although they're only eating grass and plants, they're strong and healthy enough to be cantering and galloping, miles a day in search for food and water and shelter.
Not only is it bad to not allow a horse to eat grass, and only give them like 3 meals of pellets and chaff a day, but horses were designed to be constantly grazing, (on grass). And if, say, a performance horse is stabled 24/7 and fed 3 meals a day, they are not constantly grazing on grass are they?
This is how colic can be caused; by fewer small meals, instead of the horse just grazing a lot of the day on grass. (Although you can give horses a few meals of pellets/chaff as well as allowing them to graze on grass.) So really, it isn't healthy to be giving your horse only pellets and chaff and whatever other supplements with that; they need to also be grazing on grass.
Grass provides most of the nutrition and minerals horse's need in their bodies.
Okay so now that we've talked about feeding grass to your horse, we will now talk about hay for your horse.
Lots and lots, in fact, most horse owners feed hay to their horses. Hay is either fed because usually, grass is just not enough, (as in, not many people have the privileges' of putting their horse on a pasture with 10 acres) or, owners want to supply a range of foods for their horse; grass, hay, pellets, chaff etc. Hay is a good supplement for horses, but make sure to never replace grass with hay. Even if fed hay, horses still need grass.
The only two problems with hay is that, first, it is really expensive. And second, hay can get moldy very easily and quickly. And mold, just like it is to humans, is very unhealthy for horses. Basically toxic. Especially when consumed. So here is a beneficial tip for when buying hay:
Always buy hay in the summer. Now, you may be thinking, 'yeah but in summer it's the most expensive,' but that's not true. In the summer, when hay has been freshly harvested, it's actually cheaper! Not just that, but in summer when the hay is fresh, there's a much much lower chance of the hay going moldy. In winter, when it's cold, hay actually usually gets moldy much more easily and quickly. So, buy your horse's hay in summer!
Now there's one more thing every horse owner needs to know:
Never purchase hay for your horse that has a label saying the hay is for "livestock." Although horses are generally considered, "livestock," hay that has this written on the label is actually toxic to horses. This hay is usually used for cows.
Now there's the problem; cows have a different digestive system to horses, so horse's actually need different special types of hay. So never buy hay that does not say for horses. You must only buy hay for your horse that says its for horses specifically. (Or equines.)
Brands of hay for horses that are very common and the best for horses are:
-Timothy Grass Hay.
-Orchard Grass Hay.
-Brome Hay. (Or Brome grass hay)
What to look for when buying hay?
-The hay should be green. Hay that is light brown usually indicates that it's been drying out in the sun for too long.
-Smell like hay. Fresh, clean and old-free hay should have a kind of sweet smell. You don't want a damp or musty smell.
-Hay should be dry to the touch.
-Hay should be free of mold.
-Pick a hay your horse likes. This typically indicates that it has a good flavor.
Okay so now that you know what hay to feed your horse, and you know about grass for your horse, it's now time to get into pellets and chaff.
Pellets for horses offer a clean, nutrient-dense way to feed your horse. Chaff is a form of roughage and is produced by chopping up hay into smaller pieces. Chaff is usually added to concentrates (pellets and other grains) so that the horse is consuming forage with concentrates. This can increase chewing time and slow the intake of concentrates. Slowing the intake of concentrates is good because when they enter the digestive tract, they break down more slowly and into smaller pieces, allowing the simple carbohydrates to be fully absorbed as they enter the small intestine.
Chaff is also easier to digest than hay, and is especially great for older horses and younger horses.
These two supplements are combined together into a bucket, and then usually, in summer water is added to the mixture and stirred so that it soaks into the grains and chaff.
The reason why a lot of people add water to their horse's grains in summer is so that the horse is consuming more water, and also just so that the grains aren't so dry. Just like humans, horses can also get dehydrated in summer if not drinking enough water. So just to give them a little bit more water, some people will add water to their grains.
Alright, so what grains exactly are the best to feed your horse, that is if you even choose to give your horse grains/and chaff; horses can live just on only grass and hay. Concentrates and chaff aren't actually necessary. But it's all up to you! No horse will die or get some sort of disease without concentrates. Think of the horse's in the wild; grass is all they eat.
If you do decide to feed your horse concentrates, on top of grass and hay (which is not necessary on top of grass and hay,) and if you can afford the concentrates and chaff (it's quite expensive) then let's get into what pellets and chaff to feed your horse. There aren't really any horse pellets that are harmful to horses, so you can basically feed any types of horse pellets to your horse, but one of the most common pellets that people feed their horses are lucerne pellets; they are a really good choice.
Lucerne pellets. These pellets are one of the most common pellets fed to horses. Lucerne pellets are highly palatable and are a great source of fiber. Lucerne pellets must be added to chaff and/or any other sort of grains. They are also very affordable for their value.
For a 20 kilogram bag your looking at paying around $30-$50. And 20 kilos will last you months if you've only own one horse. Here's an online store I found that sells Lucerne pellets for horses at a pretty good price; just click the link below.
Check out Horse Health and Diet Part 2 once I've written it and published it! Won't be long! :)
I hope you found part 1 helpful. 🐎☺
If your horse is suspected with a health issue, consult your vet straight away.
Comments
keep up the great work!!
Keep up the great work! :)