The subject of Equine nutrition is complex and at times confusing meaning that deciding what to feed your horse can be a difficult decision. Vet Stephanie Davis takes things back to basics to help simplify the fundamentals of feeding horses. 

It has become a recurring theme of mine to stress the importance of being proactive when it comes to our horse care. In my practice, we often discuss that the collective effects of our every day workouts are more demanding on the horse’s body than the competitions themselves. So, with that in mind, what can we do on a consistent proactive basis to ensure our horses remain healthy and perform at their best?

When it comes to sport horse management, owners tend to think about joint health before anything else. Joint management and health have been extensively researched in horses. This is because joint disease is one of the most common ailments that will limit a horse’s ability to perform. So, from that perspective, it is understandable that joint care is such an important topic of interest for horse owners. Based on research (see links below for a recent paper and literature), it has become widely accepted that a performance horse should have some sort of joint maintenance/health program. These programs will often consistent of monthly, weekly, or even daily joint care.  

To start simply, the horse needs forage and water. As complicated as nutrition can be, the basics are really that simple. Horses are designed to consume approximately 2% (22-28 pounds) of their bodyweight in forage (grass and hay) over the time span of a day. It cannot be overstated that the grass and hay that your horse consumes is the most important part of their diet.

Once the forage needs are met in your horse, the rest of the horse’s diet management can be built from there. Due to the process of harvesting and storage, hay will collect undesirable dust and mold spores. Additionally, once harvested, vitamins (particularly Vitamin A and E) in the hay will degrade. So, what can we do about the dust, mold, and vitamin loss? The hay steaming process eliminates dust, allergens, and mold spores. So, steamed hay is the ideal way to manage the undesirable particulate matter in the hay. Additionally, research has shown that horses also prefer to eat steamed hay over soaked or dry hay. Not only will the hay be clean and healthy, but the horse will be more likely to consume more of the steamed hay than dry hay. This can be extremely important when you start talking about re-feeding skinny horses or nutritionally rehabbing a thoroughbred off the track.

Effects of hyaluronan alone or in combination with chondroitin sulfate and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine on lipopolysaccharide challenge-exposed equine fibroblast-like synovial cells. 

Osteoarthritis (Degenerative Joint Disease)- An Update 

Lameness and Joint Medications