GO TO THE SOURCE…
ASK YOUR HORSE
What his feet, coat & behavior
are telling you about nutrition
Laura Stopper, PAS
Equine Health & Nutrition
Specialist
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20 years as Hunter/Jumper professional
BS Animal Science
PAS- Professional Animal Scientist
Advanced Feed Master Certified
5 Years with Southern States
Areas To Cover
• Basic Nutrition
• Feet- Common hoof
issues and what they
could mean
• Coat- Common coat
issues
• Behavior- Too frisky?
Too lazy? Bad Habit?
Equine Digestive System
6
12
48
Daily Nutrients
1) Water - most important
nutrient
2) Forage - hay and pasture
3) Energy - carbohydrate, fat
and protein
4) Minerals - major and minor
5) Vitamins - fat-soluble and
water-soluble
Complete Feeding
Program for the Horse
• Water
• Forage (hay, hay cubes,
chopped hay, pasture)
• Feed (grain or concentrate) provides balance of nutrients
• Mineral/Vitamin Supplement
(balances mineral and vitamin
levels of forage)
BASICS OF
HORSE’S DIET
• USE Average Horse of 1,000 Lbs
• WATER- 1 Gallon/100 Lbs/Day= 10
Gallons (varies according to temp & work load)
• FORAGE- 1.5-2% of Horse’s BW/Day=
15-20 lbs of forage/day
• GRAIN CONCENTRATE.5-1% of Body Weight per day=
5-10 lbs/day (Varies according to metabolism,
work, quality of feed & forage)
Daily Needs
• Maintenance of 1000# horse
requires 16,000 kcal/day
• Can eat just 20# grass or 15#
of hay
• Horse in training requires
35,000 kcal/day
• Must have additional energy
sources
The Importance of Forage
• Baled hay, hay cubes,
chopped hay and pasture
• Feed highest quality of
forage to assure maximum
intake
• Horses can eat more good
forage, not as much lignon
• If he’s wasting
hay….probably due to
quality
• Remember…it makes up
75% of his diet!
Forage…..
• Forage made up structural &
non-structural carbohydrates
• Sugars found in forage
include glucose, fructose,
sucrose and fructans
• All sugars except fructans
can be digested in SI.
Fructans pass into hindgut
and are fermented into
lactic acid
Quality Estimates for Types of Hay for Horses1
High Quality
Average Quality
Low Quality
18-23%
60-65%
1200-1000
16-17%
56-66%
1000-900
Below 15%
Below 55%
Below 900
15-18%
57-62%
1000-950
11-14%
55-57%
950-850
Below 10%
Below 55%
Below 850
12-14%
57-60%
950-900
2.0-2.5
9-11%
54-57%
900-850
1.5-2.0
Below 7%
Below 50%
800 or less
1.0-1.5
Legume
Crude Protein (%)
Total Digestible Nutrients (%)
Digestible Energy (Kcal/lb)
Mixed
Crude Protein (%)
Total Digestible Nutrients (%)
Digestible Energy (Kcal/lb)
Grass
Crude Protein (%)
Total Digestible Nutrients (%)
Digestible Energy (Kcal/lb)
Estimated Daily Intake
(% of body weight)
Values are expressed on 100% dry matter basis.
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Southern States Forage
Products
Forage
Cubes
Bagged
Forages
Hay Stretcher
Take Home Message?
HORSES LOVE & NEED FORAGE!!!
Energy Sources
• CARBOHYDRATES- Plant Cells & Stems
• Most plentiful source. In everything a horse eats
• Carbs are composed of simple sugars, bonded sugars (starch)
and cellulose (fiber)
• FAT-
Vegetable Oils and Animal Fats
• Contains more calories per unit (2.25X) than carbohydrates or
protein,
• 100% Energy
• Fats also improve skin and hair condition, help hair shedding
and “bloom”, help horses keep weight on
• PROTEIN
• Big misconception that horses get their energy from protein
• Too much or too little protein can cause health problems
Protein
• Needed for growth in young horses,
and body tissue repair
• Major component of muscle, skin,
hair, hooves, ligaments, bone,
enzymes, hormones
• Composed of amino acids- the
building blocks of protein
Don’t be scared of protein!
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Protein in diet builds more proteinmuscle
Three most important:
- Lysine, Threonine & Methionine
Horses need a feed that guarantees a
least lysine.
Amino Acids digested in SI.
Feeding higher quality feeds allow you
to feed smaller amounts so it will not be
dumped into hind gut where it cannot
be digested and allows more to be
digested in SI resulting in better
absorption.
What You need to know about
Vitamins & Minerals
• Vitamins- Necessary for many metabolic
reactions in body, especially involving energy
metabolism
• Minerals- Needed for bone and teeth
development, blood formation, electrolyte
balance
• Deficiencies cause health problems. Horse
needs daily requirements met either in diet or
supplements
• If a horse only gets “a handful” of grain you
should suggest they use a dietary supplement
First things first….
• If you have an issue rule out
medical conditions
• Contact your vet
• Contact your farrier
• Contact your
nutritionist
No Hoof…No Horse
• Any inadequate diet will affect
hoof growth
• It will slow down growth resulting
in splitting, cracking and difficulty
holding a shoe
• Whether it’s protein, vitamins or
minerals that are lacking
• Well-balanced diet that contains
high-quality forage and
concentrates is single most
important factor
No Hoof…No Horse…
• Certain amino acids are
essential-cannot be made
so must be provided
• In particular the amino
acids methionine and
cystine show the most
impact on hoof quality
• Cystine is related to
hardness in hoof
• High quality food source for
protein is soy bean meal
Feeding the Hoof
• Fat does not have a measurable
effect on hoof growth
• Protein supplies the horse with
amino acids which research shows
essential
Feeding the Hoof
• In addition to energy (protein) diet
should include:
• Vitamins & Minerals
• Premium feeds contain chelated
minerals
• Chelation is a process that binds a
mineral to an amino acid, thus
increasing absorption