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Share your “No Grain” success stories here!
My four horses have been on this diet 2-1/2 years. We are completely compliant and I’m absolutely thrilled with the results. They are out 24/7 with access to coastal burmuda pasture in the summer and coastal rye in the winter, Himalayan and/or Redmond’s salt blocks, and an automatic waterer. In the winter they get Canadian Timothy or timothy mix hay 24/7 in slow feeders. They are fed twice a day: a flake of good alfalfa hay plus dehulled SBM (the smaller mare gets 1/2 pound and the three big boys get 3/4 pound). Treats are mini alfalfa cubes. That is it.
1) teenage warmblood FEI dressage horse was dangerously explosive before diet change: ulcers resolved almost immediately; not a single moment of explosive behavior since I pulled grain; he came to me five years ago with chronic quartercracks but a combination of a very skilled farrier and the excellent protein in SBM has made the cracks history; trailering issues are gone; he is well-muscles without excess fat and is doing all the GP work. After two years on diet I pulled a full blood panel to confirm he was getting everything he needed from pasture, hay, water, SBM and free-choice naturally-mined salt (he got some Coolstance the first couple of winters when in hard work ). Bloodwork came back normal. Good confirmation that the diet is working for him without added supplements needed.
2) 24yo warmblood has finally lost fat pads behind the saddle flap that he had for many years, no one can believe his age based on condition, movement, topline and attitude; a bad ligament injury sustained just as we were starting the diet repaired much better than my vet feared it would, and she believes the amino acids in the SBM were a big help; he’s long been back to work and gallops and jumps.
3) 23yo draft cross has lost all excess under belly, self regulates and maintains weight, and I just noticed this week that he’s put on so much topline butt muscle that the hunter’s bump that had been there for many, many years is pretty much gone; no one can believe his age seeing his condition and attitude and he loves to work
4) teenage TB mare used to spook and spin dramatically when startled, now just startles/spooks in place, has only done one modest spin since diet change 2-1/2 years ago. The only thing that I hoped to see improve with diet change that didn’t is that she is still girthy and has been her entire life. A round of Suceed made no difference, I think she just likes per personal space. Good condition, jumping very well, and flat work improving steadily.
I give the no grain diet gold:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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5 Replies
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Hi Kathy,
It’s good to hear your experience of the diet. After doing the Nutrition Course I Body Conditioned Scored (BCS) my horse, Jordao a Lusitano, found him to be 6.5 with a Top Line Score (TLS) of D! I swung into action, started soaking his hay, took off his rug, increased his exercise and sourced some SBM. It’s easily available in the UK and as cheap as chips (French fries). 2 months in he is losing his fat but maintaining what topline he has. He is attracting comments about him looking thin. His BCS is about 5.5 now. I think his obvious chronic protein deficiency is more marked now he hasn’t the fat to disguise it and also people’s perceptions have changed. A fit horse is seen as thin and a moderately fat horse is seen as the ideal body condition. There are a lot of over weight horses in the UK.
Jordao’s mini companion who I thought was always a bit fat actually has a BCS of 5.5 and a TLS of A! I’m thinking I need to deploy a treatment plan of my husband’s, a retired doctor, of “Masterly inactivity with cat like observation” and wait for the new feeding regime and do it’s thing. Any advice would be welcome.
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I ditto @Kathy – be patient. The muscle will take 6 to 12 months or more to return while the fat is quick to go. What is more important is the improved attitude soon followed by the improved overall health of the horse. Improved work ethic and improved resiliency and recovery after exercise are common observations along with improved hair coat and loss of the hay belly. Muscles and hooves take much longer. This is why step 3 in the blog “Feeding Horses As Simple As 1, 2, 3” is so important – write all your observations down in a journal. It is easy to have time quickly pass anticipations rather than having anticipations be revealed in time – like waiting for something expecting it to come sooner than reality can deliver.
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My best advice is to be patient and trust the process. At two months in I think it’s the point that folks are most likely to bale because the fat is leaving and revealing the loss of muscle underneath, and the protein supplementation hasn’t been going on long enough to see the impact it will make on topline. It just takes longer to build muscle than to reduce fat. But if you stay the course I think you will start seeing the muscle layering on before much longer. Since you’ve taken the course, you are recognizing exactly what is happening and why. People feeding the traditional way just see “weight loss” and are alarmed and don’t recognize “fat loss” as a tge good thing it is
I think horses who’ve been on this diet a while look leaner and more athletic than they did before on grain. I can see a real difference in the underbelly, the grain free horses are much more streamlined there. I see a lot of chubby to obese horses at shows. Your eye gets used to what it sees all the time.
But given a bit more time as muscle fills in you can expect comments on how good your horse looks. People will notice 😁
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You are a champion, @Kathy , for all the horses you have touched and will touch in the future! Thank you for trusting the process and being patient. Your words here will help many and we are all so grateful for the time you spent in doing, recording and reporting. 🤠
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Thank you both for your responses. I’m in for the longterm. I have already noticed his stomach muscles looking tighter.
I’m shocked that in all the time I’ve had horses I never new about the BCS or TLS. Between them I have an objective assessment of the amount of fat and muscle on my horses.
I hadn’t knowingly been feeding grain, just a simple Balancer, although there may well have been grain in it. What a good marketing word “balancer” is. It implies without it your horse’s nutrition is unbalanced. Jordao has always been good behaviourally, although I have noticed recently he is less likely to anticipating me and take over when I’m schooling him, now he waits for my aid. 😀
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