Balancing Your Horse’s Diet With Supplements

same field and is grown by the same supplier. Dont let your eyes or hands trick you just because the hay looks and feels great does not necessarily mean that it has the nutritional value required. The benefit of a hay analysis is knowing approximately what nutrients your horse is getting through the bulk of their diet and which nutrients are below the recommended amounts. These portions can then be topped up with a recreational complete feed that is low in fat or by a concentrated vitaminmineral supplement that has elevated amounts of essential nutrients. Determining which product is best for your horse will depend primarily on the results of the hay analysis but for horses that are predominantly forage fed it is essential to provide some form of vitamin and mineral supplementation in their daily rations. 
Conditioning Supplements 
On the other end of the spectrum are highfat supplements designed to be finishers for horses going to sale or in lowenergy competition such as halter horses. They need to look the best they can while not adding a whole lot of extra energy that would normally be expended during physical competition. Fat supplements can act as both a top dress fed along with a base grain to add some finishing weight while being a source of cool energy. The omega3 fatty acid content in high fat supplements also promotes fertility for stallions and mares during breeding season so if you have broodmares whose diets are primarily foragebased adding a highfat supplement prior to breeding can enhance pregnancy success rates. For the performance horse highfat supplements provide a source of cool calories and for the exuberant horse they provide elevated vitamin and mineral support for bodily functions as well as coat shine and condition allinone. They can be topdressed for horses
that are fed oats or other grains for improved coat condition and overall balancing of the ration. Another example of those needing fat supplements is heavy horse halter breeds. Draft breeds can reach upwards of 9001000 kg and need a lot of feed compared to sport horse breeds. Due to the quantity of feed required many draft owners opt to feed oats or base grains along with a forage diet and then add a conditioning supplement to achieve that preshow weight and shine ensuring a balanced diet as well as success in the ring. 
No matter the class of horse a core diet composed of good quality forage provides the foundation for optimal health. Adding a ration balancer or highfat supplement based on individual horse needs will round out their daily nutrient requirements and make for a happy healthy horse.