Of course, then there's the folks like me who are
convinced we MUST supplement our 50-mile horses to get them through
rides... Competitively (tho' I'm not worried about that right now--too
busy to ride, lately.)
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.
