McGrath Stockfeeds

08/11/2024

08/11/2024

🩺 Vital Signs: Horse Health Safety Check (Continued) 🐴

Keeping a close watch on these additional signs helps ensure your horse stays healthy and allows you to catch potential issues early.

📋 Other Signs to Monitor

Attitude – Changes can indicate discomfort or illness
Eating & Drinking – The average 500kg horse should drink 12-40L per day 🪣
F***l and Urine Output 🚽 – Consistency and frequency are key
Gait – Observe for any signs of lameness or stiffness
⚠️ Contact a Veterinarian Immediately for

Choke
Colic
Collapse
Eye Trauma 👁️
Prolonged or Difficult Foaling 🐴
Major Wounds (lacerated arteries, joints, body cavity, exposed bone)
Profuse Haemorrhage (nasal, castration site)
Respiratory Distress 🫁
Road & Traffic Accidents
Severe Lameness (“three-legged” stance)
📞 Emergency Prep

Keep your veterinarian’s contact information easily accessible, along with a backup emergency contact 📲
Know your nearest specialist center location 🏥
Have a transportation plan ready if your horse needs to be moved
🩹 First Aid Kit Essentials

Thermometer 🌡️
Stethoscope
Scissors & Haemostats ✂️
Hoof Pick & Wire Cutters
Chlorhexidine Scrub & Iodine Solution
Alcohol & Gauze Swabs 🩹
Antiseptic Ointment/Powder
Sterile Water/Saline & Syringes (60ml, 18g)
Non-stick Wound Dressings (e.g., Melolin)
Gauze & Elastic Bandages (e.g., vetrap)
Cotton Wool & Feminine Hygiene Products (for wound dressing)
Nappies – Great for foot bandages! 👶
Duct Tape & Sterile Gloves
Disinfectant (e.g., Virkon)
Towels, Electrolytes & Flashlight 🔦
Notebook and Pen 🖊️
🧴 Storage: Keep your kit in an airtight container, like a 20kg bucket with a lid.

💡 First Aid Tips

Know your horse’s normal vital signs for comparison
Apply pressure on bleeding wounds for at least 5 minutes
Always consult your vet before administering medications
Ensure vaccinations are up-to-date (especially tetanus)
Gradually adjust diets with a nutritionist’s guidance to avoid digestive upset
Avoid moving a horse that is “tied up”

07/11/2024

🩺 Vital Signs: Horse Health Safety Check 🐴

Regularly monitoring your horse's vital signs helps you understand their normal TPR (Temperature, Pulse, Respiration), so you can quickly spot any signs of illness or delayed recovery after exercise. Knowing what’s “normal” for your horse is key to catching issues early.

📋 Essential Health Checks

1️⃣ Temperature 🌡️
2️⃣ Respiration Rate (RR) 💨
3️⃣ Heart Rate (HR) ❤️
4️⃣ Capillary Refill Time (CRT) – Checks circulation
5️⃣ Hydration 💧
6️⃣ Gut Sounds 🔊 – Indicator of digestive health
7️⃣ Mucous Membranes – Color and moisture for health insight

🔍 Keep Checking
Other horse health safety checks coming soon... 🐴👀

05/11/2024

💧 How Much Water is Your Horse Drinking Each Day? 💧

For “Cool Energy”, a shiny coat, and overall health and wellbeing, your horse should be consuming 35-40L (about 2 buckets 🪣) of water each day! 🌞
When thinking about your horse's dietary needs, remember: Water is always No. 1! 🌊

🧂 Why Salt is Essential
Salt requirements vary based on climate, the individual horse, and the type of work they do. 🌡️ High temperatures and intense exercise raise salt needs as horses lose significant Sodium and Chloride ions through sweat.

🚫 Signs of Salt Deficiency

Lowered feed digestibility
Poor appetite 🍎
Dull, rough coats
Reduced work tolerance for active horses
💪 Salt Supplementation
It’s recommended to include 30-60 grams of salt per day, and even more during hot months. An additional salt lick is beneficial to meet variable needs! 🐴

04/11/2024

🌟 B-Group Vitamins... What’s All the Fuss About? 🌟

🧬 Essential Functions for Exercising Horses
B-group vitamins play numerous vital roles within the exercising horse:
💥 Energy Generation – Helping release stored energy reserves to fuel muscle contractions
🧠 Nervous System Support – Ensuring proper nerve function
💪 Protein Metabolism & Muscle Recovery – Crucial for cell repair and optimal muscle recovery after exercise

