Question

I own a 20-year-old Quarter Horse—14.1 hands, 1,000 lb (450 kg). He’s on 24-hour turnout, occasionally ridden, and his weight is just right. He’s fed 3 quarts of a maintenance sweet feed, trace minerals, ground flax, and round-baled grass hay. When he comes into the barn, he is offered grass hay. I’d like to improve his general muscle development, and specifically his topline, and I am especially curious about adding vitamin E to his diet.

Answer

Providing a balanced diet with good-quality protein and amino acids can help support topline development and reduce muscle-wasting. Mature horses have relatively low dietary protein requirements; however, protein quality can be a limiting factor when feeding grass hays. Soybean meal and alfalfa are high-quality, plant-based protein sources that can be used to increase overall protein intake as well as provide essential amino acids.

Using a ration balancer formulated to be fed with grass hay is a way to provide protein as well as the additional vitamins and minerals needed to balance the amount of feed you’re offering the horse. Ration balancers are helpful products when horses are being fed less product than the manufacturer recommends on the feeding directions.

Another option is to supplement the grass hay with alfalfa as hay or processed products such as hay cubes or pellets. Like a ration balancer, alfalfa will provide more calories as well as protein, both needed to improve overall body condition and muscling.

Vitamin E supplementation can help in these cases as well, particularly if access to grazing good-quality pasture is limited. Natural source vitamin E is the most bioavailable and can be rapidly absorbed to increase vitamin E status and overall antioxidant protection. Older horses can benefit from vitamin E supplementation for several health reasons, including immune support. A general recommendation would be to offer 1,000-2,000 IU vitamin E (4-8 ml of Nano-E) per day.