Using Wild Horses as a Foundation
Horses in the wild spend 16 hours a day eating. During this time, they make 10 gallons of saliva, they walk more than 10 miles, and eat over 20 varieties of plants.
How does this compare to the average domestic horse? It shouldn’t be a shock that our domestic horses spend only two or three hours a day eating while standing still, and they likely only eat whatever plant varieties we feed them, meaning one or two.
Now of course, our horses are not wild horses. Depending on the breed of horse you have, they may have been bred for thousands of years to be the domesticated companion you know today. This means that their nutrient and energy needs are a little different from wild horses’. I often wonder if a fine boned thoroughbred could survive alone in the wild with no blankets, farrier care, or ice boots.
Although our horses are very different from their wild ancestors, one thing that hasn’t changed is their digestive system. Domestic horses still have an identical digestive tract to their wild horse counterparts. So, we can infer that many of the issues and ailments that our domestic horses suffer from may have something to do with the unnatural environment that they live in.
This is not to say that all horses should live solely on pasture. Heavy performance horses, pregnant or lactating mares, cushings or laminitic horses will not thrive on pasture alone. Likewise, there are plenty of wild horse herds all over this country that are literally starving to death because their pastures are not high enough quality to support life.
So what is the answer?
The answer is to use wild horses’ dining habits as a foundation, upon which we build a feeding program for our domestic horses that meets their (and our) needs and constraints.
The simplest change you can make is to add a slow feeder that is close to the ground (use caution if your horse has shoes, pick one that they can’t get tangled up in). By adding a slow feeder you will instantly increase the number of hours per day your horse spends eating and the amount of saliva they make. You’ll notice that their agitation decreases, weight issues will be resolved, ulcers and colic will become increasingly rare.
This is our favorite slow feeder.
The next step is to add any necessary supplements. There is a lot to cover here, so look for my other blog posts on this. I try to stick to whole food supplements and herbs rather than synthetic or derived versions, as a general rule of thumb.
The final step is to offer your horse a chelated mineral like this one. Chelated minerals are easy to absorb and digest, and are put to use right away by the body. Inorganic minerals (found in -ate, -ic, -ite, ide) are volatile, and hard for the body to use. This can lead to build ups and deposits in vital organs including the liver and brain, as well as oxidative stress in your horses. An important note is that you need to check the mineral content in the other feeds you are using. If you are feeding a complete feed like Triple Crown, your horse is likely already getting the minerals they need. You can overdose them by adding additional minerals, so do your homework and make sure they are getting just the right amount.
If you’d like to learn more about equine nutrition, read more of my blog posts, and if you think you’d like one on one advice and support, schedule a consult with me. I’d be happy to help you come up with a diet plan specifically for your horse.