✨ Why B-Group Vitamins Matter for Performance

🌟 Peak Performance: Vital for horses undergoing intense exercise like endurance and eventing.
🔋 Recovery Boost: B-group vitamins reduce lactic acid buildup in muscles, a primary cause of fatigue, aiding in post-exercise recovery.
🏥 Support for Rehab: Beneficial for horses recovering from injury or illness.
🚀 Increased Requirements in Active Horses
Horses in training or competition have heightened needs for:
⚡ Energy
💪 Muscle Repair
🔬 Enzymatic Activity
❤️ Red Blood Cell Production

🔴 Red Blood Cell Production & Muscle Function
B12 and folic acid in the B-group are key for red blood cell formation, essential for transporting oxygen to muscles and removing carbon dioxide—keeping your horse performing at its best.

🧴 Recommended Supplementation for Horses in Full Work
🐴 Ration Balancer – 60g/day (30g morning & night)
💧 Salkavite – 60-90g/day with B-group vitamins (30g morning & night)
💦 Electro Paste – 30-60mL pre- and post-exercise

🌱 Calming Benefits of Vitamin B1
Known for its calming effect, Vitamin B1 supports heart and nervous system function, helping to minimize nervous or flighty behavior. 🌿 Ranvet’s Settle’em Plus and Calm Paste provide an excellent source of B1 for reducing hyperactivity.

📦 Storage Tip
B-group vitamins oxidize easily when exposed to air, so storing them in an airtight container is ideal for potency!

🌟 DID YOU KNOW?
B-group vitamins stimulate appetite in nervous and stressed horses, promoting better recovery and nutrient intake! 🐴🍃

02/11/2024

🌟 Title: "Defining and Applying Cool Feeds" 🌟

🌱 Does the labelling ‘cool feed’ mean just that?
Horse feed manufacturers have developed a significant market for ‘cool’ horse products, designed for horses that are sensitive to a grain-based ration. However, it is essential to understand and examine what qualifies a product to be labelled as a cool feed, ensuring an informed decision so that the most appropriate feedstuff is purchased.

🌿 The Role of Starch in Energy
Starch is essentially glucose molecules bonded together in bundles, providing one of the primary energy sources for exercising horses. However, the gastrointestinal tract of the horse has evolved to primarily digest and utilise fibre, with limited ability to digest starch. The problems associated with a starch-based ration are twofold:

🌾 The enzymatic breakdown of starch produces glucose, which enters the bloodstream, providing stimulus for activity. Hyper-energetic behaviour is often seen when starch intake does not align with exercise intensity.
🌾 Further along the digestive tract, undigested starch may overflow into the hindgut, where fermentation can lead to hindgut acidosis, causing an imbalance in hindgut flora and instigating various health issues.

🍃 What Makes a ‘Cool Feed’ Cool?
In general, raw starch from unprocessed grains can increase the incidence of hyper-energetic behaviour, especially in horses predisposed to erratic behaviour. Processing methods such as micronisation and extrusion help disrupt starch molecules in grains, making glucose units more available for digestion and reducing the amount of raw starch in the digestive system.

⚠️ Careful monitoring of processed grain intake is advised, as feeding excessive amounts can be detrimental. Processed grain ferments at a faster rate than unprocessed grain in the hindgut, which can lead to digestive issues.

🌟 Why Do Horses Need Starch?
Starch is digested and absorbed as glucose molecules, and insulin release removes glucose from the bloodstream to store as muscle glycogen. High-intensity activities like galloping or sprinting depend on stored muscle glycogen. In growing horse rations, starch is also necessary to stimulate skeletal growth. However, excessive starch can negatively impact cartilage development and skeletal growth, leading to developmental orthopaedic disorders (DOD’s).

