I’ve been reading a lot of protein in a horses diet as of late, seems to be the new ‘thing’. We test our hay and balance the vitamin/minerals – we have mini-donkeys and easy keepers so we have our grass mix hay cut late – 1[SUP]st[/SUP] crop is cut in July. I call it all day hay – I spread a measured amount out across their drylot most of the year, in winter the months (frigid Wisconsin) I keep hay in front of them 24/7. Low protein, low sugar… low everything… they all get Drs. Choice Equishine vitamin and mineral supplement and Bug Check. The horse also gets fresh ground flax seed, Hoof Secret, ExcelEQ, and copper in soaked beet pulp daily. She also gets a few flakes of 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] crop grass/alfalfa when we haul. She’s in really good condition and have been keeping her fit trail riding 5-7 days a week. We did 30 miles of technical trails this past weekend. Oh, they are allowed to graze poor weedy pasture for 4 hours a day…. Anyway, I’m wondering if I should add more protein to her diet? Of course because Calf Manna just emailed me a bunch of coupons. She’s a 14 year old stock horse… Thoughts? Leave well enough alone? Thanks!
protein needs of horses is definitely not a new thing.
Donkeys have different enough needs from horses I won’t address them, but my guess is that hay is fine for them.
Without knowing the protein content of your hay, nobody could begin to tell you whether the horse needs more. Personally, for her, I’d be inclined to replace the v/m supplement with a good ration balancer.
If the coupon includes Horse Manna, it’s worth a try, though I think there are better balancers out there.
I’ve not found a ration balancer that does not have added iron, which we already have way too much of. And she is a easy keeper. My hay is pretty low protein, depending on the bale, 9 - 12%. I know horses needing protein isn’t a new thing but it seems to be the latest in advertising strategy. Maybe I shouldn’t mess with the program she’s on, its working. Just wondering if I can do better for her.
But how much hay is she eating, and how much does she weigh? 20lb of 9% protein is 817gm protein, enough for an 1100lb in little to no work. And 12%? That’s 1089gm protein if she’s eating 20lb.
There’s more iron in your hay and grass than in balancers. Adding copper and zinc to get ratios in better alignment is cheap and easy.
She’s about 1180 now, she’s ridden 1-2 hours a 3-4 days a week, pattern work and obstacles, and 8-10 miles of technical trail riding 2-3 days a week - narrow, hilly, logs on trail, rough terrain. I’ve already balanced her hay with added zinc and copper. 20lbs would be a good estimate, even with 1089gm of protein in that amount, its not 100% available.
That number is based on Crude Protein, which isn’t 100% bioavailable. If her weight is good, if her muscling is appropriate for the amount of work she does, then the protein she’s getting is enough
Does that mean a bit more wouldn’t make a difference? The only way to know is try and see
I’d like to see some more muscle on her, but that comes with work… shes in much better shape than she was last April, but she’ off all winter - we don’t have an indoor. I’m hoping to not allow her to get as fat this winter as I did last. Thanks for your feedback, its much appreciated.
Horses need protein but nowhere near the levels that carnivores do, plus horses can extract protein from hay that would have no nutrition for a carnivore.
The most straightforward way to increase protein would be to feed a flake of alfalfa daily.
Or you could add a tri-amino supplement that contains the three limiting amino acids horses can’t manufacture themselves.
