Tag Archives: salt

The Most Common Deficiency Impacting Equine Performance

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Dr. Kellon

Diet is critical to performance so it only makes sense that people look to diet and supplements to enhance it. What is the most common deficiency limiting performance? Is it E and selenium, carbohydrate type, hay type, some critical amino … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Electrolytes in Winter

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Dr. Kellon

Horses don’t need electrolytes in winter – right? Wrong. Electrolytes are minerals that exist in the body in an electrically charged form. The major ones are sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate. The body makes its own bicarbonate but the others … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Special Needs of Winter Feeding

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Dr. Kellon

Plenty is written every year about the basics of winter feeding, including: These things are critically important for all horses, to help prevent weight loss and impaction. However, it doesn’t stop there for special needs horses. Low moisture winter feedstuffs … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Three Things Every Hay-Based Diet Needs

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Dr. Kellon

All hays require some protein/amino acid and/or mineral balancing but this is highly variable even within a geographical region and is best done by analyzing the hay to see what the starting point truly is. The first is also lacking … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Flagging Energy – Performance In The Heat

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Dr. Kellon

A common concern this time of year is horses that lack energy for exercise.  There are no apparent health or lameness issues but the horse is either “flat” or starts out well but hits a wall that is at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Topping Off Hay Diets

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Dr. Kellon

Hay is just dried grass and grass is the horse’s natural food so it shouldn’t need any supplementation – right? Wrong. Variety is a major difference between the diet of feral horses and that of  domesticated horses fed hay.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Electrolyte Problems in Endurance Horses

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Dr. Kellon

Electrolyte problems in the heat are directly proportional to sweat loss so it makes perfect sense that horses working long periods are at greatest risk.  This puts the spotlight on endurance horses. Australian endurance horse champion Omani Mr. Squiggle owned … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Digestive Issues in Horses on Dry Diets

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Dr. Kellon

When horses can’t have fresh pasture, either because of stall confinement or the season, the logical next best thing is hay. After all, hay is just dried grass. All the major nutrients – fiber, protein, carbohydrate – are basically the … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Nutrition for the Lactating Mare

Posted on May 4, 2019 by Dr. Kellon

There is a reason the horse evolved to foal in the Spring. The rich, tender, high moisture young vegetation provides the energy and protein dense nutrition the mare needs to make sufficient milk. In peak lactation the mare needs 1.8X … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Preventing Colic in Winter

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Dr. Kellon

You have probably seen this topic appear several times and in many places – with good reason. Colic is more common in winter (and fall), and the risk factors can be mitigated for the most part. vetmed.illinois.edu Impaction colic is … Continue reading →

Posted in Equine Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment