Re: Nutrition of Carrots?

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

>
> Does anybody know what nutritional value carrots have?  I know they
contain lots of good things, but in terms of feeding it to our horses, do
they actually contribute anything nutritionally?  Or are they there just as

Yup, they actually have some nutritional value.  On a dryweight basis (ie,
after you've sucked all the water out), they have the same energy content as
grain.  Allowing for the 75-80% water content, 7-8 pounds of fresh carrots
provides the same energy as a pound of grain, plus a gallon of water.  Plus,
they're a great source of carotene, the precursor to retinol/vitamin A, a
nifty antioxidant and substrate required for things like tendons and
ligaments such.  And, while some horses on a ride won't eat hay or grain or
beet pulp out on the trail, it's a pretty rare (or suck) horse that won't
munch carrots on the trail.  As Truman described, pretty nifty way to keep
the mail moving.  And horses will never learn any trick faster than turning
their head around to grab a carrot from the saddle (Karen Chaton's horse
Weaver can reach back to the fanny pack to help himself when no one's
watching.<g>)

So, yup, plenty of real nutrition there.  Have at it.

Susan G