Justifying not feeding a vitamin/mineral supplement

[Doc-t]

Hi Jenny – this is a common question or, I should say, mental block for horse owners looking at an all forage diet. Their response appears valid as fences do void any notion of “natural.” However they are overlooking two thoughts about horse nutrition.

The first is that the best source of minerals for horses is the ground water pumped from their wells and placed in their water buckets followed by a mined salt block hanging on the wall. Between these two sources plus any minerals found in the ground plants they eat, I don’t hear of horses having a mineral deficiency. Further, all mineral absorption is regulated by the horse chelating the minerals with a group of molecules called ligands. The most common ligand molecules are amino acids. With the theory that all horses being fed carbohydrates every day becoming deficient in amino acids, would a “mineral deficiency” really be created by a lack of supply or could it be from a lack of transport into the body? An interesting question.

Other than starvation, what horses held behind a fence and fed only forage and SBM have become mineral deficient? A great testimony comes from one of our members here who, after 2 years on the forage + SBM diet had blood work performed to verify any deficiencies – none found.

Vitamins in the horses are made by the bacteria in the gut. Other than starvation, have you found any vitamin deficient horses? In a meeting recently given by a veterinary researcher investigating Vitamin E, they have now determined that horses deficient in Vit E have a genetic defect that is consuming the Vit E faster than they can make it. This defect is rare yet if you follow the marketing, Vit E is a popular supplement in horses as it has also become popular in humans.

Many horse owners are applying what they know or have heard in human nutrition to horses, It is important to remember that horses are true vegetarians and humans are not (I am talking physiology here, not ethical or political motivation). Further, horses have a digestive tract similar to Tapirs and Rhinoceroses and no other common animal on Earth. The Rhinos I see on TV all seem perfectly fit though you could argue they have no fences. However in horses I still am not hearing about vitamin and mineral deficiencies. And did you notice the ingredients in all the vitamin and mineral supplements out there called “Balancers” and “Equalizers?”

The next time someone says to you that a horse being fed only ground growing plants confined to a fenced in pasture might be deficient in something, agree with them. Horses are a migratory animal with exposure to a variety of plants as they travel. But what they seek out are the variety of amino acids. This is a common problem in human vegetarians who need to eat a variety of plants in abundance far greater than carnivores to achieve their daily amino acid goals (the protein leverage hypothesis). But the vitamins are made by the gut microbes and the minerals are consumed in the water and fertilized plants and in the supplemented mined salt source.

[Kathy]

I’ve been completely compliant with this diet for 2-1/2 years. Two years in, I spent $300 to run a full blood panel on one of my four horses just to check and it came back showing he was getting everything he needed from pasture, grass and alfalfa hay, dehulled SBM, water and free choice naturally mined salt.

[Kerry]

Hi everyone. On a similar theme, if a horse licks the soil occasionally particularly during the winter, could that be sign the horse is lacking a nutrient which we should address or is it a natural adaptive response? Thanks

[Jenny]

Thanks for your helpful replies. I now feel I have a good response to people’s concerns. In the UK we all get our water from the water companies very few people will have a well. Our local water company gets the water from deep underground aquifers. I went on their website and looked up our water analysis, it was packed full of minerals!

Kathy I remember you posted you did a full blood profile for your horse which showed all was well. Are you the same person who put a video of riding Grand Prix on Facebook? If so as a fellow dressage rider it was hugely inspiring.

Having done the Nutrition course and knowing what I know now I find it so disheartening when I see misinformation banded about. This weeks ‘The Horse.com’ has an article on Essential Vitamins and Minerals your Horse Needs actually says;

“Modern horse diets are commonly deficient in some vitamins and minerals.”

On a lighter note, Dr T I loved your webinar on Sunday, 5pm is a much better time, thank you. My husband, a retired surgeon, is in total agreement with you about the quality of some research papers. He asked me to pass on to you that one paper he was asked to review for the British Medical Journal had some obscure German references. He took a German speaker along to the library (this was pre internet) and looked them up. They were all on totally different subjects!

[Kathy]

Thanks Jenny! That was our first weekend at Grand Prix’ last month. 2-1/2 years ago, before finding this diet, I was going to have to sell this horse or likely get badly hurt. His response to pulling grain was dramatic and quick. The protein supplementation from SBM has him beautifully muscled and strong with all the strength and endurance he needs for the job. He is happy and healthy in his work and an absolute joy to ride.

[Jenny]

Ahh, I thought that was you! I’m hugely impressed. I’m lucky enough to have a trainer who teaches all her pupils and their horses as if they were aiming for GP. Her daughters are both FEI GP riders and have ridden Internationally. Although we all mostly manage the movements that is a world apart from putting them all together in a test!