🔍 When examining a ‘cool feed’ product, pay close attention to the ingredients rather than the packaging design.
Key Ingredients in Cool Feeds

💧 Soybean and Lupin Hulls: Known as ‘super fibres,’ these contain approximately 90% of the energy of cereal grains with minimal or no starch (0-2%). Adding oil to soybean or lupin hull rations provides a low-starch option suitable for horses prone to metabolic syndromes like laminitis, ‘tying up,’ or diagnosed with Insulin Resistance (IR) or Equine Cushing’s Syndrome (ECS).
🌱 Beet Pulp: A by-product of the sugar beet industry, available shredded or pelleted. Composed of bran and pollard, millmix is a by-product of grain milling (wheat, triticale, or rye) for flour. Starch levels vary between 2-20% (average ~14%) due to processing. Since millmix is low in calcium, it’s crucial to ensure that the feed has adequate calcium fortification for an appropriate calcium-to-phosphorus ratio.
🥥 Copra Meal: A by-product of coconut oil production, made from the white part of a coconut after heat treatment and oil extraction, with very low starch levels (

01/11/2024

Developmental Timeline

What occurs and when during gestation?
Knowledge of foetal development during gestation provides a critical tool to ensure the nutritional requirements of the broodmare and foetus are adequately addressed. This enables the provision of an optimal platform for the first crucial 12 months of growth and development, while also enabling future reproductive efficiency of the broodmare.

The gestation length of the broodmare is 335-345 days (approximately 11 months). During this time, foetal growth and development do not occur in a steady, linear fashion but rather minimal growth occurs during the first six months of gestation, with the majority of growth occurring in the last three months of gestation. This surge in foetal growth is reflected via the increased energy and protein requirements of the broodmare, shown in Graphs 1 & 2.

So what are the key points of consideration?

🗓️ During the first six-seven months of gestation, the broodmare has similar nutritional requirements to a resting horse, which increase significantly during the last three months of gestation.
🥩 Inadequate levels of energy and/or protein during this period can adversely affect fertility by delaying ovulation or resulting in embryonic death (Pugh, 2002). Additionally, adequate energy intake matched to the mare’s requirements ensures an optimum body condition for breeding.
⚖️ With this in mind, the nutritional status of the broodmare must be continually monitored to maintain a healthy body condition score (BCS) to support the growth of the foetus and ensure future breeding efficiency of the mare.
🦴 The growing foetus stores minerals within the liver during the last three months of gestation which are utilised during the first two months of life. Mare’s milk contains minute amounts of trace minerals (e.g.; zinc, copper, iodine) and therefore foal liver stores are crucial for optimal bone development and growth.
📉 Studies have shown zinc and copper supplementation during the last trimester can decrease the incidence of developmental orthopaedic disorders (DOD’s). Therefore, trace mineral supplementation such as Folactin Red® or Folactin Red PLUS®, particularly during the last trimester, is vitally important to enable sound growth and development of the foal.

31/10/2024

Developmental Orthopaedic Disease (DOD)

What is DOD?
Developmental Orthopaedic Disease (DOD) is a multi-factorial syndrome, which describes a range of skeletal problems associated with the growth and development of young horses. These abnormal bone/cartilage developments which arise in young horses may lead to future problems in soundness, health and performance.

Categories of DOD’s

🦴 Osteochondrosis: one of the most important and prevalent developmental orthopedic diseases of horses. Affecting the joints, osteochondrosis has been strongly correlated with excessive energy intake >120% National Research Council (NRC) recommended requirements. Conversely, excess protein >126% NRC requirements caused no greater incidence in DOD’s. Osteochondrosis is caused by a defect in the echondral ossification process which leads to osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).
🦠 Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD): The result of defective maturation of cartilage into bone. During growth, cartilage that does not ossify properly will not reach optimal strength and viability. Portions of the cartilage may crack under stress and may protrude into the joint causing future arthritic problems.
📏 Physitis: A defect in the ossification of the physis (growth plate/s), resulting in inflammation at the end of long bones giving an hour glass appearance.
🔄 Contracted Flexor Tendons: Flexural limb deformities occur when tightening or shortening of the flexor tendon impairs the ability for full extension of the leg. e.g; Club feet.
🦴 Subchondral Bone Cysts: Are similar to OCD lesions, however, the problem occurs deeper within the joint surface, causing joint fluid to leak into the cavity, the result of which is a fluid filled bone cyst.

Causes of DOD

🚀 Rapid and/or erratic growth
🦵 Trauma to the metaphyseal growth plate or articular cartilage
📜 Genetics/Heritability
🍃 Nutritional imbalances of broodmare and foal

So how can we prevent DOD’s from occurring?
DOD’s can be prevented through careful monitoring of growth and development of horses through managing nutrition and exercise. Some preventative measures are:

