I write a newsletter for my website.
I am supposed to come up with quarterly topics.
and I feel I keep repeating the same stuff.
So I ask you what would you like to read about.
Topics - short or longer.
What info are you seeking?
What could I write about that you would like to read.
You can put your answers here or send them to me privately or via my email.
Melyni@foxdenequine.com
Thanks
I took that coursera online equine nutrition class given by the U of Edinburgh and it was not really a layperson’s class, even though I recall some of my SI units like Newtons and Joules. So if you are able, to go into greater depth yet dumb it down would be wonderful.
For an example I find myself much more comfortable thinking in terms of Calories, probably because all the shopping I do for my human family has caloric values listed and I’ll plan meals based on the caloric values of the items I’ve selected. And of course that transfers over to my equine as well, where I favor a feed that costs X per calorie, or actually X per pound and has Y calories per pound.
[QUOTE=ReSomething;7528912]
I took that coursera online equine nutrition class given by the U of Edinburgh and it was not really a layperson’s class, even though I recall some of my SI units like Newtons and Joules. So if you are able, to go into greater depth yet dumb it down would be wonderful.
For an example I find myself much more comfortable thinking in terms of Calories, probably because all the shopping I do for my human family has caloric values listed and I’ll plan meals based on the caloric values of the items I’ve selected. And of course that transfers over to my equine as well, where I favor a feed that costs X per calorie, or actually X per pound and has Y calories per pound.[/QUOTE]
Hmm, do you mean talk about energy values in feeds and refer to them in calories.
Did you need me to go into details like Digestible energy vs Metabolisable energy vs Gross energy? Or just how many calories a horse needs per day.
Or a feed comparison, as in which feeds are the best value for mnoey?
MW
Feed comparison would be of most value to the most people I think, and interesting.
We all tout our favorite feeds and many of those feeds are regional, like Seminole, but that’s not truly a nutritional topic.
I had problems using the pounds to feed per day regime on the bag of feed. I just couldn’t get a handle on it mentally when if I knew that my horse needed 9K calories per day and the feed was 1500 calories per pound I can do that math fast. Two pounds of 1500 calorie feed is going to get me almost a pound of weight on the horse, if the horse is gaining at 8 pounds a week that means I have 8x3500 calories to play with and can back the feed down by what? Two pounds a day? Is that even a correct line of thought?
Maybe it relates to being a person that diets, so calorie counting is something I do often for myself. I’m trying to think of ways to make this valuable information more accessible, and save a few horses from starving due to sheer ignorance.
My complaint about newsletters is that they tend to be too general. It would really help me to see you take an actual case, analyze it, and talk about how you fixed the diet.
I would love to see information on how to justify the need for/calculate a vitamin/min supplement for easy keeping horses that get fed less than the recommended amounts of grain. I always get confused as to whether or not this is necessary when access to adequate pasture and hay is available or if you just give hay cubes, etc (and if so how much of what).
How to read a nutrition label.
How to feed an IR horse.
How to keep a pasture safe for grazing (preventing founder, laminitis, etc.)
What supplements are really necessary? How do you know?
Do those special supplements really work? How do you know?
Does magnesium really help easy keepers lose weight and avoid laminitis? Does it really calm anxious horses?
When are you supposed to worm a horse with what?
Do they need supplemental oil? What about feeds based on coconut?
Is there really something you can feed them that will keep flies off them?
I would like to know which ingredients target particular areas or issues. What are suitable amounts. Are all calories the same, and what are suitable amounts to boost weight on a horse.
Fact or Fiction about equine nutrition! Catchy ain’t it 
It can be a multiple part series with different feeds, supplements, etc. that are in common practice but do/don’t work etc. (bran mash, beet pulp, joint supplements, hay types, electrolytes, etc. )
I would like to know more specifically about macro nutrient breakdowns for different types of horses.
Edited to add:
I would also like links to all the studies to back up any nutrition claims, since as we all know, there is way too much “I’ve always done it this way” information out there!
Agree with sautgirl - it would be really helpful to know optimal nutritional needs for working horses vs retired, older horses. Not sure how much of what is required for their different levels of work.
Also Melyni, I sent you a PM.
Thanks for doing this!
[QUOTE=ReSomething;7528987]
Feed comparison would be of most value to the most people I think, and interesting.
We all tout our favorite feeds and many of those feeds are regional, like Seminole, but that’s not truly a nutritional topic.
I had problems using the pounds to feed per day regime on the bag of feed. I just couldn’t get a handle on it mentally when if I knew that my horse needed 9K calories per day and the feed was 1500 calories per pound I can do that math fast. Two pounds of 1500 calorie feed is going to get me almost a pound of weight on the horse, if the horse is gaining at 8 pounds a week that means I have 8x3500 calories to play with and can back the feed down by what? Two pounds a day? Is that even a correct line of thought?
Maybe it relates to being a person that diets, so calorie counting is something I do often for myself. I’m trying to think of ways to make this valuable information more accessible, and save a few horses from starving due to sheer ignorance.[/QUOTE]
Well the good news is, yes you certainly can do all your energy/feed needs calculations in calories. In fact here in the USA, that’s all the energy info you will get. so if you are living here, then the only Joules and Newtons you need to worry about are how many Joules are in a Fig Newton, should you eat one!
All joking aside, the SI units are what we have to use if we plan to present a study at an international meeting, but back at home we all work in Calories (and in lbs as well no Kgs here!).
One thing to bear in mind is the huge size difference between horses and humans.
