17th, March, 2010 Food for thought

Last night I went to a talk by the makers of Badminton Horse Feeds which are based in our local area but sell feed internationally. Although they stressed the need for lots of fibre in horses' feeds and the dangers of gastric ulcers, I felt that they skated around the issue of molasses (added sugar) in horse feed. Molasses are used to make sure that the product is sticky enough to go in the bag and to make the feed look and smell nice so that we feel like eating it ourselves. Similarly, cereal makes feed look like muesli. Horses did not evolve to eat these feeds and although they mentioned that large feeds can do damage if they pass through to the hind gut and some horses can be allergic to some cereals (and alfalfa), they didn't seem to accept that sugars and cereals can have a massive impact on a horse's behaviour. Most horses in this country do not do enough work to justify the need for quick release, high energy food and in any event would be best served by oils if stamina is what is required. Cereals began to be used in horse feed for military expediency (easier to carry oats than hay) and because they were cheap. Most horses would do better on a high fibre diet with no added cereals or molasses and if your horse has behavioural problems then removing these two ingredients can make a difference very quickly. I did learn however, that horses that are good doers and basically only receive a thank you feed, are likely to run short of vitamins and minerals at least in the winter and therefore I will be getting a bag of their feed balancer to rectify that. It's called Even Keel. They also do make one mix that doesn't have molasses and cereal in it and is high in oil, so I shall be giving that a try. I want to support a local business and buy it through a local stockist if I can.