A Refreshingly Simple Guide toEffective Horse Nutrition
Author: Rex A. Ewing
ISBN 0-9658098-0-3, 128 page paperback, $14.95
PixyJack Press L.L.C., 303-810-2850
P.O. Box 149, Masonville, Colorado 80541
Wouldn't it be great if all elements of our horse feeding program were definite, achievable, and successful? Our horses would get plenty of free-choice, iodized salt and good water. Their teeth would reflect excellent dental care and their thriftyness reveal a stringent anti-parasite plan. Then, all
they would need is access to infinite pasture. Unfortunately, horses have enormous nutritional demands and infinite pasture access is rarely available. Even if we are fortunate enough in this country to find good pasture in season, for the other 6 or 7 months of the year we have to feed hay. And what if the hay is not all that good and, worse, we can't find any better? Most hay is not sufficiently nutrient to replace infinite pasture year around anyway. This is where Ewing's book comes in...beyond the hay.
His experience is in the feed business. He reminds us that we will never know what is in our pasture because a blade of grass defies analysis. Since most of us have little or no pasture, the natural content of food our horse gets by eating small amounts of grass on a continual basis is rare. Ewing encourages us to read the tags on our feed bags and think smarter about how to feed "Beyond the Hay Days" more efficiently. His book got me to call my County Extension Agent (eg. Cooperative Extension/WSU-Spokane: 477-2048 or Davenport: 725-4171) about the trace mineral element Selenium. I found out that the soil around Spokane is deficient in Selenium and it needs to be supplemented.
The book generally teaches how to channel carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins to our horses so they will do the most good. The Guide to Supplemental Feeding charts are aptly laid out in the back of the book. Throughout Ewing lays down comparisons and applications to augment feeding programs using alfalfa or brome grass hay. He recommends putting as much good hay in the diet as possible and reminds us that "Good hay put up badly is worse than poor hay put up right." We must watch the relationship of alfalfa to grass to oats with respect to the ideal Calcium to Phosphorous ratio, and he tells us not to feed alfalfa exclusively because the ratio is too high (over 5 to 1).
I learned it is not worth the trouble to feed urea as a protein supplement. Additionally, the risk of accidental poisoning is too great and far outweighs any benefit. He recommends we supplement zinc to our "maintenance" horses, the easiest of all to feed. He recommends concentrating energy sources for our "performance" horses, being careful to feed them enough hay. He says we might have to add thiamin (Vitamin B-1) to the stud's program. He emphasizes the mineral requirements for pregnant and lactating mares. He recommends we "creep" feed a concentrated custom mix to "nursing foals" and he lays out the required levels of caloric and nutrient value for "weanlings and yearlings."
When I'm doing my chores and trying to feed the best I can, I'm always wondering if all the elements of my feeding program are as good as they can be. I'm continually concerned with colic and founder and the worry of being like a deer in the veterinarian's headlights. Ewing's little book is a useful addition to my library.
Fasten the gate...
Bob Howdy, Ph. D.
