Mounted search and rescue

["Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>]

One nutrition factor to be considered with the rest is the amount of fat in
a horse's diet. Normal hay sources have a nominal fat content. A senior
horse or any that tend to be hard keepers - or an underweight horse - can
benefit from some added fat in the diet, with the quantity adjusted
according to the individual horse's needs.

Many bagged "grain mix" types have about 6% fat. Other products - some not
specific to horses - focus more on increased fat content and can be added to
the horse's diet as a supplement. Some examples include stabilized rice bran
(20% fat), corn oil (liquid), and the black shell sunflower seeds that are
30% fat. Good for putting weight on or for maintenance as needed. One side
benefit from increased fat in a horse's diet is an improvement in the the
natural shine of the coat.

In any horse diet you need to be concerned with the calcium-phosphorous
balance of the hay / primary feed + supplements. Since we breed Paint horses
we are particularly concerned with suitable nutrition for growing youngsters
and lactating mares, but we have everything from foals to seniors in the
herd. We used stabilized rice bran - www.naturalglo.com - for many years
very successfully. Corn oil I find to be a messy solution, so I resist using
it.

In recent years we've been combining about a cup of the black shell
sunflower seeds with about equal amounts of oats and beet pulp as a daily
quantity for any horse on supplement. I pre-mix in a trash can so I can just
scoop and go. A handy general mix that I can give to any horse that needs
some supplement, then increase the quantity of any of the 3 parts as needed
for a specific horse. Also convenient to use as a base for adding any daily
meds, electrolytes, etc.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare Co, CA SAR - Hasty Team ICP team
www.CEOates.com/sar
Tulare-Kings CERT - Program Coordinator
www.TK-CERT.org