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Various factors influence how horses should be fed to ensure optimal health and welfare. Age, breed, discipline, and environment top the list of considerations. According to a group of researchers from the United Kingdom*, the wide array of feeds and supplements make it “difficult for many horse owners to provide their horses with a correct and balanced diet.”

“Many horse owners prefer to obtain nutrition and feeding information from magazines, books, the Internet, and word of mouth rather than seeking the advice of a nutritionist. Imbalances in the diet, however, can lead to health problems such as laminitis, obesity, and tying-up, among others,” said Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist at Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

To obtain up-to-date information regarding current feeding practices, Grimwood and colleagues collected information on 218 horses via an Internet-based survey. Some of the most interesting findings were:

1) One-third of survey respondents only visually estimated their horse’s weight.

2) About 20% of horses included in the survey were classified by the authors as either overweight or obese.

3) Almost half of the owners estimated their horses to be involved in moderate work. According to the National Research Council’s (NRC) Nutrient Requirements of Horses, this means that horses are exercised 3–5 hours per week (30% walk, 55% trot, 10% canter, 5% low jumping, cutting, etc.). Examples include school horses, recreational riding, show horses, polo, ranch work.

“It is difficult to estimate body weight or condition without a scale, weigh tape, app, body condition score scale, and practice. It is also likely that overestimating workload contributes to the high rate of overweight and obese horses reported in this and previous studies. It is important for owners to accurately estimate body weight or condition and workload to appropriately feed their horses for optimal health,” Crandell advised.

4) Intakes of various minerals (sodium, phosphorus, calcium, and potassium) were all significantly higher than current NRC recommendations, but the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio was appropriate. The major source of minerals was from the forage component of the diet rather than supplements.

The study authors concluded that the significant differences between actual consumption and recommended intake of minerals was concerning because excessive intakes may impact the absorption of additional micro- and macrominerals.

“This study suggests that there are important errors being made in the everyday feeding of horses that could ultimately jeopardize the health of horses unless owners seek nutritional counseling,” concluded Crandell.

*Grimwood, K., L. Penaluna, and H. Brown. A preliminary investigation into the mineral intake of horses in the UK. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. In press.

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