Vitamins are defined as a group of complex unrelated fat- and water-soluble organic compounds present in minute amounts in natural foodstuffs (NRC, 2007). There are a variety of B-vitamins, all of which are water-soluble, meaning that excess amounts are excreted through the urine. Not stored in the body. What do B Vitamins do? This group […]
It is recommended to test your horse’s vitamin E levels once per year. This guides your decision on how much supplemental vitamin E to provide. Keep reading to learn when to add supplemental vitamin E to your horse’s ration. Why is Vitamin E Important? Adequate vitamin E is essential for neuromuscular health. Fresh, healthy, and […]
Meeting a horse’s nutrient requirements is critical to their health. Horse owners should understand the basics of nutritional management, and how to supply adequate nutrient amounts. As a practicing equine nutritionist, I often get questions about nutrient requirements – how are they determined? What are these amounts based on? How a nutrient requirement has been […]
Forage alone will not meet a horse’s vitamin and mineral requirements. Whether a horse is on hay or pasture, a supplemental source of minerals is required to adequately meet their nutrient requirements. There are two main type of products that are used to add vitamin and mineral content to a diet, ration balancers and vitamin/mineral […]
Vitamins are an essential aspect of balanced nutrition. They are involved in a plethora of body processes and are important for regular body function. There are two main categories of vitamins that horses require: fat-soluble vitamins which include E, D, A and K and water-soluble which include B and C. Please note that there are […]
If you have spent any time in barns, chances are that you have seen some over conditioned horses. Equine obesity is a prevalent welfare concern and predisposes horses to serious health issues such as laminitis. This week’s blog post is going to dive into the research on some of the supplements that are marketed for […]
It is no secret that equine dietary supplements are a hot topic! This past weekend at the Can-Am Equine Expo one of my seminars focused on dietary supplements and how horse owners can critically evaluate the research behind the products they are purchasing. One of the concepts that was covered was the difference between active […]
Electrolytes supplements are commonly given to many horses, particularly in the summer months. When the temperature rises, the amount of sweat the horse produces increases. Additionally, in Ontario, our horses are often ridden more frequently in the warmer weather. What are electrolytes? Electrolytes are a class of minerals that dissociate into electrically charged ions in […]
As we enter into the warmer months here in Ontario, many horse owners will begin to use electrolyte supplementation products for their horse. This blog post is going to provide a brief overview of electrolyte supplementation and what recent research is telling us! Electrolytes Electrolytes are involved in many physiological processes. They play a role […]
As an independent equine nutritionist, I come across many horse owners that supplement their horses with some type of gut support product. This article is going to dive into some of the science behind probiotics! Let’s start today’s blog post with some definitions -> Probiotics: microbials that deliver live bacteria to the horse’s gastrointestinal tract and […]
