Question
Herman lives in an overgrazed one-acre pasture with another gelding. He gets 20-25 lb (9-11 kg) of second-cut grass hay mixed with first-cut (70/30 mix). I know that Herman is overweight. He gets 0.5 lb (0.23 kg) of hay pellets, just enough to mix in supplements. For supplements, he gets multiple gastrointestinal support products, joint help, vitamin E, and supplements to help with his recurrent uveitis. I’ve included bloodwork results and hay analysis. I think he’s consuming way too much iron, and I’m worried that’s affecting his selenium status. What should I do?
Answer
Herman’s blood iron levels fall within the normal range, which makes me less concerned about iron overload. However, if you want to be proactive, you can feed an iron chelator to help excrete iron. Turmeric is a good option if it is not already included in other supplements. I would double-check that the uveitis supplements are not contributing iron to the diet, but otherwise they shouldn’t be a problem to feed even when added to a fortified diet.
Selenium is likely low because of his diet and not from iron interfering with absorption. The best thing to do for this diet is to balance the nutrients with a ration balancer pellet. I would get him started on a balanced diet and retest down the road.
Ration balancer pellets are the best way to deliver protein, vitamins, and minerals needed for performance and health without having to offer a lot of feed. Based on his size, I imagine he will need around 2 lb (0.9 kg) per day. It is important to weigh the amount fed and follow the feeding directions to make sure he is getting proper levels of nutrients from feed. Although 2 lb (0.9 kg) is a lot more pellets than you are currently giving, it will not contribute many extra calories to the diet and provide far more nutrients.
His current hay intake is about 1.5% of body weight, so I wouldn’t go much lower than 22 lb (10 kg) per day to help maintain digestive health. The hay pellets would no longer be necessary because he will be getting a small amount of balancer pellet to mix with supplements.
I suggest simplifying the gastrointestinal support by feeding a total digestive tract buffer. RiteTrac, developed by Kentucky Equine Research, offers gastric support with a blend of antacids and coating agents proven to protect the stomach lining and reduce the risk of gastric ulcers. RiteTrac also contains the unique hindgut buffer EquiShure.
EquiShure is a time-released hindgut buffer designed to balance the pH. Maintaining a healthy hindgut environment ensures the microbial population can function properly for optimal fiber fermentation and digestion.
I also recommend EO-3, a fish oil that provides a source of DHA and EPA long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Flax and other plant-derived sources offer alpha‐linolenic acid (ALA), short‐chain omega‐3s that require the conversion to DHA and EPA to be most beneficial. Research has found that the horse has a limited capacity to complete the conversion process. In order to avoid the inefficient conversion process, we recommend feeding a direct source of DHA and EPA omega-3s with EO-3. Omega-3s offer great anti-inflammatory benefits that have been shown to help with arthritis and also to have immune-boosting benefits.