YOU are probably used to working in kcals aka Cals, with horses we work in Mcals, and yes an Mcal is a thousand kcals or a thousand Cals! So if you are used to thinking in terms of 2,000 kcals ( the normal energy requirement for a human of 150lbs) , remember your horse weighs 1,000lbs and is going to require energy in 8-10X that amount.
Also horses have hind end fermentation, which supplies a LOT of energy and is by far the safest form of energy for them.
Thus you have to follow certain restrictions when formulating a diet for horses, the number one being it HAS to be a MINIMUM of 60% fiber, preferably digestible fiber, but fiber for sure. If you feed a horse as little percentage fiber as most humans consume, they would for sure, colic, and many horses are such efficient fermenters that they can get 100% of their energy needs from their hind gut and need only a supply of vitamins and minerals on top the hay.
But by all means do your calculations in Calories.
MW
[QUOTE=Cindyg;7529798]
How to read a nutrition label.
How to feed an IR horse.
How to keep a pasture safe for grazing (preventing founder, laminitis, etc.)
What supplements are really necessary? How do you know?
Do those special supplements really work? How do you know?
Does magnesium really help easy keepers lose weight and avoid laminitis? Does it really calm anxious horses?
When are you supposed to work a horse with what?
Do they need supplemental oil? What about feeds based on coconut?
Is there really something you can feed them that will keep flies off them?[/QUOTE]
Hmm, most of these are covered in my book, but I can pull out the info for a ‘special’ article no problem.
[QUOTE=Melyni;7530915]
Well the good news is, yes you certainly can do all your energy/feed needs calculations in calories. In fact here in the USA, that’s all the energy info you will get. so if you are living here, then the only Joules and Newtons you need to worry about are how many Joules are in a Fig Newton, should you eat one!
All joking aside, the SI units are what we have to use if we plan to present a study at an international meeting, but back at home we all work in Calories (and in lbs as well no Kgs here!).
One thing to bear in mind is the huge size difference between horses and humans.
YOU are probably used to working in kcals aka Cals, with horses we work in Mcals, and yes an Mcal is a thousand kcals or a thousand Cals! So if you are used to thinking in terms of 2,000 kcals ( the normal energy requirement for a human of 150lbs) , remember your horse weighs 1,000lbs and is going to require energy in 8-10X that amount.
Also horses have hind end fermentation, which supplies a LOT of energy and is by far the safest form of energy for them.
Thus you have to follow certain restrictions when formulating a diet for horses, the number one being it HAS to be a MINIMUM of 60% fiber, preferably digestible fiber, but fiber for sure. If you feed a horse as little percentage fiber as most humans consume, they would for sure, colic, and many horses are such efficient fermenters that they can get 100% of their energy needs from their hind gut and need only a supply of vitamins and minerals on top the hay.
But by all means do your calculations in Calories.
MW[/QUOTE]
I do, because as you said units here are all calories/pounds/etc. And I use a forage based concentrate - but I guess that’s part of the issue is determining whether your concentrate calories are being derived from NSC’s.
Another question, someone mentioned cardboard being used as fiber in cheaper feeds, along with peanut shells and a few other things. Can you perhaps address that? Along with the infamous beet pulp is a waste product that’s had all the nutrients leached out of it and is no good.
Okay peeps, the Calories for horses one is now being checked over and edited and will shortly be sent out… So if you want it, sign up for the newsletter.
Now to decide which subject to write about next…
I am anxiously awaiting it and hope it’s good!
I gave the article to my assistant to 'clean it up" and she has simplified it down to two tables! Read it, and if it is too simplified for you, them email me via the website and I can send you the fuller version.
MW
The sign up got me an anti spam email and so far no newsletter. That’s a few layers and I have no idea what I did wrong.
I’d love an article on feeding a “Ration Balancer” versus a more traditional hard/sweet or pelleted feed. I think I know what a RB is – a heavily concentrated (in terms of vit/min/nutrition) pelleted feed to be fed horses whose primary diet is good quality forage, to balance vitamin and mineral needs, but without adding a lot of calories or volume – but I may be wrong. Regardless, it’s kind of a different way of approaching your horse’s diet than the longterm method of giving lots of grain. I think a little “hand holding” that this really can be a great way to feed horses who have access to plenty of good forage wouldn’t be amiss. Especially in regard to reassuring people who look at feeding a RB that yes, you really do only need to feed this small amount and therefore the high cost per bag can indeed be cost effective. I think people see the price per bag of, say, TC 30% and turn away out of sticker shock.
I don’t think you can stress enough the importance of using weight rather than volume for measuring your horse’s daily ration. You still hear so many people refer to scoops or quarts or (heaven help us! less than a week ago I heard the reference to the dreaded “coffee can” UGGH – which I’ve never used myself but this nonspecific measure persists).
Would love to hear your thoughts on whole grains for horses, like oats (crimped or rolled of course, but whole grains not milling by-products). I love the nutritional analyses and thoughts behind top quality feeds like Triple Crown or Blue Seal – but I wonder if it wouldn’t be possible to have non-sugar-loaded textured feed mixes (“sweet” feeds without so much of the “sweet!”) because I do wonder about longterm effects of feeding so much processed feed. Processed with a lot of good science behind them, we hope – but still I wonder if there would be value in returning to the days of feeding crimped oats, chaff, etc.
Sugar beet pulp – still considered a great foodstuff for horses? Am I not hearing about it as much now because it is so widely accepted, or was it a bit of a fad that is fading?
Still no newsletter and when I tried to sign up again it says my email is in the system. Nothing in my spam folder. So . . . .
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