Why is Natural Feed Better?

by C. Scott Kroeger
Reference: Concepts from A Lifetime of Soundness by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser, pages 16-19, 47-49
and SHP's Speckmeir and Kells, The Centaru Reborn pgs. 24-30

I used to think that paddocks that were immaculately groomed with good fences, green grass and no weeds in sight were the ideal conditions for a horse. I knew people who would spend thousands of dollars discing the soil and replanting with rye or other grasses, and then spraying to ensure that no other thing grew on that that ground.

But I have learned that this is not always good and that the way we feed horses in many modern contexts is quite harmful to horses and far from what nature intended.

Here are a few facts to consider when evaluating what you are going to feed your horse:

• Horses must eat from a wide variety of food sources to maintain a balanced diet. This is why they move 15+ kms a day in the wild to find it. The exercise gained in searching for the food and the adding of it to the at varying times during the day make for optimal digestion and nutrient dispersion within the body.
• Horses have the unusual ability to know what their body needs in terms of specific medicines or nutrients long before it becomes a problem.
  A Horses stomach is considerably small compared to the size of its body...which means it spends some 18-20 hours a day grazing in order to keep filling it up.
• A horse will eat much more than just grass hay. It will eat bits of bark, flowers, leaves, herbs and weeds. It will also lick certain surfaces to gain minerals.
• Horses with free access to a variety of food will not eat poisonous plants unnecessarily. It is those horses that are hungry that tend to over browse on such plants.

What should you do to feed your horse?

• Let your horse eat constantly. 24 hours--7 days a week.
• Give your horse raw vegetable table scraps (not potatoes).
• Fruit and scrapes can be given to them over the fence. They may eat now or come back when they need it.
• Old Christmas Trees and other tree branches can be tossed over the fence for them to nibble on.
• When you are out on a ride...let the horse nibble and graze at a stop--to put food back into the now empty gut as well as giving it a new variety of food intake with different nutrients and minerals.
• Buy whole oats (with husks) and feed liberally, but put it on the ground over some hay or even on the ground and make them work for it...as they would in the wild.
• Let them eat grass hay in the field. When buying bales of hay, try to get it from differing sources to maintain variety.
• Lay out free-choice minerals -- (Not mixed with other food and thus forcing them to eat something they may not need).

What should You NOT do in feeding your horse?

• Do NOT feed your horse just 2-3 times a day. This will cause all kinds of gut problems, ulcers, colic etc.
• Do NOT feed your horse just one kind of food-day in and day out...just because you have a bag of it.
• Do NOT feed your horse a regular diet of Lucent or Alfalfa hay. The have an incorrect calcium/phosphorus ration making it high in protein. This feed is designed for milk cows--not horses.
• Do NOT feed your horse corn (very little protein at all for the horse).
• Do NOt feed Euopean and American Barley as it splinters and cuts the gums and roof of the horse's mouth.
• Do Not feed silage or haylage to your horse--they can be very toxic with botulism.
• Do NOT feed your horse mouldy hay.
• Minerals and Vitamins fed in excess of a horse's needs is harmful. Better to let the horse choose what it needs.
• Do NOT believe that whatever is sold in feed stores is good for your horse. Natural variety is what you should try to obtain first, and then if insufficient, find feeds that resemble natural food. Stay away from processed foods as much as you can.

Imitating Nature is the key to success in a horse's diet. There is so much more one could say on this subject and I've just scratched the surface, but if you hold true to this principle you will seldom go wrong. Working with a good herbalist and homeopath is always an advantage as well.

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© 2002 - 2007 by The Naked Hoof Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of these publications may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher and/or authors. The information and products contained within these webpages and articles are intended for educational purposes only, and not for diagnosing or medicinally prescribing in any way. Readers are cautioned to seek expert advice from a qualified health professional before pursuing any form of treatment on their animals. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.

Last edited: 30 June, 2007
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