Natural Feeding
| All rights reserved. natures-natural-horse 2009 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Natural Feeding referring to what a
horse eats in nature, can be hard to
duplicate. I know there is a lot of controversy
about dried baled forage but a horse in his
natural setting does eat dry grasses in the
late summer, fall and winter months. These
grasses are dried naturally from lack of rain
and the end of growing seasons. I like to
turn my horses out as much as possible.
When winter sets in I don't mind feeding
stored hay. I think a good combination of
Bermuda grass and alfalfa hay twice daily is
acceptable. My first choice is always that
years cutting. Baled, stored hay of any kind
looses its nutrients over time, so the fresher
the better. Horses just as any other living
creature, depends on good nutrition to
survive. Looking at statistics, horses are
showing up more and more with auto
immune diseases just like dogs, cats and
humans. After my own battle with cancer and
my discovery of natural healing, I believe it
all stems from nutrition. The number one
auto immune disease I see in horses is
Arthritis. Cancer is another ugly disease
horses aren't immune too either. Horses
need to pick and choose what they need as
much as possible. If you watch a horse
graze in a natural pasture, he picks at this
and nibbles at that, he is really choosing
what he wants. Now if the pasture is
controlled and just thick fertilized grasses he
just eats what is in front of him. In nature
there is a smorgasbord of vegetation to pick
from. He is given a choice and knows
instinctively what he needs. I know we can't
keep our horses in pastures like this, most
of us don't have enough room. The question
is how can we keep the horse in captivity
and simulate a natural feeding program?
horse eats in nature, can be hard to
duplicate. I know there is a lot of controversy
about dried baled forage but a horse in his
natural setting does eat dry grasses in the
late summer, fall and winter months. These
grasses are dried naturally from lack of rain
and the end of growing seasons. I like to
turn my horses out as much as possible.
When winter sets in I don't mind feeding
stored hay. I think a good combination of
Bermuda grass and alfalfa hay twice daily is
acceptable. My first choice is always that
years cutting. Baled, stored hay of any kind
looses its nutrients over time, so the fresher
the better. Horses just as any other living
creature, depends on good nutrition to
survive. Looking at statistics, horses are
showing up more and more with auto
immune diseases just like dogs, cats and
humans. After my own battle with cancer and
my discovery of natural healing, I believe it
all stems from nutrition. The number one
auto immune disease I see in horses is
Arthritis. Cancer is another ugly disease
horses aren't immune too either. Horses
need to pick and choose what they need as
much as possible. If you watch a horse
graze in a natural pasture, he picks at this
and nibbles at that, he is really choosing
what he wants. Now if the pasture is
controlled and just thick fertilized grasses he
just eats what is in front of him. In nature
there is a smorgasbord of vegetation to pick
from. He is given a choice and knows
instinctively what he needs. I know we can't
keep our horses in pastures like this, most
of us don't have enough room. The question
is how can we keep the horse in captivity
and simulate a natural feeding program?
| Healthy Horses Are Happy Horses |
Just as I had to change my lifestyle
to accomidate my own natural diet. I have
decided to change my horses lifestyle to
accomidate his natural diet. How hard will
this be? Well that will depend on how you
and your horses operate. If you have a
show horse it may be a bit more
complicated. If your horse is a pasture
ornatment of course it will be pretty easy.
Mine I guess were somewhere in the middle.
Years ago before I traveled this new road, I
had show horses. They were stalled in small
stalls, with 1 hour turn outs in an area
without grass. They were feed Alfalfa hay
and pellets twice daily and all kinds of
supplements/grains etc. Not what a horse in
nature would eat and surely not what God
intended. They looked good but the effects
take years to rear thier ugly head. Now my
horses are allowed to be horses. I have
boxed stalls and they are used but the
horses get at least 6 hours of turn out with
grass. They still get thier dry forage but I
mix it up as much as possible. I give them
varity and try to give them choices. If we
travel (Team Roping) we skip the turn outs
for a few days, and that won't hurt! I bring
Burmuda hay as well as Alfalfa and offer
both. As soon as we are back home, turn
outs are back to normal.
to accomidate my own natural diet. I have
decided to change my horses lifestyle to
accomidate his natural diet. How hard will
this be? Well that will depend on how you
and your horses operate. If you have a
show horse it may be a bit more
complicated. If your horse is a pasture
ornatment of course it will be pretty easy.
Mine I guess were somewhere in the middle.
Years ago before I traveled this new road, I
had show horses. They were stalled in small
stalls, with 1 hour turn outs in an area
without grass. They were feed Alfalfa hay
and pellets twice daily and all kinds of
supplements/grains etc. Not what a horse in
nature would eat and surely not what God
intended. They looked good but the effects
take years to rear thier ugly head. Now my
horses are allowed to be horses. I have
boxed stalls and they are used but the
horses get at least 6 hours of turn out with
grass. They still get thier dry forage but I
mix it up as much as possible. I give them
varity and try to give them choices. If we
travel (Team Roping) we skip the turn outs
for a few days, and that won't hurt! I bring
Burmuda hay as well as Alfalfa and offer
both. As soon as we are back home, turn
outs are back to normal.
The answer to the question is- "keep
everything as natural as possible".
We have sprigged Bermuda in our pastures
but we have native grasses and other
vegetation as well. We do not spray
herbicides every year to cut back some of
the invasive vegetation. Horses do need
grass, so if a pasture is in really bad
condition it may be necessary to spray
herbicides in the beginning or if you notice
unwanted vegetation is getting out of
control. We do not spray for ragweed or
thistle because the chemicals themselves
are far worse to our horses. I have seen my
horses eat thistles, not too many but they
has chosen them, even over fresh green
grass. I truly think good pasture
management is not the chemicals you put
down or the grass you have but a diverse
selection with a good mix of seasonal
grasses. Mowing can be as good as any
chemical. Mowing keeps invasive weeds
down and allows the good grass the light
they need to survive.
everything as natural as possible".
We have sprigged Bermuda in our pastures
but we have native grasses and other
vegetation as well. We do not spray
herbicides every year to cut back some of
the invasive vegetation. Horses do need
grass, so if a pasture is in really bad
condition it may be necessary to spray
herbicides in the beginning or if you notice
unwanted vegetation is getting out of
control. We do not spray for ragweed or
thistle because the chemicals themselves
are far worse to our horses. I have seen my
horses eat thistles, not too many but they
has chosen them, even over fresh green
grass. I truly think good pasture
management is not the chemicals you put
down or the grass you have but a diverse
selection with a good mix of seasonal
grasses. Mowing can be as good as any
chemical. Mowing keeps invasive weeds
down and allows the good grass the light
they need to survive.
| Looking for a good Horse? Have a horse for sale? Visit our new Horse Classifieds Click Below Ranch and Arena Horse For Sale.Com |