Like the title says, I am finding conflicting information on daily recommended values for these nutrients (for a 500kg/1100lb horse):
- Phosphorus
- Sodium
- Sulfur
- Zinc
- Copper
- Chlorine
Does anyone have a solid answer? Thank you!
Nutrient Requirements of Horses - Working Doc
plug in the numbers for your horse, and you will see the RDA. Weight, age, work load
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Youāre the best! Nerding out with a spreadsheet of my own and playing around with things. This will really help. Thank you.
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If you are really spreadsheeting, make sure you check out FeedXL.com. Saved me a bunch of time, and I like to compare feeds.
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MadBarn also has a free database of feeds. It allows you to compare nutrient analysis between different products.
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I think MadBarn* is actually where I got a lot of the daily requirements that were too high compared to the link above. Maybe not - I donāt even know anymore, I definitely fell down a nutrition rabbit hole lmao
If youāre talking about FeedXL, then, yes, that program reports ārequirementsā for some nutrients in excess of NRC requirements. I have not been able to find where the designer is sourcing those numbers.
The NRC working doc provides the most accurate source of equine nutrient requirements. And itās free. 
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There are some of āthemā who have ideas that higher amounts of certain things are better for optimal health, but afaik that really isnāt formally studied. NRC is more or less whatās required for non-disease status. Sometimes the requirement isnāt even known, such as Vit K, for essentially all the nutrients horses manufacture themselves, or get enough of through forage.
That may be what FeedXL is doing, but I canāt say that for sure, and couldnāt tell you what those higher numbers are based on either (becauseā¦no research lol)
Yes, I suspect that is what is happening with FeedXL. And I donāt disagree that there are several nutrients for which the optimum intake for a lot of horses is probably higher than NRC requirements.
But, what I donāt do is sell a software that tells customers their horses are ādeficientā in said nutrients when they are consuming more than NRC recommended levels or when there is no established requirement at all. 
Iāve had to talk way, way too many horse owners off the panic button when they plug a perfectly reasonably balanced diet into that programā¦
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Exactly.
Also, the fact that every single analysis comes up as deficient in B1 (and folate I think?) is just annoying, since thatās one of the vitamins horses make very well on their own
It has its uses for sure, but the user really needs some level of undestanding as well, which really detracts from its total value.
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Iām one of the āthemā LOL
just copper and zinc. Iāve seen a huge improvement in my horsesā feet. I go off of what Pete Ramey suggests.
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What do you use for copper and zinc?
I use California Trace. I buy their bulk minerals. Even with shipping i find it to be the cheapest option per mg.
I donāt feed their pre-mixed supplement because Iāve got 7 horses to feed, but if I only had one I probably would.
I also give everyone biotin. The cheapest horse designed option for that is from Ukele. But the cheapest overall option is biotin pills for people on Amazon.
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Thank you! Iāve been reading the forums for ideal Iron:Copper:Zinc:Manganese (4:1:4:4?). Right now I have 8.97:1:3.77:1.84 (if my math is correct). I understand that lowering iron isnāt super feasible, so adding Cu/Zn/Mn is the best course of action. Iām loathe to add extra stuff/$$$ to his diet but I will if people see remarkable improvements by adjusting the ratio. Thoughts??
Iāve linked my Google Sheet here for viewing: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RFLjMML_V7I-F0VGVp9DP2YQmDwdr8eaMtYvlT-oQQ8/edit?usp=sharing
I really canāt help with the ratios, but with your high iron I would be supplementing zinc and copper. He actually suggests doubling the usual dosage (450mg of zinc, 150mg of copper) for horses getting lots of iron.
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Iām one of āthemā as well! Now, Iām not one of āthemā who thinks that there has to be enough cu and zn to ābalanceā iron to 4:1:4, largely because thereās zero evidence thatās a requirement. BUT, even if thereās 150mg cu (and the horse only needs 100mg) and 4x that of zn (because that ratio really does need to be in the 1:3-4 range) and fe:cu is likeā¦30:1, then yes, more cu, which then means more zn.
I do think more horses do better with more Vit E than the basic 1-2IU/kg, I personally feel 1-2IU/lb is better.
I use HorseTech. They and CT are pretty much a wash in terms of cost.
Nope! Itās the rabid anti-commercial feed, āforage-based feedingā groupies who somehow have that in their head, and preach it every chance they get. The only ratio that is researched and documented is cu:zn at about 1:3-4.
I canāt say for sure, but I suspect ātheyā think that because the average 1100lb horse needs fe/cu/zn/mn in amounts of, at least, 400mg/100mg/400mg/400mg, that that automatically means thatās the ideal ratio. Itās not, and no research out there says it is. Only the cu:zn ratio is studied.
How many mg of each? cu:zn here is totally fine in terms of the ratio, and even the fe:cu is perfectly acceptable for the vast majority of horses.
I DO believe that SOME metabolic horses do better with more cu/zn for a tighter fe:cu ratio. They, however, donāt define equines as whole.
Itās not high. < 10:1 is totally fine for probably 99% of horses.
He who? How are those amounts double? The 1100lb horse in light to moderate work only needs 100mg cu and 400mg zn (and 400mg mn)
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Sorry, I knew I worded that weird but I still posted LOL. The amount I posted is the usual dose. Ramey says you can double that. But he gets that from Kellon. So I guess she says that.
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Nice to know California Trace Plus doesnāt have iron. I hate that most grains have added iron
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An 1100lb horse in light-mod work needs at least 400mg Mn so youāre not meeting that.
Youāre fine with the fe:cu:zn
If those amounts are just to add to a forage-only diet, Iām ok with that. Lots of forages donāt have even the bare min for cu and zn, and the less of that they have, the higher the fe, at least IME
And yes, you can double that if need. The toxic amount for each is so high, even doubling that doesnāt come close.
No forage balancer has added iron.
Look past the added iron, since you have no idea how much iron is added. Look at the total ppm and I guarantee most of that is intrinsic iron, and a lot of that isnāt even bioavailable.
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