I am concerned about oversupplementation and imbalances in my feeding program. Is there any place that I can send my feed bag tag and list of supplements that each of my horses get for review? I want to know if there are imbalances or if I am oversupplementing any chemical, mineral or herb. Thanks, G

Dear G,
You left out one important component of your horse’s diet: his forage, whether grass or hay. If you are going to spend the time and money to analyze what your horse is getting from his feed and supplements, you have to include what he is getting from his forage as well, since that is the bulk of his diet.

Also, ration analysis can tell you the levels of protein, various carbohydrates, fat, macro and microminerals, and vitamins that are in the feedstuffs your horse eats. However, they typically do not analyze for herbs, so you will have to look elsewhere for that information. If you are working with a holistic veterinarian to design your horse’s health and nutrition program, he or she may be able to point you in the right direction.

After you receive the results of your ration analysis, you may want to consult with a veterinarian or nutritionist to help make sense of all the numbers. If you have a veterinary or agriculture school in your state, I suggest starting there. Sometimes county extension offices can be very helpful. Depending on the brand of grain you feed and how many horses at your barn are on it, local sales representatives may be able to analyze your forage and work with you to balance the entire ration. Here are some websites to get you started:

www.equi-analytical.com A excellent resource for feed analysis and ration formulation
www.uckele.com Uckele Health and Nutrition offers hay analysis and computerized ration balancing
www.ker.com Kentucky Equine Research is the official equine nutritionist of the USEF
www.acvn.org is the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, veterinarians board-certified in nutrition
www.aavn.org is the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition, an association of veterinarians and animal scientists with a special interest in nutrition

Is water softener block salt okay for horses. I bought some and it contains brine, and they told me it was okay. CM, Illinois

Dear CM,

This was an interesting question that, quite truthfully, I had never thought about and couldn’t answer without some research. In general, you have to be very careful about any kind of “block” that you offer to horses, as they may contain other ingredients that can be harmful to horses. For example, horses are very susceptible to a common ingredient in livestock blocks called monensin, or Rumensin. It’s a growth-promoting agent in cattle that works in the rumen (which horses don’t have) and so is toxic to them. There are also really high protein livestock blocks, deer licks, and sweetened or flavored horse blocks, all of which I recommend you avoid.

To get back to water softener blocks, here’s what the Cargill website said:

“As with food considerations, water softening salts are not intended for human or animal feeding. The particle size is inappropriate for small animals. In addition, water softening salt may have additives that are inappropriate for animal feed.”

One of these additives is sodium hexametaphosphate, a surfactant, not something you want your horse eating. In addition, there are at least three different kinds of salt that can be used to soften water. One of them, rock salt, is only 95% sodium chloride. The remaining 5% is made up of “insoluble matter,” whatever that is. Finally, some water softeners are made of with potassium, not sodium, which could be deadly to a horse with HYPP (hyperkalemic periodic paralysis).

For these reasons, I recommend you stick with salt and trace mineralized salt that is specifically designed for use in horses and stay away from water softener salt, deicing salt, and blocks for other species. In fact, you may want to stay away from blocks altogether. Research has shown that horses may not be able to get all the salt and other minerals they need from a block--especially if they are sweating a lot from hard work or high temperatures--because blocks were made for the rougher tongues of cattle. I suggest you give your horse a smoother block specifically made for horses or provide loose salt.

Question #1: I have a paint horse that is 30 years old and he has lost weight and is looking bad despite being on feed and supplements. Is there any one particular supplement that will help him gain weight? I know he is an old horse but I have had him for about 15 years and gotten attached to him and don't want to do anything to hurt him in any way. I know he hasn't much time left but I don't want him suffering.

Question #2: What is the best supplement to put weight on a horse? We have had her on Fat Cat and she still is not putting any weight on. She is 5 yr old mare that is used in college rodeo. She gets equine senior feed, plus a big amount of grass/alfalfa mix. She is ridden at least 5 times a week. Any help would be appreciated.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been inundated with questions about how to put and keep weight on horses. It’s especially critical now as we head into winter and possibly a hay shortage, depending on what part of the country you live in. I’ve included two questions in this entry because they represent two common but different reasons for horses to be thin: old age and athletic activity.