🥕 Provision of suitable forms of energy to ensure a steady rate of growth and development.
💪 Provision of a quality source of protein and amino acids such as Ranvet 500 PLUS® for muscle fibre, tendon and ligament development.
🍼 The use of creep feeding for the gradual transition to hard feed and to compensate for nutritional deficiencies in the mare's milk.
🧬 Provision of an optimal balance of minerals such as Folactin Red PLUS®, in particular calcium and phosphorous, zinc and copper to the mare during late gestation and to the foal will facilitate cartilage development, matrix mineralisation and bone growth.
🏃 Allow a gradual increase in exercise intensity (do not restrict free exercise).
🚫 Avoid breeding from genetic lines with a history of DOD’s.
🌱 Ensure optimal body condition of the broodmare (not too fat, not too thin!) during the final stages of gestation for appropriate development and positioning of the foetus.
🍽️ Feed small amounts frequently to avoid large fluctuations in digestive hormones.
Ranvet 500 Plus® is a concentrated protein supplement that contains high levels of essential amino acids (lysine, methionine and arginine) and additional vitamins and minerals to minimise mineral deficiencies that may result in a DOD.
Folactin Red PLUS® is a vitamin and mineral supplement that contains high levels of minerals required for optimal growth and development in a young horse. The provision of a reliable source of calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper and selenium will enable optimal bone mineralisation and remodeling, muscle fibre, tendon and ligament development.

30/10/2024

📋 Equine Gastric Ulcers 🐴
What are Gastric Ulcers?

Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) results from the progressive erosion of the lining within the distal oesophagus, stomach, and proximal small intestine due to gastric acid attack. Gastric ulcers can cause serious health and performance implications for affected horses. Ulcers most often develop on the upper lining of the stomach and at the junction between the upper and lower regions.
🌡 Causes of Gastric Ulcers

Acid buildup from insufficient feed intake or inadequate roughage (e.g., chaff, hay, pasture).
High-grain rations due to required digestive enzymes for starch breakdown.
Exercising on an empty stomach, allowing acid to reach the unprotected stomach area.
Excessive NSAID use, such as phenylbutazone (Bute).
Stress and long-distance transport.

⚠️ Signs of Gastric Ulcers

Poor or decreased performance
Nervous or erratic temperament
Behavioral changes, such as wind sucking, weaving, or stall walking
Lack of appetite or decreased appetite
Loss of condition, or inability to maintain or build body condition
Dull or dry coat
Anemia

🛠 How to Reduce the Risks of Gastric Ulcers

Maintaining an ulcer-free horse relies on managing stomach acid production and acidity by encouraging chewing throughout the day, which increases saliva production. Saliva contains bicarbonate, which neutralizes stomach acid.
Preventative Measures

Encourage increased chewing through a high-fiber diet.
Provide at least two meals daily to maintain stomach acidity and prevent acid from splashing into the non-glandular region of the stomach.
Ensure a minimum of 1% body weight in roughage daily (e.g., hay, chaff, pasture) with constant access via hay nets or pasture turnout.
Regular dental checks to support adequate chewing.
Limit NSAID use, consulting with your veterinarian for alternatives or necessary countermeasures if ongoing treatment is needed.
Provide access to high-quality protein hay like lucerne hay to help raise gastric pH.

If signs of gastric ulcers are evident or the horse remains in training, consult a veterinarian regarding pharmacological treatments for gastric ulcers. For maximum effectiveness, combine with appropriate nutritional strategies (e.g., 1% body weight in roughage daily)

29/10/2024

📏 Why is Discipline an Important Consideration When Feeding? 🐴

Nutritional demands differ significantly depending on the specific type and intensity of exercise routinely performed. The daily feed provision should be reflective of the amount of work being done by the horse.
🥕 Adjusting Nutritional Demands by Exercise Level

Nutritional requirements may be influenced by breed (e.g., ‘good-doing’ breeds vs. those which struggle to maintain weight), but the degree of nutrient utilisation via exercise will determine what the diet should contain.
Increased exercise intensity requires readily utilizable energy sources in the form of supplementary concentrates.
Fibre-based energy sources (e.g., pasture, hay, and chaff) are often sufficient to maintain body condition of horses at rest. However, as exercise intensity increases, the rate of fibre digestion within the hindgut is often slow and insufficient.

🌾 Energy Concentrates

If the energetic demands exceed what fibrous energy sources provide, the use of an energy concentrate is required.
Starch is a concentrated source of energy contained in cereal grains such as oats, corn, and barley which can be added to the ration and rapidly digested within the small intestine.
For horses affected by starch (behaviourally or metabolically), alternatives include super fibres (e.g., beet pulp, soy hulls), rice bran, or Grand Prix Oil®, all valuable energy sources suitable for varying work demands.

