An adapted ration for each horse

I am committed to having horses in good health and in great shape, which requires good nutrition. A few years ago I became aware of the "unconscious incompetence" that was mine (and that of many horse hosts) on the subject of nutrition and meadow management. From there, my incompetence having become conscious, I began to document myself, inform myself, train myself on lots of transversal subjects linked to this. I have been experimenting with all of this at home since 2018. In 2023-2024, I registered for the long training offered by ChevalOVert which addresses the following subjects in particular: management of the flora quality, toxic plants, soil fertility, assessment of the nutritional value of the meadow, analysis of hay and interpretation, calculation of ration adapted to each horse, adaptation of vitamins and minerals, hedges and fodder trees, maintenance of meadows,... Below, the foods and supplements we give to our horses, with the link to our suppliers.

Fodder and concentrates

By the constitution of its digestive system, the result of its evolution over millions of years, a horse is made to feed mainly on fodder. His stomach can't handle not receiving anything for more than 4 hours. The basis of the ideal diet is therefore quality hay available 24/7. At Silver Oak Farm, the horses have several racks scattered around the tracks to encourage movement, filled every day with hay that we buy from a farm nearby, which harvests it from several meadows. This allows a variety of floristic content and therefore mineral contributions. The different batches of hay are therefore analyzed in order to adjust the supplements and the CMV.

Once the composition of the hay is known, i.e. in terms of energy, protein and minerals, the maintenance and production needs (growth, gestation, lactation, physical work) of each horse are estimated in order to determine the complementary contributions, specific to each of them. We generally work with alfalfa in caps (diversified protein intake), wheat bran (to balance the phosphorus ratio and for the important energy intake) and beet pulp (diversified protein intake). Using raw materials without added vitamins or minerals allows us to more easily balance the ration with CMV. Chevalim's online calculator is a good starting point for calculating a ration but I have built my own calculator. Of course, all this is based on approximations and extrapolations, and observing the horses' evolution is essential to know if what we give them suits them.

Vitamins and supplement

The basic CMV used is Oligovit from Reverdy. Its quantity is adapted to each horse and occasional shortages of minerals or vitamins are filled thanks to targeted supplements, for example to balance Zinc with Copper, supplement vitamin E which is often lacking as well as iodine and selenium during the gestation.

We also supplement with flax seeds for their omega 3 contribution, not present in hay. It also helps to have a shiny and healthy coat, essential for horses that live outside all year round.

ChevalOVert - Training courses about nutrition and pasture management

Getty Horse Nutrition - Amercian vet and nutritionnist proposing a lot of very interesting articles

INRAE Feedtables - Composition and nutritive values of feeds for horses

Alimentation des chevaux - Tables des apports alimentaires Inra 2011 - Book giving the needs of horse according to its weight and activity

Requasud - Laboratory for hay and soil analysis (Belgium)

Reverdy - Horse food and supplement brand

L'Escaille - Horse food supplier

ESC Laboratoire - Supplier in equine phytotherapy

Vital Herbs - Supplier in equine phytotherapy