by Steffany Dragon, MS, CESMT In the past decade or so, the care of the Senior Horse has received considerable attention and rightfully so! There is not much dearer to the heart of a good horseman or horsewoman than taking care of his best friend as he ages. Thankfully, we have sound science and research that gives us the opportunity … Read More
When & Why to Use a Diet Balancer or All-In-One Supplement
The title sounds complicated but we made it simple. You have Options! By, Steffany Dragon, MS, CEMT As always, we promise to keep it practical! Most of a horse’s diet should come from forage right? Yes…a horse should consume at least 1.5-2.0% of their body weight in pasture/hay a day. So why do we feed or supplement? Calories and/or nutrients … Read More
Sound Advice for Choosing your Horse’s Joint Supplement
5 min read: The Essentials & Why By, Steffany Dragon, MS, CEMT Is your head reeling from trying to decide which joint product is best for your horse and what you can afford? You are not alone! The market is flooded with them because unlike other supplements that may be duplicated in a nice quality feed, ingredients that directly target … Read More
What is Body Condition Score (BCS)?
“Why all the hype about Body Condition Scoring? I’ve been a horse owner for a long time now and I think my horse looks just fine!” Fine is fine, but could your horse look and feel better? Could your horse perform better and recover quicker? As horse owners we have a responsibility to provide the best care, nutrition and maintenance … Read More
Hey, Where’s the Hay?
We’ve all heard the saying “forage or hay is the most important part of a horses diet”. Let’s take a closer look at the different types of forages and feeding methods that will not only keep your horse healthy, but your pocketbook happy too! As herbivores and “hindgut fermenters”, horses are designed to graze from 15 to 20hrs … Read More
Why 30% Protein?
Protein deficiencies in horses can manifest themselves in a variety of ways. The most notable outward sign of protein deficiency is muscle loss or “wasting” across the topline (back, loin and croup). Additional deficiencies may include poor development in young horses, slow growing hooves, energy deficiency and lack of appetite. Protein is essential for milk production in lactating broodmares and … Read More
Is My Horse Too Fat or Too Thin?
As an equine nutrition consultant, I see hundreds of horses each year and spend countless hours teaching the latest metrics for equine nutrition evaluation. Today we have some very exciting tools to help us understand where our horses are and where we want them to be. In addition to Body Condition Scoring*, we also have a metric for muscle development … Read More