The first thing I recommend to both these owners is to have their veterinarians perform complete physical examinations on these horses to rule out any medical reasons for them to be thin. Medical reasons for weight loss or failure to gain weight include parasites, dental disease, ulcers, metabolic conditions such as Cushing’s Disease, chronic pain or infection, and many others.

Once any medical conditions are ruled out or treated, these owners should look at their specific situations. Let’s start with the older horse. As horses age, they become less efficient in chewing, digesting and absorbing food, so we need to make this process easier for them, provide them with a higher quality and quantity of food, and perhaps provide them with additional nutrients.

Older horses that may have difficulty chewing may need to be transitioned from long-stem hay to chopped hay, hay cubes, hay pellets or a complete feed that contains both forage and concentrate. Hay cubes are usually always soaked before feeding; some horses may need pellets soaked as well to make chewing easier and avoid “choke.” Concentrates may need to be in pelleted form, since whole corn, oats and other grains may be difficult for the older horse to chew.

Because the older horse’s body is less efficient at digesting and absorbing food, they may need more and better food simply to maintain their weight. Try upping the amounts of both hay and concentrate by 10 to 15% and see if he gains weight in two to three weeks. If your older horse is already eating all the hay and concentrate he can in two meals, add a third or even fourth meal. Supplementing with oil or fat is another excellent way to provide more calories to the older horse. Horses require more protein as they age (14 – 16% instead of 10 – 12%) but this protein must be of high quality or it will not be absorbed and used properly. Look for feed with a mixture of protein sources providing a wide range of the essential amino acids, especially the limiting amino acid lysine.

Older horses may need specific nutrients to help maintain weight and health. For example, horses naturally make Vitamin C and the B vitamins themselves. However, as their digestive systems age and become less efficient, they may make less of these nutrients, just when their bodies’ demands for them are increasing. Supplementing with pre- and probiotics is also a good choice, as yeast especially has been shown to enhance the digestibility of fiber and other nutrients. And if they seem to have lost their appetite, stimulate them with bee pollen, fenugreek, or banana (recently shown to be the number one preferred flavor of horses!)

Now for the young athletic horse in the question above. I don’t mean to put you on the spot, but since you mentioned some specific products, let’s review your current feeding program. You say you are feeding a “big amount” of grass/alfalfa mix. Since one person’s big amount may be different than another person’s, I recommend you weigh the hay you give your horse. You can easily do this by hanging it from a fish scale. Horses should get about 2% of their body weight in total feedstuffs per day. So if all a horse is getting is hay and he weighs 1000 pounds, he should be getting 20 pounds of hay per day, preferably divided into two or more feedings. But because most horses receive concentrate for additional calories, vitamins and minerals, another combination might be 15 pounds of hay and 5 pounds of concentrate. If you’re not feeding at least 2% of your horse’s body weight per day, then gradually work up to this amount. If you already are, then consider feeding 2.25% or even 2.5% of her body weight, if she’ll eat it. This may mean keeping hay in front of her all the time, or if that’s not possible, feeding three or four meals. Something to improve her appetite may also be necessary.

Now let’s talk about your choice of concentrate, an equine senior feed. You may have been advised to put her on this because it’s highly digestible. However, if this is a COMPLETE feed, it’s a forage-based product with concentrate (calories, vitamins and minerals) added. That means it’s a dilute concentrate. I suggest you go back to a true concentrate, one that isn’t made up primarily of forage, to “concentrate” calories for her. Otherwise, you’ll have to feed more of this product than she can possibly eat.

