Surprising Results From Knight’s Equine Nutritionist Consultation

The results are in from Knight’s recent equine nutritionist consultation. Sadly, my sweet Thoroughbred gelding has been on the horsey version of the Atkins Diet for the last two years thanks to my own ignorance. No wonder why he was looking a little too angular! His meal plan was all wrong, but now I have a path to move forward to get Knight the nutrients he needs as well as climb out of my quicksand of guilt. Here’s the story.

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Longtime readers of Saddle Seeks Horse might remember a couple of years ago when Knight was hospitalized for ten days due to colic and severe ulcers. You can read about that experience when you click here.

Long story short, the discharge instructions from the veterinary hospital clearly stated that he should only have alfalfa, no beet pulp, no rice bran, straight up a lot of hay (30 pounds). No grain. No timothy or orchard. Just alfalfa.

Because I am a rule follower (“The official paper from the equine hospital says alfalfa only–it’s alfalfa only.”), respect the expertise of the vet who was overseeing his care, and have only owned three previous horses–all fairly easy keepers, I didn’t really question his diet. Except I did give him a tiny portion of Purina WellSolve so he had the joy of receiving a bucket and it was topped with Purina Outlast for the gastric support factor.

The weird thing is, since our evacuation, thanks to Canyon Fire 2, I’ve had some of the best, most consistent and relaxed rides on Knight in our three years together. I thought he was happy. But he did look a little ribby and he lost his topline muscling. I blamed ulcers and the stress of the evacuation. We treated him with Ulcergard and I finally broke down and bought a Miracle Collar crib strap. His cribbing had become incessant since the fire.

(We’re still at the evacuation barn by the way.)

Go for the Gold

My vet recommended Summit Equine Nutrition in Northern California and after perusing the website, I decided to do the full Gold Package which entitled me not only to the initial 30 minute intake phone consultation, in-depth analysis of his current diet and customized feeding plan, but also three follow-up phone consultations at 60, 90 and 120 day increments with a plan revision, if needed.

I will admit the price of the consultation seemed expensive at $350, but then I realized I would totally pay more than that for a weekend horse show, or to buy myself new riding clothes and not blink. So my horse totally deserved this service for his health! And having a better diet in place for Knight and paying that amount is definitely cheaper than a 10-day hospital stay, or any number of day hospital stay which I hope to never repeat.

After the first phone call, the nutritionist emailed me several worksheets to fill out about Knight. I had to take pictures of him from various angles, list exactly what he was eating, describe in-depth his weekly exercise routine. I had to measure his body at various places and give a weight estimate. And obviously list his age, breed, health history, etc.

It took me a few weeks to pull all the data together with it being winter and bad lighting for pictures and coordinating an extra set of hands to help with all the measuring, etc.

Feed This, Not That

Once I got the information to the nutritionist she evaluated it and concluded that Knight’s diet was deficient in copper, zinc, manganese, iodine and vitamin E. And that because of the straight up alfalfa only diet, his protein and calcium was excessive. She’s described Knight’s diet as reminiscent of the Atkins Diet! This horrified me. Her recommendation for his new feeding program is as follows:

• 10 lbs Alfalfa
• 20 lbs Orchard Hay
• 1.5 lbs Triple Crown Ration Balancer
• 2 lbs Triple Crown Senior
• 2 tbsp iodized table salt
• 2oz of WildGold oil
• 1 serving Gutwerks (probiotic)

We had a discussion about possibly using the iFeed to automatically distribute small amounts of alfalfa pellets throughout the day, as she has seen excellent results with ulcery or colic prone horses when using the iFeed. However, the time is just not right. Definitely check out this video, though because it’s very cool. It’s on my wish list for sure.

Once we are back to our home equestrian center and we know what the set up will be with the new pipe corrals, this might be an option. The iFeed runs on electricity or a car battery which I would need to recharge monthly. It’s not out of the question that I could use this, but it’s going to take some research and time.

Fun Fact: The feeder can be programmed to give small portions up to 48 times per day!

How to Makeover Your Horse’s Diet

One of the best parts about the equine nutritionist consultation is that she gave explicit details for HOW to transition Knight to this dramatically different diet. We all know that you never change a horse’s diet overnight, but she spelled out which new things should be started first and gave specific amounts phasing in the new ingredients. I felt relief having an exact guide, so I didn’t have to figure out all the variables myself.

As of this writing, we’ve only just begun the transition process. I will definitely write another post down the road to let you all know how he is doing.

Thanks for reading!

Leave a Comment: How do you determine what your horse should be eating and when to change up his or her diet such as adding in certain supplements? Have you ever worked with an equine nutritionist before?

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