Feed & Nutrition

Equiwinner™ - Making Electrolytes Smart

Updated:

April 29, 2021

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Does your horse have a drinking problem? Good hydration is not just about how much a horse drinks, it’s also about how the water is used internally. A properly hydrated horse with balanced electrolytes will be healthier and perform better. A dehydrated horse is at increased risk of impaction colic and reduced athletic potential.

Colic Prevention - Introduce Spring Pasture Slowly

Updated:

April 27, 2021

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Spring is upon us and so is the prevalence of gas colic. Equine Guelph is sharing many strategies to prevent it. First, Equine Guelph recommends that every horse owner refers to its FREE Colic Risk Rater Tool to help them assess their management practices, such as introducing new feeds slowly to reduce their colic risk. An excellent video discussing safe introduction to spring pasture with expert in equine nutrition, Don Kapper, has just been added to the valuable resources housed on the Colic Risk Rater web page.

Your Horse and B Vitamins

Updated:

April 8, 2021

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Are you providing enough? Today’s horse owners are no doubt aware of the importance of vitamins in the diets of their horses, but many may not be aware of the role vitamins play in equine nutrition. Vitamins in their fresh natural form are organic substances found in grains and forages. They are important as cofactors, or facilitators, for different metabolic function, and deficiencies of them can cause disease conditions. Vitamins, unlike many of the nutrients we feed our horses, cannot be broken down for energy, and they provide no other nutrients to the horse.

Home Sweet Horse Home

Updated:

March 31, 2021

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With all the various types of boarding options out there – self-care, part-board, full-service, pasture board, co-op board, or deluxe – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by your search for a boarding facility for your horse before you’ve even started. There is no such thing as the perfect boarding barn, but if you take the time to do your research, you should have no problem finding a facility where you and your horse can be happy, comfortable, and safe together.

How Much Does Your Horse Weigh?

Updated:

March 23, 2021

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If you have ever evaluated your horse’s ration or tried to calculate an appropriate dose of dewormer for a growing horse, you will know that accurate estimation of your horse’s body weight is important for meaningful results. While we all know that a mechanical or digital scale is probably the best way to evaluate the weight of your horse, not many of us have convenient access to one. Horse owners do have access to other tools for estimating the body weight of their horses. Weight tapes, for example, are inexpensive and readily obtainable at most feed stores.

Winter Water Woes and Equine Colic Prevention

Updated:

January 20, 2021

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Nothing can drain the colour from a horse owner’s face quicker than hearing the word COLIC! Winter is an important season to focus on colic prevention and ward off water woes that can lead to impaction in the equine gut.

Iron in the Equine Diet

Updated:

January 16, 2021

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Should you worry about iron overload? Horse owners who are interested in equine nutrition, and actively involved in planning the composition of their horse’s diet, will know that iron intake has become a subject of much discussion. Terms such as “iron overload” are easy to find using a Google search, and the risks associated with “free radicals” and “oxidative stress” are often coupled to the amount of iron in the equine diet. Iron levels in typical equine diets have been targeted as the reason for many equine health issues, including metabolic conditions, reduced immune function, poor hair coat and hoof wall, and developmental disease in growing horses. The internet has several popular websites available for the average horse owner to “educate” themselves about iron in the equine diet. Frequently, these sites also have products offered for sale or have links to sites that sell products that are supposed to help the horse with “iron overload.” So just what is iron overload in the equine diet, and do horse owners really need to worry about it?