How to Feed a Horse: The Complete Guide to Forage, Grazing, and Equine Nutrition Management
Learning how to feed a horse properly begins with understanding one simple, but essential, principle: horses are biologically designed to eat forage. Long before modern feeding programs, grain concentrates, and managed barns existed, horses survived as grazing animals that consumed fibrous plants continuously throughout the day. Their digestive system evolved around this pattern of steady forage...
Rehabilitating a Starved Horse: A Safe, Forage-Based Approach to Weight Gain and Recovery
Taking in a starved horse is one of the most challenging and rewarding responsibilities a horse owner can face. Unlike a horse that is simply underweight or out of condition, a truly starved horse has undergone significant physiological changes that impact every system in the body. In these cases, knowing how to put weight on a starved horse safely is not just a matter of feeding more — it...
ADF & NDF Explained: What Do ADF and NDF Values Mean for Your Horse?
Every hay analysis comes back with two numbers that many horse owners skim right past. Abbreviated as ADF and NDF, Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) and Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) are laboratory measurements of the structural fiber fractions in plant cell walls. ADF tells you how much energy your horse can actually extract from a forage. NDF tells you how much of that forage your horse will likely...
Spring Pasture and Grazing Tips for Horse Owners
Lush spring pastures have hidden risks for horses predisposed to insulin dysregulation and laminitis. The same lush growth that signals a healthy pasture is closely linked to elevated concentrations of nonstructural carbohydrates that can have a significant impact on your horse's health. Sugars accumulate in spring grass in response to sunlight, overnight temperatures, and plant stress. They peak...
Topline Guide: Building and Maintaining Your Horse's Topline Muscles
Poor topline is one of the most common concerns horse owners bring to their veterinarians and nutritionists, and one of the most consistently misunderstood. A horse can appear to have a healthy body condition and still have a poor topline. Both nutrition and training play a role in topline development. Yet many horses are fed diets that lack the nutrients their topline muscles need to grow. These...
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