Featured post

My 101 Guide to Parelli Natural Horsemanship!

This is an article I wrote at the invitation of my goddaughter Verena.  Verena is passionate about dog training and has recently graduated f...

Thursday 28 February 2013

The Natural Horse - Feeding horses like horses!

Interested in optimizing your horse's health?  I have great news to share!

Years ago, having to care for a horse with severe metabolic challenges which required strict diet control, I came to realize that it was time to start feeding horses like horses, i.e., herbivores!  Having eliminated grain and processed feeds, I needed to make sure they were getting all the necessary minerals and vitamins in adequate dosage to be healthy and thrive.

For years now, I have been researching, tweaking and refining my horses' diets.  Not having found anything that was complete and suitable already available as one product on the market, I ended up mixing my own minerals and supplements to balance my horses' forage only diet and to make sure they were getting the ideal supplementation to stay healthy, to maintain optimal immune systems through the rigors of travel and training, and to support proper gut function. 

I have been asked many times about my horses' feed. It was a rather complex and labor intensive process to acquire, balance and mix all the ingredients for their mineral supplementation, and discouraging for most horse owners unless there were as dedicated and obsessive as I am!

Many of the ingredients were difficult or impossible to find here in Canada, and had to be imported at great cost, which made things even more complex.

Great news!  I have now found a Canadian company willing to assemble my supplement recipe in bulk, from premium ingredients and without adding extraneous fillers, sugar, or starches.  This company already manufactures supplements for horses and share a vision of feeding horses as naturally as possible - we share a common outlook on horse nutrition. 
 

I will soon make limited quantities of this unique mix available to students and friends. It is a complete daily supplement for horses on a grass forage based diet receiving no processed feeds. It includes balanced amounts of Selenium, probiotics, antioxidants and Omega 3. Even better, it will be quite affordable too! 

This is what I feed my horses! 

Contact me if you think you might be interested in acquiring some for your horses.  
Quantities will be limited and offered on a first come, first serve basis. 

You want to find out more - Like our new Facebook Page  The Natural Horse


4 comments:

  1. Hi! I have been trying to find the right source of vitamins and minerals, joint supplement and pre and probiotic for a rising 15 year old normally predisposed to being cresty and tubby. He is a Rocky Mountain . He had a terrible bout of EMS a few years ago and was saved by a wise young woman who put her whole heart into saving his life. We think his weight was about 1380 and he foundered terribly. There is no sense in going through the how and why but he is now 1080 lbs., barefoot and very much alive.

    Long story short, it is the feeding of hay only and not having to source all the products I have listed above separately but in one product. 1) I have a pre and probiotic in one 2) a joint supplement and 3)a vitamin and mineral supplement in a third form.

    Does your new formula include the vitamins and minerals as well? I would like to know more! Regards, Gail Morse

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Gail, it sounds like your horse has been through a lot, and like you, I have learned the hard way that proper nutrition are lifestyle are key components of rehabilitating from disease and prevention. The formula does not include joint supplements, as the requirements for those can vary greatly from horse to horse depending on their condition and needs, and some don't need any at all. It does however include antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents to promote maintenance of healthy tissues, and probiotics. In the case of my horses, they get forage, the Natural Horse mix and in some cases, additional joint supplements if needed. The Natural Horse supplement is balanced and complete in itself (vitamins and trace minerals). You will find a list of ingredients on The Natural Horse page.
    http://lechevalaunaturel.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_13.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Genevieve. I have to admit that I don't know much about horse nutrition though I am trying to learn as much as I can. For the first time I have a horse that is a "hard keeping" thoroughbred and I am wondering if you are aware of any supplements/solutions for this? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Anna. Horse nutrition should be simple, but it can get complicated in a hurry! We humans often like to make it more complicated that it should! I am directing you to my new site, www.lechevalaunaturel.com where you will find articles and posts on natural horse keeping, as well as the info on my custom made mineral mix for horses on a grass hay diet. For hardkeeping horses, free choice hay and/or pasture are the best, balanced minerals to address any imbalances. You can also think of adding soaked beet pulp (the no molasses kind!) - rinse, soak in a lot of water for 8 hours, rinse again to get rid of all the sugars and serve. It has lots of fiber and is a great way to help a horse put on weight without adding sugar or grains to his diet.

    ReplyDelete