8/ FEBRUARY 2024 THE RIDER


an almost daily basis is that horse owners are using a product that doesn’t match their horse’s needs. Therefore, this article is going to focus on the three broad categories of feeds and in which situations they should be used. The goal is to provide you with valuable information on distinguishing feed types and which may be ideal for your horse. The three broad categories are ration bal-


Nutritional Precision: The Different Types of Commercial Feeds Please remember, always start with a hay


erals as well as additional carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Since these products provide more to the horse you must feed them in larger quantities to meet the horse’s vitamin and mineral requirements. These products work very well when they are


ancers, performance feeds, and complete feeds. Each has a time and a place in equine nutrition. When you can evaluate your horse’s nutritional needs and navigate the various feed types you can set a great baseline for a nutrition program.


Ration balancers Ration balancers are designed to simply fill


the nutritional gaps in the hay. They will provide a concentrated source of vitamins and minerals. Some ration balancers will also provide additional protein. These are regarded as a minimum as even easy keepers require a ration balancer due to hay not meeting a horse’s vitamin and mineral require- ments.


An Equine Nutrition Series by Madeline Boast,


MSc. Equine Nutrition Most feed brands have multiple lines of feeds


with various products – this can be challenging to navigate as a horse owner. An issue that I see on


Do you have a special occasion or


announcement to make?


Consider putting it in The Rider!


Within the ration balancer category, there are


a few different types; the vitamin and mineral pre- mixes, the concentrated pellets, and those that also provide additional protein. Normally the feeding rate for these will vary from ~200 g up to ~ 1000 g.


If your horse is an easy keeper, your hay


analysis will provide you with information to base your ration balancer decision on. For example, my mare is an easy keeper, and her hay provides ade- quate protein, therefore I simply feed her 200 g of a concentrated pelleted ration balancer. A few pop- ular ration balancers in Ontario that I commonly see are KPP Microphase, Tribute Essential K, Hoffman’s Horse Minerals, Mad Barn Omneity, Buckeye Gro ‘n Win, Masterfeeds VTM 20 and Brooks Enhancer. Please note that this is not an ex- tensive list, simply a few examples.


Performance/Breeding Feeds The feeding rate of these feeds is higher than ration balancers. They provide vitamins and min-


applied to the correct situation. However, what I normally see is that horse owners will purchase one of these products and then feed a very small quan- tity (e.g., a few cups). This then results in various vitamin and mineral deficiencies as the products are formulated to be fed at higher feeding rates for those horses that need greater nutritional support. The typical feeding rates that are recommended for these products are about 4-10 kg per day. These feeds are popular for equine athletes


and horses that struggle to maintain weight. They can also be used for pregnant mares that require additional supplementation. If you are feeding one of these products and really like it but are feeding it below the recommended daily amount, you can simply add a ration balancer to meet the vitamin and mineral requirements. This is where working with an equine nutritionist can become important as you will want to ensure you are meeting the re- quirements without greatly oversupplying any nu- trients, for example, selenium as it can lead to toxicity issues. A few popular performance/breed- ing feeds that I commonly see are Purina Evolution Maternity, Masterfeeds Podium Cool Energy, Brooks Fibre O Plus, Tribute Growth and Buckeye Supreme 14.


Complete Feeds Complete feeds are a bit different as they also


include the fibre portion of an equine diet. These are designed for horses that have compromised dentition. For example, a senior horse that has poor dentition and is unable to adequately consume hay would likely benefit from a complete feed. When looking at the feeding rates you will notice that these products have an option if the ration does not include hay. Therefore, they need to be fed in the largest quantities to meet vitamin and mineral re- quirements. An example of this is the Tribute Sen- iority feed.


analysis as that will provide you with crucial infor- mation on your horse’s nutrition. Hay is the pri- mary component of their daily feed; therefore, it only makes sense to know the nutritional value. For example, let’s say your horse has been doing well on a ration balancer that does not supply ad- ditional protein (fed at 200 g per day), however, this year your hay is lower in protein and your horse begins to lose muscle. A simple change in ra- tion balancer could have prevented these nutri- tional issues, therefore, make hay testing a regular practice so you can avoid nutritional deficiencies that compromise your horse’s well-being. To conclude, there are a plethora of different


products available to feed your horse and navigat- ing which may be ideal can be challenging. Hope- fully, this basic breakdown of the broad feed categories can assist you in choosing an optimal product for your horse. Please note that just be- cause a product is listed in this article does not mean that it is endorsed by Balanced Bay. Every horse is unique and as an independent nutritionist, I ensure that I have all of the information on your horse’s individual needs as well as hay prior to rec- ommending a product. If you would like to get a hay analysis done


and learn more about optimizing your horse’s nu- trition do not hesitate to reach out at balanced- baynutrition@gmail.com


By: Madeline Boast, MSc. Equine Nutrition About the author: Madeline Boast com-


pleted her master’s in Equine Nutrition at the Uni- versity of Guelph and started an independent nutrition company known as Balanced Bay. She has worked with a variety of equids – from minia- ture ponies to competing thoroughbreds. Through Balanced Bay she designs customized balanced nutrition plans that prioritize equine well-being. This includes diets for optimal performance as well as solving complex nutritional issues and every- thing in between. For additional information see www.balancedbay.ca


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