Finally, you said you give Fat Cat as a weight gain supplement. That’s a popular and successful choice for many people! But because horses are individuals, and what works for one may not always work for another, I suggest you try something else. Fat Cat is a 25% protein supplement that is designed to supply amino acids for muscle building. Perhaps your horse would gain weight better on a product that supplied fat instead. Fat is an excellent source of energy and calories and may work wonders on your horse! Another choice is pre- and probiotics. Some horses, no matter their age, simply need a little help in extracting all the nutrition possible out of the hay and concentrate they’re fed and live microorganisms like yeast and bacteria are designed to do this.

I encourage both owners to read my article on our website “Managing the Hard Keeper,” which has additional suggestions for thin horses, including sources of stress in their lives and the value of pasture!

I hear there is going to be a severe hay shortage this winter because of the droughts and floods and I’m very worried that my horse will run out of food. Is there something else I can feed him or do you have a supplement that can replace hay?

I’ve been hearing those same reports. That is, while there was definitely a hay shortage in 2006, we may be heading toward a severe hay shortage this fall and winter. According to the USDA, hay inventory across the country in May 2007 was the lowest it’s been since 1950, down 30% from May of last year. Interestingly, some states, such as Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania, have more hay this year than last. Let’s talk about why hay is important, how much hay horses need, ways to make hay last longer and how to help keep your horse healthy through a diet change.

Long-stem forage is necessary for normal digestive function and normal behavior in the horse. When horses are allowed to eat forage (hay or pasture) free-choice, they spend 50% of their time eating or grazing. However, if pellets (even pelleted hay) are the sole source of forage in the diet, horses only spend 10% of their time eating. That leaves a lot of time for behavioral problems to develop such as wood chewing, cribbing, mane and tail chewing, or eating dirt or feces. It may also set the horse up for serious health problems such as colic, laminitis and ulcers.

According to the Nutrient Requirements of Horses published by the National Research Council, horses should have a minimum of 1% of their body weight each day in forage. I’ll use my horse as an example. He weighs 1400 pounds and would need at least 14 pounds (1% of his body weight) of hay per day. Because hay bales and flakes can differ greatly in weight, I hung three flakes of his hay from a fish scale using baling twine to get an accurate weight. It came to seven pounds, meaning each flake weighs between two and two and a half pounds. By feeding him 3 flakes of hay morning and night, he is receiving 14 pounds of hay per day (plus pasture and plus a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement).

If hay is becoming harder to get in your area or becoming too expensive, there are some ways to stretch your hay so it will last longer besides the obvious choices of hay cubes or hay pellets:

• Complete feeds – many commercial feed companies make an all-in-one product that contains both forage and grain (concentrate). When using complete feed as a hay stretcher, Purina Mills recommends replacing 50% of the hay with an equal amount of the complete feed and reducing grain by 0.5 to 1 pound. If replacing all of the hay and still feeding grain, feed the same amount of complete feed as you were feeding hay and reduce grain by 2 to 3 pounds. If using the complete feed as the sole ration, follow the directions on the bag. Don’t be surprised if you have to feed 15 to 20 pounds of a complete feed!
  
• Hay Stretcher – Blue Seal makes this product, which is a large pellet with a nutritional profile similar to grass hay but slightly lower in fiber and higher in energy. It may be used to replace up to 50% of the hay in a horse’s diet on a pound-for-pound basis. Hay Stretcher is not fortified with vitamins or trace minerals so grain or a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement is still necessary.
  
• Beet pulp – This high-fiber product has a nutritional profile similar to alfalfa hay, and may be used to replace up to 25% of the hay in a horse’s diet. Like HayStretcher, grain or a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement is still necessary.
  
• Cottonseed hulls – In some parts of the country, such as the Southeast, horse owners have access to this high fiber source. Like beet pulp, it may be used to replace up to 25% of the hay in a horse’s diet but grain or a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement is still necessary.

In addition to replacing part or all of your horse’s hay with one of these products, there are some additional things you can do to stretch his forage. Feed smaller, more frequent meals so he’s less hungry in between and also wastes less. Feed on a mat or in a tub to prevent further wastage. Do what I did and accurately weigh your hay so you only feed as much as you need to.

