The difference between horses and humans is horses are
herbivores only and humans are omnivores. Horses don't eat meat.
Humans will eat almost anything and can digest it. Pigs and bears come to
mind as omnivores...they'll eat either meat or plant food. I can't accept
your analogy.
You could say that about humans. I don't need anything but good
quality beef and I will be fine. That is simply not true! Just because it is
an animal people assume that it "only needs Hay" Fine with that thinking lets
just only feed our kids beef and see what happens. They will be overweight
have health issues, etc. I can't believe people think that! Ignorance is bliss
I guess.
I belong to the "what does a horse need other than
grass or good quality hay?" supporters. If the horse starts to lose
weight, feed more hay and maybe some extra...beet pulp, rice bran,
oats?...
I just don't see where it is necessary to fill them
full of "supplements." If the feed is good quality, it most likely has
all the necessary nutritional stuff. I think supplements are a great
way for the manufacturers to make money. They've led us to believe
that if we don't feed supplement XYZ, we are being cruel to our
horses. Horsefeathers!
My wife has been feeding her horses oats and
sunflower seeds for a few months, and we recently (gradually) moved my
endurance horse over to oats (not the sunflower seeds) on a trial
basis. How do I know what supplements to feed her now that she is
not getting a "complete" sweet feed?
Her weight has ballooned (although I've not
ridden her since May due to work and my dad's health, which has required
me to be out of town). She looks healthy and seems to have lots of
energy, and I hope to ride her later this week.
