Before diving into the first key principle of feeding a horse (that will come in lesson #4), it’s important to understand that there is no one set feeding protocol regardless of a horse’s state of health.
No one knows exactly what a horse needs in her diet. However, there are guidelines that I believe are important for not only promoting a horse’s health but also helping a compromised horse regain health. Those guidelines are based on my own personal experience of feeding compromised horses, as well as from regaining my own health.
We want to keep this simple principle in mind at all times:
The goal for a horse with health issues, or any horse, is the same – to promote a naturally healthy horse.
Equine Nutrition Dogma
Before I embark on the subject of equine nutrition, I’d like to point out that this is one of those subjects that, when discussed, results in dogmatic views and behavior. In other words, horse guardians easily become evangelists about how to properly feed a horse. It’s as if someone gave them the dictator wand and now they have the power to tell you what to do. This often occurs in the human natural health circles as well.
I know how you feel when you encounter someone like that. You want to stay quiet, not share anything, and just go about your business or you express your emotions and views in a non-productive manner. You won’t find any of that here. No where will you find the words “should do.”
Regardless of what someone else may tell you, there’s no one set protocol for feeding a healthy horse or one with health issues. Every horse is an individual and every situation is different. Each horse is biochemically and genetically unique. Keep in mind that although nutrition for the domesticated horse is a science, it’s also an art.
There are a variety of ways to approach a situation and there’s also the X-Factor to consider. This is why it’s important to understand guidelines that are time proven. From there, you may decide that you would like to upgrade your horse’s nutrition and explore your options. In other words, never beat yourself up because you were not doing the right thing. What is “right” anyway? So, rather than be hard on yourself, think of the changes you decide to make as an upgrade to what you’re currently doing.
Change is a constant and if you’re not learning, you’re not growing. Otherwise, why be on this earth?
The Trial and Success Method
It’s important to understand that the more you learn about horse care and equine nutrition, the more you’ll find yourself using “the trial and success method” from the various strategies I share with you. Therefore, you’ll want to test and test again those strategies. The reason is that it’s not practical or possible to know all the infinite variables at play in your specific situation with your horse. No one can. I don’t care how many letters someone has after their name, it’s not possible.
You and I are two very different people with different experiences. In one sense, we look at things and approach situations in the same way, but because of our nature as human beings, we approach things differently as well. Therefore, it’s likely you’ll find different answers to your questions depending on who you ask. This is an important guideline to understand in order to minimize any frustration you may encounter in your journey to learning more about caring for your horse naturally.
My intention is to share my knowledge and give you basic tools and then allow you to sort out what works for your horse and your situation. Each of us is at different stages and no two horses or situations are exactly the same. What I’ll share with you is my approach and what I’ve learned and have experienced for more than two decades. Health and wellness, especially nutrition, is one of my passions and is an area I’ll continue to refine each and every year I’m on this earth.
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that no matter what you read, what happens in the real world in terms of horse care, or what someone tells you – caring for your horse will always go back to the principles I share with you. You’ll always, always, go back to the basic principles.
As I discussed in my book, Guiding Principles of Natural Horse Care, your core values and the horse care principles you decide to implement will be the cornerstone of your decision making process. However, the manner in which you implement those principles may differ from the next person.
Develop the confidence and non-judgmental attitude to be okay with that.
Health Beyond Danger
Weeding through horse care information can be a challenge, especially when it comes to equine nutrition. What I’ve found personally is that the healthier I get and the more successful I am at developing radiant health, the more I can offer to my horses.
For some people, they’ve done the opposite. They start to learn more about equine nutrition and that then causes them to think about their own diet. That’s a good start, but I don’t believe it’s as effective as this: someone who was let down by our broken health care system, decided to take their health into their own hands, and then was able to tap into their own healing mechanisms.
I’ve done that for myself and continue to do it. What I’ve found is that as I age I’m healthier now than when I was in my twenties – especially from an immunological standpoint.
The longevity technologies and strategies available to us now are outstanding and will continue to evolve. We are living in the best time I could ever imagine!
The more you tap into that world for yourself of obtaining health beyond danger, then the more efficient you’ll become at understanding your horse’s needs. That’s not for everyone, which is okay; however, it won’t be easier for you to make sound decisions based on experience. Instead, you’re left with having to take someone else’s advice and, often times, blindly.
Tips for Evaluating Strategies That Work
What you’ll find is that no matter who you run into, what they’re doing is better than what you’re doing and, therefore, you should be doing it. That’s an example of the dogmatic attitude I’ve already discussed. However, when someone tells me something works for them, I first put ego aside and then I go through my checklist of principles.
My most important principle is evaluating if what worked for that person’s situation and horse will last for the long-run, or is it just a quick fix?
Quick fixes do not promote health and sure do not promote radiant health.
It’s also important to remember that no matter what decision you make when it comes to diet, there will be a cumulative effect on the body. That effect can have a negative or positive impact.
Most people do not realize the damage they’re doing until later on down the road. So, since I’ve been consistently implementing the same principles on the same horses (who are at various ages) for well over a decade, then I believe 10 years is a good starting point for evaluating if something works.
Here’s a simple tip for weeding through information. When someone tells you that their approach works ask them:
- How long have you been using that approach on the same horse?
- How many vet bills have you accumulated in the last 10 years for the same horse you’re using the approach on?
- Has that same horse shown any signs of lameness in the last 10 years?
- When was the last time you “had to” deworm that same horse?
- How often do you vaccinate that horse?
- Do you stay true to the naturally healthy horse concept (i.e. no blanketing, 24/7 turnout, socialization with other horses, lots of movement, the horse is barefoot, etc.)?
- What kind of ailments has that same horse had in the last 10 years? This could be anything from allergies, to thrush, to skin disorders – you name it.
- What’s the horse’s mental behavior like?
- Does the horse have reoccurring problems such as ulcers or colic?
These are just a few questions I’d ask someone who is evangelizing their approach to equine nutrition and who is trying to say a particular approach is inferior. What you’re shooting for is not perfection, but you want your horse to get as close as she can to radiant health, which is health beyond danger. It’s the kind of health that creates super immunity and vitality. That is what you want!
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to health and wellness. To me, everything I’ve shared with you is important to promoting a healthy horse, weeding through information, and to evaluating if your program is working. Most people use a silver bullet/quick fix approach but, over time, that approach does not work. It is not time proven. It will not hold up for more than a decade. If you’re lucky it may work for a few months and then you’re back to square one.
Final Thoughts
As I’ve shared with you, no one knows exactly what a horse needs in her diet. Feeding the domesticated horse continues to become a challenge, especially with our ever increasing toxic environment. We have a lot of negative factors waging against our domesticated equine partners. However, you can create a situation where you promote your horse’s health and help her develop radiant health, which is health beyond danger.
Keep it soulful,
Stephanie Krahl
CEO and co-founder of Soulful Equine
P.S.
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This lesson is part of a series on how natural horse care can help your horse thrive. This series discusses essential natural horse concepts such as how to feed a horse a relatively natural diet, barefoot hoof care, and creating a natural habitat. If you want a thriving equine and you haven’t yet signed up for our free Soulful Guardian™ Basics, you can learn more about it by clicking here.
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Photo Credit – original photo modified in size and to include the Soulful Equine name and URL