Any time you change your horse’s diet, even if it’s from one kind of hay to another, there is the risk of a digestive disturbance that can lead to colic or laminitis. Fortunately there are several products on the market specifically designed to protect the GI system. EquiShure from Kentucky Equine Research contains a time-released hindgut buffer to decrease the risk of hindgut acidosis in at-risk horses. Yea-Sacc from Farnam stabilizes colon pH to help reduce the risk of digestive disorders and improves the digestibility of fiber.

I hope you are able to find some reasonably priced hay this winter but if you aren’t, at least now you have some ideas to make what little hay you have last longer without risking your horse’s health.

I have a 26 year old TWH that has chronic diarrhea. He had vet work done last year, when it first started, with his blood work coming back normal, fecal exam okay and teeth are okay. No feed or hay change. Actually, his stool will be somewhat normal, not firm apples but has some substance to them, for most of the time then about once or twice a month it gets loose to the point of liquid. I had him on ProBalance during some of this time period but it did not seem to affect his stool. He is now on Stomach Smoother but still having the same results as with ProBalance. His coat is shiny, he eats all his grain and most of his coastal hay (his preferred hay for 23 years) and is still very active. His weight is pretty much staying the same the last year. GB

Dear GB,

I have received a rash of questions about diarrhea this week. The answer is pretty much the same for all of them. (Aren’t you glad I didn’t include a picture with this entry?)

Diarrhea is one of those conditions that differs from horse to horse. Because what works for one doesn’t always work for another, you just have to start somewhere, keep a good journal, and try different treatments until something works.

You’ve started in the right place: with your veterinarian. That is, ruling out some of the more common causes through a complete physical examination, blood work and fecal exam. Some uncommon causes of chronic diarrhea require particular tests of blood, feces and even GI tissues; you may have to specifically ask your vet to run these additional tests.

When experimenting with treatments, I recommend keeping a record of everything you try and sharing this “diarrhea diary” with your vet. Before you try anything though, I strongly encourage you to deworm your horse (no matter the result of the fecal) with Panacur PowerPac (if he’s not debilitated). Then give a product with ivermectin and praziquantel to ensure complete coverage of all internal worm species.

Next either try adding products to his diet or changing his diet, but not both at the same time, because then you won’t know which treatment worked! Since your horse has been eating coastal hay, you could switch him to another kind of grass hay or to alfalfa hay. You could also try changing his grain or replacing it altogether with a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement or ration balancer. Remember to make any diet changes slowly, over a two-week period, so your horse doesn’t develop additional problems like colic or laminitis.

Here is a list of products to try to see if they help. Give them one at a time, with your vet’s advice, and for at least 30 days:

• Probiotics, prebiotics, or yeast – to reinoculate and feed the “good bugs”
• Kaopectate and Pepto-Bismol – coat, soothe, relieve!
• Psyllium – in case the diarrhea is caused by inflammation from sand
• Daily dewormer – to prevent gut wall damage from parasites
• Natural anti-inflammatories – MSM or DMG are good choices to quiet a gut
• Digestive enzymes – like those found in Ultra-Elite Digest or Digest-It
• Hindgut buffer – for example EquiShure
• Digestive support – products with L-glutamine, Licorice, Oat fiber and oil
• Plant extracts – like those in APF, to normalize the body’s systems

If none of these over-the-counter treatments work, you may have to go back to your vet and start trying prescription products. Here are a few that have worked for some horses:

• Rheaform – a prescription product that reduces motility in the colon
• Opiates – prescription narcotics related to morphine
• Steroids – prescription immune suppressants
• Antihistamines – prescription products that may work best with steroids
• Antibiotics – prescription only since some antibiotics can worsen the situation!
• Lomotil - prescription anti-diarrhea medication
• Imodium – over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medication

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for a treatment to work for a few weeks or months then the horse’s stool gets sloppy again. And some horses never improve, struggling with chronic diarrhea the rest of their lives. Just be patient and thorough and hope for the best!