💪 The Importance of Protein

Protein is deposited in areas of muscle fibre stress during exercise, making the presence of a quality protein source vital for muscle hypertrophy (building).
Sedentary horses may meet daily protein requirements through high-quality pasture and lucerne hay, though pasture protein quality varies by season, possibly requiring additional supplementation.
Protein quality and utilization throughout the body depend on the amino acid profile, with lysine as a commonly limiting amino acid. High-quality protein sources like Topline FX®, Power Formula®, and Ranvet 500 PLUS® are recommended.

💧 The Importance of Electrolytes

Electrolytes are essential for nerve and muscle function, body fluid balance, and stimulation of thirst. Exercise levels, electrolyte utilization, and loss will increase the requirement.
For horses on maintenance requirements, Ranvet’s Iodised Salt Lick® in paddock or stable access may be sufficient. However, with increased sweat loss during exercise, a supplement such as Salkavite® or Electro Paste® is required.
Insufficient electrolytes can lead to muscle fatigue, cramping (tying up), suppressed fluid intake, and dehydration. Electrolytes are water-soluble, necessitating daily provision through feed or an Iodised Salt Lick®.

Discipline in feeding ensures that diet matches workload requirements, supporting energy, muscle health, and hydration for optimal horse performance.

28/10/2024

🔥 Feeding Horses in Hot Weather 🐎

🔥 Feeding to Minimize Heat Waste in Working Horses 🐎

In heavily working horses or those covering long distances, extra digestive heat can add to the heat load that needs to be dissipated for efficient cooling. Without adequate cooling, horses may suffer from elevated heart rate, increased respiratory rate, and poor post-exercise recovery. Some horses, particularly high-energy or nervous types, may struggle more with heat, especially in hot, humid conditions.

🌞 General Feeding Principles for Hot and Humid Climates

Adjusting a horse’s diet can help prevent heat stress, dehydration, and electrolyte loss during performance in hot weather.

Minimize Heat Waste
• For horses under intense exercise, reduce fibrous feed to the minimum safe level (0.5-1% of body weight daily) to support gut health and electrolyte reserves without adding extra digestive heat.

Tailor Dietary Requirements
• Ensure 25-30% of the diet consists of roughage like hay and chaff for digestive health.
• Substitute lower-energy feeds with higher energy-dense grains (e.g., extruded barley, cracked corn) to maintain calories in a smaller volume.
• Target a diet with 3% fat for better energy efficiency. Horses can handle up to 30% of dietary fat, but introduce oils gradually by 30-40ml increments weekly.
• Dampen feeds to reduce respiratory load and increase fluid intake.
• Offer a balanced electrolyte supplement daily.

Feeding Practices
• Divide total daily feed into three smaller meals to avoid overloading the digestive tract and reduce the heat of digestion.
• Choose energy-dense feeds to meet caloric needs in a smaller volume with reduced heat waste.

🏖️ General Management Guidelines for Hot Weather

For better recovery in hot and humid conditions, consider these practices:

• Remove all tack, especially items that restrict breathing (e.g., girth) or trap heat around lower limbs.
• Hose the horse post-exercise and walk it to promote airflow and evaporation.
• Allow sufficient cooling time before transporting. Avoid loading hot horses together, as the confined space can trap heat and lead to sweat loss. Ensure good airflow during transport.
• Pre-cool the horse before exercise to slow heat buildup. Evaporation during work can further reduce core temperature and minimize sweat loss in humid climates.

By carefully managing diet and post-exercise care, you can help your horse perform comfortably and recover better, even in challenging hot and humid environments. 🧊🐴

26/10/2024

⚙️ Joint Health and Function in Performance Horses 🐎

Performance horses engage in a variety of movements that put their muscular and skeletal systems under immense pressure. As a result, joint injuries and diseases are frequent problems, often leading to a premature end to a horse's athletic career. Beyond the impact on performance, pain and immobility negatively affect a horse’s quality of life and longevity.

🔧 Understanding Joints
A joint is the union between two or more bones, enabling movement of the skeleton through the interaction of muscles and tendons.
One of the most common types of joints affected by injury in horses is the synovial joint, found in areas such as the fetlock, knee, and stifle.

Synovial joints are particularly vulnerable because they are the most active joints in the horse's body. These joints have two bone ends covered by articular cartilage, a smooth and resilient surface that allows frictionless movement when properly lubricated. The joint capsule contains synovial fluid, which provides both lubrication and nutrient transport within the joint. Sodium hyaluronate in synovial fluid ensures smooth movement and pressure transfer.

