A common question I get from readers and friends is ‘How much ______ (insert mineral here) should I feed my horse?” I wish I had a simple answer for that, but the truth is that I don’t. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to supplementing minerals to horses and that’s because of several factors. It depends on: […]
The following article was written by equine nutritionist, Dr. Juliet Getty, PhD. To read more nutrition articles by Dr. Getty, see her website. Vitamin E – Requirement vs Recommendation Every few years, the National Research Council (NRC) publishes updated nutrient requirements for horses. The current vitamin E requirement is 1 IU/kg of body weight for an […]
When I took Dr. Kellon’s Nutrition as Therapy course several years ago, one of the many things I learned about was adaptogenic herbs–the ‘kingly’ herbs. I have used them regularly with my horses ever since. Adaptogenic herbs are defined as ‘herbs which result in the stabilization of physiological processes and promotion of homeostasis, for example decreased cellular […]
I think many of us tend to ‘humanize’ our horses. We think they should be clean. We think they should wear nice, warm blankets when it’s cold. And we think they should eat two or three meals a day–just like we do. But horses are horses–not humans. And we shouldn’t treat them as such. They like to get dirty. They can regulate their […]
Well, I’m back to dealing with thrush again–Bob has it in his one of his front feet. Fun, fun. Thrush is a nasty little nuisance that can go unrecognized in many instances. We would probably all notice if our horse’s foot was smelly and rotten-looking, but this isn’t always how thrush presents itself. Many times, the hoof […]
I have to admit, I spend quite a bit of time thinking about nutrition–my own and my horses’. It’s become somewhat of a passion of mine. And something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is whole foods. In fact, there’s a book on whole foods (for people) that I can’t wait to read–aptly titled, Whole […]
(The following is an excerpt from Dr. Ward’s article, “Brief Introduction to the Five Element Horse Types and Temperaments”. To view the article in its entirety, click here.) There are many approaches to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), but the Five-Element approach is unique in that it includes the idea that each of us, animal or […]