Horse Health and Diet Part 2

 

If your reading this post right now, I'll presume you've already read part 1 of Horse Health and Diet, and if not, I recommend you go and read part 1 first. :) 

Alright let's pick up where I last left in part 1 of Horse Health and Diet. We had discussed what pellets to feed your horse, (that is if you were even going to feed pellets/chaff. As I said in part 1, you don't need to feed concentrates along with hay and grass. If you have enough grass for your horse to be grazing on most of the day, then you definitely do not need concentrates for your horse as well.) so now we are going to get into what chaff to add to the pellets. 

Here's a list of different types of chaff for horses:

-Wheaten chaff.

-Oaten chaff. 

-Lucerne chaff.

-Meadow chaff.

-Timothy chaff. 

Any of the chaff above are 100% safe for horses are the best options, it's just what one you choose. I'll give you an estimate price on each one:

Wheaten chaff- $35 for 20kg bag.

Oaten chaff- $25 for 20kg bag.

Lucerne chaff- $40 for 20kg bag. 

Meadow chaff- $30 for 20kg bag.

Timothy chaff- $35 for 20kg bag.

So there are the average prices for all those different types of chaff for horses. Whichever one is fine, but if I had to choose one, I'd probably go for the Lucerne or wheaten chaff. They seem to be the best options. But it's fine either one out of that list above. 

Now the next thing you'll need to supply for your horse is salt. Either a salt lick, or salt block. Just like humans, salt is an essential nutrient for horses' bodies. You don't need to watch out for how much salt your horse is licking (consuming) because horses know exactly how much salt their body needs. You can get either pink Himalayan salt, or sea salt. 

So what other supplements can you add to your horse's pellets and chaff health wise? Adding a pure oil to your horse's pellets and chaff is a good idea, and a lot of horse owners do it. But only ever use a pure oil. Hemp oil, sunflower oil, flaxseed oil and corn oil are the best pure oils to feed your horse. 

Always avoid, canola oil, as it's very bad for both horses and even humans. 

You can buy all those pure oils from online stores and health-food shops at a reasonably good price, depending on the market. 

How much oil to feed a horse daily:

You can add anywhere between 250 - 500lms of a pure oil to your horse's feed. (Concentrates/chaff.)

Never feed over 500mls in one day. Feed oil with each meal daily.

There are also other things you can add to your horse's meals that your horse will benefit from a lot, such as, flaxseeds, or chia seeds etc. These two seeds both promote healthy hooves too. 

One more supplement I highly recommend adding to concentrates is a powder called, Zeolite powder or, Zeolite Clinoptilolite. Zeolite powder is 100% safe for horses to digest, and it is also used for humans. 

Zeolite powder comes from Zeolite. Zeolite is a type of volcanic rock, and the powder from this rock has been used for many years for both human and animal digestion to draw out heavy metals and toxins in the body. This also draws out bad bacteria's and bold a horse (or human or other animal) may have in their body. All these affects work just the same on animals as they do on humans. 

Zeolite powder is considered the best heavy metal detox in the world. 

Since Zeolite powder comes from Zeolite, the rock, it is all completely natural. It is a really good health supplement. 

To feed it you just need to sprinkle a little bit over the pellets and chaff and mix it in with whatever else you have in your horse's feed bucket. 

The only problem with Zeolite powder is that it is quite expensive for a small amount. Usually around $30 for 400 grams. But if you can afford it and you want another really beneficial healthy supplement to add to your horse's diet, I'd definitely go for Zeolite powder. All the Zeolite powders are all the same, unless, it says that it contains something else on the front label. But generally, they are all just plain zeolite powder. 

Here's what Zeolite powder looks like inside the packet:

And Zoelites, the rocks, looks like this: (below photo)

Now that we've talked all about a horse's diet, it's now time to talk about one more feature of a horse's body that needs needs attention that's part of health. 

Teeth: 

Horses' teeth continue to grow through their whole life. Because of this continual growth, it is necessary that horses are visited by an equine dentist to have their teeth checked and filed down. The procedure to filing a horse's teeth is called, floating. 

If a horse's teeth are not being filed down, as the teeth grow, they will eventually end up with sharp points on the tips of the teeth, and this can cause a lot of pain for the horse if it gets really bad. 

Now, you might be thinking, 'yeah but what about the horses in the wild?' 

Horses in the wild generally don't suffer from teeth being too long and having sharp tips because they are always grazing. In the wild, they don't eat any concentrates at all. They just graze on grass for hours and hours a day. And because of all this grazing, their teeth actually naturally wear down over time, so they don't need them to be filed! How amazing is that! 

So basically, horses in the wild have a 'natural' way of filing down their teeth; they graze for ages a day on grass, as that is the only source of food available for them. 

Domesticated horses however usually either only have concentrates and a bit of hay, or only a little bit of grass and hay, alongside with concentrates. Therefore, they are never just grazing on grass when they want or need food and so because they don't do a whole lot of grazing, they need their teeth floated; by an equine dentist. 

Keeping your horse's teeth filed is apart of keeping them healthy. Not just do you need to have your horse's teeth filed, but you also need them to be healthy and strong, but how do you promote strong, healthy teeth? Well, it's actually mainly about your horse's diet. What they eat will determine how healthy and strong they are, internally, and externally. So if your horse is on a good, healthy diet, generally, their teeth and gums will be healthy also. So how do you tell if the gums and teeth are healthy?

1. The gums will be pink, shiny, and slimy. 

2. The teeth will not have any black spots or patches on them, and they will not have any chips or cracks in them. They will be firmly sitting in the gums, not loose or wobbly. (Unless a few of the teeth are going to fall out.) 

3. They will look generally clean. Yellow coloring on the teeth is normal and you do not need to be concerned about it. 

4. The teeth will all be neatly in place. (Not perfectly in line though.) 

5. The horse's breathe won't stink, or have a strong dissatisfying odor. 

Here's how to ensure your horse's teeth stay healthy.

-Many horses will benefit from having their mouths flushed with clean water from either a hose, or a large dose syringe. 

-Feed your horse from the ground. 

This is beneficial too, as it is how horses were designed to eat and ensures that their jawline is aligned when breaking down food, reducing the risk of the teeth abnormally wearing. 

-Pay attention to how your horse eats. For example, dropping feed, quidding hay, (dropping balls of hay or food after chewing) drinking during feed time, slow eating, poor digestion of feed and even choke can indicate a dental problem. 

-If you can, allow your horse to graze on grass as long as he wants. If you do this, minimize the amount of concentrates he's getting. (If you feed concentrates and lets him graze on grass all day.) 

I hope you found Part 2 of Horse Health and Diet helpful. If you have any questions, please either comment or directly contact me by completing the Contact Form and sending it to me. :)

If your horse is suspected with a health issue, consult your vet straight away.