Beyond Vet Med

06/23/2025

DON'T UNDERFEED BALANCERS!

Do remember that you must feed the full recommended amount of a balancer (a concentrated compound feed, often in pelleted form) for your horse to have a balanced diet.

Don't feed less because you think they 'don't need it'.

If you feed less, your horse won't get enough vitamins and minerals to balance their forage.

If your horse really doesn't need a balancer because they're struggling to lose weight, and/or gaining weight, then swap to a vitamin and mineral supplement instead (mixed with a palatable base feed).

Feel free to share!
🐴🍏

06/23/2025

Respecting Fascia’s Nature - it’s common to hear people talk about stretching the fascia to improve flexibility and mobility. But this widespread belief is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding: fascia does not respond to stretch the way muscle fibers do.

Fascia is a dense, fibrous, and reticulated tissue composed mainly of collagen and elastic fibers. It’s structured for support, connection, and tensile integrity, not extensibility.

Unlike muscle, which can actively lengthen and shorten, fascia lacks this ability and is not built to stretch.

What truly limits movement in restricted fascia is the loss of gliding mobility between fascial layers - read on here - https://koperequine.com/fascia-is-not-an-elastic-band-why-stretching-misses-the-point/

Tissue Play: Restoring Freedom and Relieving Myofascial Pain in the Horse’s Body - https://koperequine.com/tissue-play-restoring-freedom-and-relieving-myofascial-pain-in-the-horses-body/

05/26/2025

Last day of the Memorial Day Weekend sale! Get your orders placed today!

05/24/2025

05/24/2025

The new Cool on Track series has this cooling towel that’s on ’s wish list for this weekend’s sale!

Somebody loves their Cool on Track Cooling Towel! 💙

"With the Florida heat, Cruiser loves using the Cool on Track Towel when cooling out after our ride!" - Hannah H.

Thank you, Hannah, for sharing this fun photo of your boy staying cool.

Summer is almost here! Don't let the heat hold you back. 🔥

Check out our Cool on Track collection of cooling towels, dog coats, bandanas, and horse boots.

https://backontrackusa.com/collections/cool-on-track

05/24/2025

WORRY ABOUT BALANCE ⚖.. rather than whether or not feeds are processed.

It's interesting how fashions change.

Over the 25+ years I've been working in horse nutrition, I'm not sure I've ever come across so many unbalanced diets, usually in horses whose owners are trying to avoid compound feeds (e.g. nuts, pellets, mixes).

Unbalanced diets are harmful!

If we feed straights ie avoid compound feeds then we need to have much greater nutrition expertise in order to ensure the horse's diet is balanced.

I keep coming across horses whose owners have good intentions, yet are feeding bad diets, because they're unbalanced.

Here's some unbalanced diets that are commonly fed by owners trying to avoid processed feeds:
❌ hay or haylage-only (or hay/haylage plus grass only)
❌ using grass or alfalfa (lucerne) nuts as the concentrate feed
❌ using phosphorus-rich straight like copra meal or linseed, without balancing for calcium
❌ 'natural' balancers that do not contain added microminerals (with forage)
❌ chopped forage feeds with herbs/other additions, that do not contain added microminerals (with forage)
❌ 'balancer' supplements without vitamins, fed to horses on low or no-grass diets

Unbalanced diets are definitely bad, and can lead to a myriad of health issues.

Processed feeds are not bad, and I've worked with thousands of horses over 25+ years who've been fed successfully with compound 'processed' feeds.

For clarification:
Can you feed a horse successfully without compound feeds?
Yes, you can, but you need to have much greater nutrition expertise to ensure the diet is balanced (the whole point of making a compound feed is to balance the forage).

I'm going to write another post tomorrow on why processed horse feeds (compound feeds) are worlds apart from processed human food - especially the unhealthy ultra processed food that anti-compound horse owners often point to.

If you're interested in this, don't miss tomorrow's installment!
(Feel free to share)
🐴🍏

05/23/2025

🐎 The Memorial Day Weekend Sale runs from today through Monday! Great time to get everything your horse needs to get ready for and to recover from all of your summer adventures! 🐎

05/21/2025

Why Foundational Nutrition Should ALWAYS Comes Before Functional Nutrition (aka supplements)

Foundational Nutrition = The Basics Your Horse Needs to Survive

This includes:
Macronutrients- protein (amino acids), fat (including essential fatty acids), carbohydrates (sugars, starch, fiber)
Micronutrients- vitamins, minerals (including salt!)
and let's not forget about water!

All in appropriate amounts (no too much, not too little)- a ration balancer at the recommended rate, or a fortified feed fed at least at the minimum recommended feeding rate on the tag for that specific horse's weight and level of work.

Without these building blocks:

The body can't maintain basic functions like digestion, thermoregulation, or immune response.

Functional Nutrition = Targeted Support for Specific Goals

This includes: SUPPLEMENTS! Joint, hoof, digestive, immune, calming, reproductive, etc.

Functional nutrition is like fine-tuning a machine, but if the machine has no fuel, oil, or working parts (aka poor foundational nutrition), tuning doesn’t help; it eventually breaks down anyway.

Always cover your foundational needs FIRST. Then functional nutrition can have its greatest impact.

If you want help making sure your horse is meeting its foundational needs or determining what (if any) functional supplements would be helpful, reach out for a free consultation here --> https://bluebonnetfeeds.com/pages/consults

05/19/2025

𝟱 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁
To ensure that your horse is comfortable and has a healthy musculoskeletal system it’s important to.

𝟭. 𝗕𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲!
Good posture and symmetry distributes forces evenly through the body and reduces the risk of injury. As soon as we sit on the horse, posture, balance and movement are affected and strain on joints and soft tissue structures increases. It is up to us to do everything we can to make sure our horses have the best possible posture.

𝟮. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀
Strong core muscles are important in protecting the back and body against injury, supporting good posture and improving expression and performance.

𝟯. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀
Strong balance and lateral stabiliser muscles are important in protecting the limbs against torsional injuries when turning, moving sideways and crossing uneven terrain.

𝟰. 𝗘𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆
Taking joints through a full range of movement on a regular basis will stimulate the associated joint surfaces, capsules, ligaments, tendons, fascia and muscles and stimulate the production of synovial fluid. This joint lubrication is vital for maintaining healthy joints.

𝟱. 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
Good suppleness within the body is not just about the elasticity of muscles to allow for movement. All structures need to be healthy, mobile, well-lubricated and hydrated to allow a full range of movement. Suppleness and stretching exercises help to maintain range of movement and flexibility, and help to keep the horse injury free.

Keen to ensure that your horse is comfortable and has a healthy musculoskeletal system? Comment Pilates if you'd like to know more.....