⚠️ The Breakdown of Articular Cartilage
For synovial joints to remain healthy and pain-free, the articular cartilage covering the bone ends must be regularly regenerated. However, due to poor blood supply and constant wear, the cartilage begins to degrade faster than it can be replaced. This often leads to osteoarthritis, a condition characterized by the erosion of cartilage, which is a major cause of lameness in horses. Unfortunately, because cartilage lacks sufficient blood and nerve supply, repair and healing are limited.

🔄 Osteoarthritis in Horses
Once osteoarthritis begins, it causes irreversible damage to the cartilage. Osteoarthritis compromises joint health and can lead to long-term pain and immobility. Although this condition cannot be cured, the goal of treatment is to:

• Alleviate discomfort
• Prevent further cartilage degeneration
• Restore joint function as much as possible

💊 Joint Support with Flexi-Joint Plus
Research shows that certain supplements can help manage and support joint health in horses, particularly in addressing osteoarthritis. Flexi-Joint Plus contains essential components that can aid joint function:

• Glucosamine Sulphate: Helps with cartilage formation and repair, and reduces joint pain by limiting inflammatory mediators
• Chondroitin Sulphate: Inhibits cartilage-degrading enzymes
• Manganese Chelate: Supports synovial fluid production
• Curcumin: A powerful natural anti-inflammatory
• MSM: Another effective natural anti-inflammatory
• Vitamin C: Essential for the health of cartilage and connective tissues

🔍 Preventative Care
Since osteoarthritis cannot be reversed, prevention is key. Start feeding your horse a glucosamine and chondroitin supplement like Flexi-Joint Plus early on, even before signs of joint deterioration appear. This will help slow cartilage degradation and preserve joint health for as long as possible.

For a comprehensive treatment or management program, consult your veterinarian. Early and proactive care can help your horse enjoy a healthier, more comfortable, and longer-lasting career.

By understanding and caring for your horse's joints, you can help ensure their long-term mobility and performance success! 🐴❤️

25/10/2024

🌿 Laminitis: What Is It? 🐴

Laminitis is one of the most common causes of lameness in horses and ponies. Within the hoof, sensitive, thin plate-like structures called laminae provide essential nutrition to the hoof and act as primary support to the pedal bone.

Laminitis refers to inflammation of these laminae, leading to weakness and compromised laminae integrity. This can cause the degradation and separation of laminae, leading to serious health issues for the horse, including lameness and founder (pedal bone rotation).

⚠️ Common Laminitic Triggers

• Excessive intake of high starch-based feeds (grains)
• Lush pasture or pasture with high fructan/soluble sugar levels
• Obesity or overeating
• Toxaemia from colic, retained placenta, infections
• Concussive mechanical trauma

🌀 The Laminitic Process
Inflammation of the laminae can lead to their breakdown and a loss of connection with the hoof wall. In severe cases, this can cause rotation of the pedal bone. Swelling within the lamellar space further compromises blood and nerve supply, endangering hoof health and horse welfare.

🍃 Fructan-Related Laminitis
• Cool-season pastures accumulate fructans under stress (drought, frost).
• Fructans act as energy reserves, helping pastures recover when growth conditions improve.
• In the horse’s hindgut, fructan fermentation leads to unfavourable bacteria proliferation and triggers laminitis via a pathway similar to grain or pasture-induced laminitis.

🥣 Feed-Related Laminitis
• Starch-based grains (oats, corn, barley) or lush pasture have high non-structural carbohydrates (NSC).
• The small intestine’s ability to break down NSCs is limited.
• Excess NSCs from grains or lush pasture overflow into the hindgut, where they are fermented, increasing hindgut acidity (hindgut acidosis). This leads to the release of harmful laminitic triggers into the bloodstream.

🛡️ Preventative Measures

• Maintain a healthy body condition score (BCS)
• Avoid sudden changes in feed
• Prevent excessive intake of starch-based grains
• Limit consumption of lush pasture, especially late in the day when NSC levels peak
• Avoid cool-season pasture following drought stress or frost
• Provide regular hoof care and consider supplements like Hoof Food®, containing essential growth factors such as Biotin, Gelatin, Sulphur, Methionine, Choline, Zinc, and Magnesium.

By understanding and managing laminitis risks, you can keep your horse healthier and pain-free 🐴❤️