Question

I have a 10-year-old Icelandic stallion that I ride every other day, either schooling low-level dressage or trail-riding. He’s a body condition score of 7. He is fed 15 lb (7 kg) of clean, mature hay per day, 0.5 lb (0.25 kg) of concentrate intended for leisure horses, and several other products, including multivitamin, magnesium, and turmeric supplements. His coat is shiny, but his skin is dry with dandruff, so he itches a lot. It’s likely not sensitivity to Culicoides spp., as he itches year-round, not just in summertime. He also licks dirt sometimes and eats dandelions and thistles when he is turned out, so I wonder if he is getting the nutrients he needs. An allergy test revealed nothing. Any ideas?

Answer

Many horses are naturally inquisitive, so occasionally eating nonnutritious things like dirt or tree bark may simply be investigative behavior, not a nutritional deficiency. Many horses find dandelions palatable, and many have also been caught taste-testing thistles. Offering free-choice access to a salt lick or adding a high-quality electrolyte supplement to horses that sweat regularly is recommended. If he is looking for salt, these management strategies should satisfy that want.

If the hay is of low nutritional quality, it may not be supplying optimal amounts of protein and essential amino acids. To correct this, you can offer a higher protein supplement (20% or more crude protein) such as a ration balancer that would replace the small amount of concentrate and the multivitamin. To help facilitate weight loss, the amount of hay offered may need to be reduced even though it is of lower caloric value. Chronic obesity can lead to metabolic problems as horses and ponies age.

Omega-3 fatty acids are excellent for horses with allergies and skin problems. Kentucky Equine Research has investigated the health benefits of supplementing with marine-derived fatty acids such as EO-3 compared to plant-based sources like flax. The longer-chain omega-3 fatty acids from EO-3 are more efficiently utilized by the horse and offer greater health benefits.

Horses that don’t graze good-quality grass can also benefit from supplementation with natural-source vitamin E such as Nano-E. Vitamin E plays an important role in many body functions, including immunity.