As horsekeepers, we know many of our equine friends do best on an all-forage diet. After all, that’s what Mother Nature intended, right?

But there’s a catch. Even top–quality grass or hay may not deliver all the nutrients needed for a balanced diet—at least consistently.

So what’s the answer? (Hint: It isn’t more hay!) While it’s always best to consult your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist about dietary changes, you might consider adding a ration balancer or a vitamin/mineral supplement formulated specifically for horses on an all-forage regimen.

Why isn’t forage enough?

It’s true that fresh grass and quality dried forage can meet many, if not most, equine dietary needs. However, their nutritional value isn’t as stable as you might assume.

As your local cooperative extension service will confirm, the nutritional composition of pasture grasses and legumes changes rapidly from night to day, and from season to season. Take your lush spring pasture, for example. While it is bursting with nutrients at first, it becomes more fibrous as it matures, with less protein and fewer of the digestible nutrients needed for energy.

Other factors that can contribute to a pasture’s changing dietary values include overgrazing and poor management. This is especially true if the soil has become depleted of nutrients.

Once hay is cut and cured, there is a sharp decline in the amount of vitamin E and beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor) it contains. Therefore, freshness and the length of time spent in storage matter as much as the type of hay (alfalfa vs. orchard grass, for example). And of course, the hay’s nutritional value will vary with each lot you purchase.

This is especially important to consider if you’re feeding horses with increased needs. Examples include high-performance horses, breeding stock, youngsters, or horses recovering from stress or illness. Horses in these categories often require nutritional support beyond what even the best pasture or hay can offer.

Nor is grain a reliable gap-filler. With fortified feeds, you must feed the manufacturer’s recommended amount to reap the advertised vitamin/mineral benefits. And that amount often provides more calories than what is ideal for easy keepers.

This is where a ration balancer designed for easy keepers—or horses whose systems cannot tolerate much grain—might help.

What is lacking in my horse’s diet?

Most horsekeepers assess their hay regularly for color, smell, maturity, and leafiness.

However, to get a more definitive assessment of the nutritional content of your hay, consider pulling a representative sample of hay across several bales in a single lot and sending it to a lab for testing. A basic analysis usually includes values for digestible energy, fiber, crude protein, sugar and starch levels, as well as some minerals. Additional testing for mold counts and other minerals and vitamins can sometimes be arranged by request.

Of course, you’ll need to take into account the cut and cure dates mentioned previously, as well as how long that lot has spent in storage. Since forage makes up a large part of most equine diets, even small imbalances can have an impact over time.

Pasture samples can also be sent in for analysis by commercial labs. However, the ever-changing nutrient levels in green pasture are much harder to pin down than those in hay. At best you’ll have a snapshot of the pasture content at a certain time of day during a certain week during a certain season.

What to look for in a balancer or supplement

So, once you have an idea of the nutritional value of your horse’s current forage—including its weak points—what next?

Searching for a suitable ration balancer or supplement is as much about avoiding “doubling up” on nutrients as it is filling the gaps. Remember, too, that if you’re feeding anything in addition to forage, some ingredients may interfere with the absorption of others. Feeding multiple supplements is risky for the same reasons.

So do your research and make sure that you’re targeting your horse’s needs as specifically as possible. You should be correcting imbalances without going overboard (and without piling on extra calories or protein).

Things to look for include:

• Formulas designed especially for horses on forage-based diets, a reduced or concentrated feeding rate, minimal starch and sugar and nutrient percentages that reflect well-established equine requirements
• Levels of vitamins A and E that adequately address the depletion rates common in stored hay
• Essential amino acids for growth and muscle development
• Omega-3 fatty acids for healthy skin, haircoat and hooves, with organic trace minerals (copper, selenium, manganese, zinc) in readily absorbable forms
• Consider Sentinel Care Topline 30 or Sentinel Simply Lite to satisfy the components of a proper balancer depending on the needs of your horse

You might also contemplate supplements containing B-complex vitamins for horses with increased needs and prebiotics/probiotics for digestive health and maximum assimilation of nutrients.

Conclusion

Before making any changes to your horse’s ration, you’ll want to gather information and weigh all the factors. To ensure you’re on the right track, consult your veterinarian or contact a qualified equine nutritionist for a dietary analysis.

When all is said and done, thoughtful supplementation can transform good forage into a much healthier, more complete equine diet.