Re: RC: Ca:Phos ratio

[Sheila <tondi313@yahoo.com>]

Sarah,

I agree with you regarding the higher P in grains and
grasses and brans.  What do you think of veryhard
water as part of the diet? We have high calcium in our
ground water.  Have you ever seen any literature
regarding this?  In the SW, our horses drink between
30 - 50 gallons of water/day depending on heat, such
as 110 - 125 degrees/day.  This is quite a bit of
extra calcium they ingest.

Thanks,

She

--- Sarah Ralston <ralston@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU> wrote:
> Grain is higher in phosphorus than calcium, unless
> calcium 
> has been added to the mix by the manufacturer (read
> the 
> labels). Adding a lot of grain will increase the
> phosphorus intake, reducing the Ca:Phos ratio. You
> never
> want to feed more phosphorus than calcium (Ca:P
> ratio 
> less than 1:1). The 0.65% Ca in beet pulp is not
> excessively
> high-just high in relation to the phosphorus
> content. Most 
> alfalfa hays are >1.0% Ca with only 0.25% Phos. Most
> grass
> hays are between 0.4 and 0.65% Ca with 0.25-0.3%
> Phosphorus. 
> Straight grains are around 0.35% phosphorus with
> virtually no 
> Calcium. So, if feeding only grass hay and a lot of
> grain, 
> especially with added bran (Both rice and wheat
> brans are
>  >1.0% Phosphorus with virtually no Ca) you run the
> risk of
> getting higher phosphorus than Ca intake. Some rice
> bran products
> now have added Ca to balance out the high
> Phosphorus. Read the labels!
> Adult horses need only 0.25% Phosphorus and 0.4% Ca
> in their total
> ration. Some Calcium but no phosphorus is lost in
> sweat, so 
> our exercising horses may have slightly higher Ca
> requirements 
> than a sedentary horse would. I would not fret about
> a slightly 
> high Ca intake. Anywhere up to about 1.0% in the
> total ration is 
> well tolerated by healthy horses (even higher in
> many cases). 
> Only horses with kidney disease would need to have
> it really 
> restricted to the required levels...)! They can
> tolerate
> excess calcium a lot better than excess phosphorus. 
> Vegetable and other oils contain no minerals-only 
> calories-so adding oil as an energy source will do
> nothing
> to the Ca:Phos ratio.
> 
> Sarah and Fling (Mom-stop pontificating and get out
> here and ride me!)
> 
> 
>
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=====
She
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