When it comes to nutrition, these horses need to
Everyone knows that college students don’t make the best choices when it comes to food. Check out the horses below, then ask yourself — is your horse on a college student diet?
The Athlete
This eight-year-old is the school’s star athlete. Between daily training and regular competitions, he’s always on the go and working hard. Even though he’s very busy, he tends to be an easy-keeper, so he gets plenty of hay, but only a 1/2 lb of grain twice a day, so he can maintain his fit physique.
The Hippie
This groovy seven-year-old likes to kick back and take it easy. She spends more time chilling out than working out, so she only gets a handful of grain—she’s a bigger fan of fresh greens, anyway.
The 8th Year Senior
This 17-year-old is in no rush to graduate—he’d rather hang out in the pasture with his buddies than go to class. Since he spends most of his time out on the grass and doesn’t burn a lot of calories, he doesn’t need to eat any grain.
The School Master
Everyone’s favorite coach (and professor!) loves to stay active and is always hitting the ring with the younger athletes. He can’t eat much grain because he’s missing a few teeth, but he loves his beet pulp!
All of these horses are missing a crucial aspect of their diets: the full serving of the vitamins and minerals they need to thrive.
Even if they grazed 24/7, their forage alone likely wouldn’t be enough to fulfill their daily requirements. While fortified grain can provide an additional source of vitamins and minerals, it can only meet all their needs if they are fed the full serving recommended on the feed bag. But none of these horses need that much grain, so their diets are coming up short.
To learn more about the basics of your horse’s diet and discover what he may be missing, hit the books!
SmartVite University
Undergraduate Nutrition Courses
Philosophy of Forage
Credits: 4
Your horse’s diet should consist primarily of roughages like pasture, hay, or an alternative source of forage. More specifically, he should be eating 1–2% of his body weight in forage every day. For a 1,000–lb horse, that’s 10-20 lbs daily!
Introduction to Omegas
Credits: 2
Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are both important to your horse’s well-being, but maintaining the correct balance between the two is critical.
Vitamins & Minerals for Beginners
Credits: 3
Some types of grain provide a complete and balanced selection of the necessary nutrients, but they can only meet 100% of your horse’s needs if you feed the full amount recommended on the bag. If your horse doesn’t need a full serving of grain, consider adding a multi-vitamin supplement to bridge the gap and help ensure that your horse is getting the vitamins and minerals he needs.
Feeding Fundamentals
Credits: 1
You should aim to feed the minimum amount of grain needed to maintain optimal body condition and performance level, to help support a healthy digestive tract and avoid unwanted weight gain. While elite athletes and hard keepers often need the added calories that grain provides, many horses simply don’t. Feeding grain to horses that don’t need it can cause a variety of problems, from digestive upset to obesity, excitability, and more. Want some extra credit? Visit SmartPak.com/Diet to learn more.
Use the chart above or visit SmartPak.com/SmartVite for a customized recommendation from our SmartVite Verifier!
great advice, spot on food choices, hilarious cartoons and now i’m well educated
Soooo,my Andy izzz a Hippie!! A ‘doing good’ hippie! Enjoyed the education
I found this to be a good read and they would consider my horse and 8th year senior because she’s 19 and spends everyday in a field and I go out and ride a few times a week but she’s a thoroughbred who is still a little thin and is on 3lbs of grain twice a day with free choice hay all day and the whole barn thought she was 4 years old until I said she was 19. So my horse gets a lot more grain than any of the four cartoon horses would so I’m not sure she would fit into any category perfectly.
I dont have my horse anymore i have sold him last year.
I do not have anymore horses i have sold the one that i have had.