Lindsay Burer, MS - Equine Nutrition Consultant

02/14/2025

Where the magic happens 💙

02/14/2025

May your Valentine’s Day be full of soft, sweet, horse kisses 😘

❤️ Happy Valentines Day ❤️

02/14/2025

My new page with upcoming speaking events!
New events will be added regularly ☺️

upcoming events Friday, March 21st, 6-8 pm MST:Nutrition 101 & How to Read Feed LabelsDiamond J Equestrian Center18550 Midway Ranch Road - Fountain, CO Register Now Hey there! It's Lindsay! Equine Nutrition ConsultantTerritory: Central/South Texas & Colorado Hi all! I’m Lindsay, a nutritio...

02/14/2025

In case you missed it!

In this session, Dr. Jyme will dive into the root causes of equine ulcers, how gut health impacts performance, and how you can support your horse from the in...

02/13/2025

Common Feeding Mistakes:

Insufficient forage—or too much time between meals. Horses are physiologically designed to eat continuously, with minimal time spent without access to food.

Feeding by volume instead of weight. Different feeds have different densities— for example, a 3-quart scoop of oats may weigh 3 lbs, while some pelleted feeds could weigh 3.5–4 lbs. Similarly, flakes of hay vary in weight from bale to bale, which is important to consider when feeding “by the flake.”

Over-nutrition. Providing excess calories, protein, or micronutrients—often from multiple supplements containing similar vitamins and minerals.

Under-nutrition. Feeding a forage-only diet without a balancer or offering less than the recommended amount of a fortified feed without supplementation.

Which of these do you think happens most often or what did I miss?

(There’s no right or wrong answer—just curious about your perspective!)

02/12/2025

Show me your Bluebonnet babies!

02/12/2025

It was ABSOLUTELY pouring today so my precious cargo got to ride inside the pickup.

Did you know? Poly feed bags are not waterproof!

If a feed bag gets wet, moisture can seep in the poly braiding (as well as the seams), leading to potential mold.

If your bags get wet, wipe them down IMMEDIATELY to prevent moisture from reaching the feed inside- because let’s be honest, asking for replacement feed from a feed store or manufacturer on feed that got wet on your watch, is like asking a grocery store to replace a carton of eggs you dropped on the kitchen floor. (Not cool 😒)

A little care goes a long way in keeping your horse’s nutrition safe!

And for anyone looking for a “limited” ingredient, allergy-safe, metabolic safe, diet balancer, check out the new .feeds Limited! (see what we did there 😜)

02/11/2025

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02/11/2025

The Downsides of Alfalfa

Feeding 100% alfalfa as a forage program presents several issues that can be problematic for some horses.

Issue 1: Excess protein intake. When a horse consumes significantly more protein than required the extra protein must be excreted via the urine. Along with the protein being excreted, water and electrolytes are also excreted. This can result in poor stamina, predisposition to dehydration, and reduced heat tolerance (especially in hot and humid conditions).

Issue 2: Alfalfa may also have negative implications in horses that suffer from Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (commonly termed “bleeders”). Here’s why—if the diet contributes more protein than the horse requires, the excess is broken down into urea and excreted in the urine (this is evident by the ammonia smell). Ammonia fumes inhaled repeatedly over time can cause irritation in the airway which may cause the horse to bleed when exercised at high intensity. **Note: the root cause is excess protein in the diet, not alfalfa itself. Excess protein can also come from unnecessary amounts of grain and supplements.

Issue 3: A 100% alfalfa diet alters intestinal pH in a manner that can predispose the horse to enteroliths.

Issue 4: Excess calories. While typically low in sugar, alfalfa can be calorie dense, and if fed at high rates or to easy keepers, can oversupply calories. Obesity is an epidemic, and can lead to a long list of health issues.

My general recommendation for alfalfa intake for most performance horses (this includes breeding and growing)- ~50% or less of total daily forage. (Total forage includes grass). Generally 0% for maintenance horses.

I am not saying alfalfa is bad. It’s an excellent component of a proper, balanced diet. I am also not saying that horses shouldn’t eat alfalfa, rather it’s not the best option (and definitely not necessary) for every horse because of the reasons mentioned above.

02/11/2025

Does your horse get stiff in the winter?

Cold weather can intensify underlying joint inflammation, especially in senior horses or those with reduced activity during the colder months, leading to discomfort and stiffness.

The unique omega-3 fatty acid (ETA) in Rewind Joint™ helps naturally reduce joint inflammation, promoting overall joint health and mobility while alleviating stiffness and occasional discomfort, without the negative side effects associated with NSAIDS.

Learn more --->>> https://bluebonnetfeeds.com/products/rewind-joint-pellets?sca_ref=8116542.68gMFEmE9EK1b5W

02/10/2025

Horses in no work, or maintenance, have much lower nutritional requirements than those in work.

Let’s just take digestible energy (DE), or calories, for example:

A 1,000lb horse in moderate work requires a minimum of 21.2 MCals (or 21,200 kcals) per day to maintain weight.

A 1,000lb horse at maintenance requires a minimum of 15.1 MCals (or 15,100 kcals) per day.

A 30% decrease in calories!

If we think in terms of our diets, what would happen if you only needed to eat 1400 kcals per day to stay at your normal weight, but ate 2000 per day instead... for a whole month!? Considering it takes 3500 excess calories to gain 1lb, you’d gain 5lbs in just one month (the math- 600 excess calories per day x 30 days/3500)

Now is a great time to re-evaluate your horse’s nutrition program to make sure the diet is appropriately balanced. Need help? Submit your request here — https://bit.ly/BBconsults

02/09/2025

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02/08/2025

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How do you know your nutrition program is working? 🤔

Your horses look like this ⬇️

Thank you, Lindsay Burer, MS - Equine Nutrition Consultant, for all that you do to keep our horses looking and feeling their best.

✨️Use discount code: CORRIVAL at bluebonnetfeeds.com

02/07/2025

Does my horse know when he or she is deficient in nutrients? 🤷‍♀️

This is a common question, and many people believe horses can self-regulate. In other words, they believe horses know exactly how much of each element they need in their diet, and therefore will seek out those minerals when they are deficient. This is an unfortunate misconception. The amount of mineral a horse consumes is influenced by a variety of factors, and diet evaluation remains the best means for determining current mineral status in a horse.

🧂 Salt
Hay and pasture are almost always deficient in salt (sodium and chloride) for a performance horse. Most commercial feeds are also low in sodium and chloride, therefore performance horses should be supplemented with salt daily. The best way to accomplish this is to offer a measured amount of plain white salt (1 to 2 tablespoons) with the horse’s daily grain meal. Salt may also be offered free-choice as a plain white block, or as loose rock salt. Research has found that horses don’t always receive adequate levels of salt from licking a block on their own free will, since they do not have a rough tongue like that of a cow.

🐴 Free-Choice Minerals
All free-choice minerals contain a portion of ingredients that are designed to encourage an animal to eat the mineral (i.e. salt, molasses, distiller’s grains). This may be the largest factor that has contributed to people believing animals can self-regulate their mineral intake. When a horse is first given free-choice access to a loose mineral, block, or tub - they devour it because they believe it to be a limited resource, and, let’s be honest, salt and sugar both taste really good! After several days of over-eating and then realizing it never “goes away” they reduce their daily intake substantially. This gives the false impression they have “met their needs”.

If feeding a free-choice product, it is important to monitor how much the horse is eating AFTER this initial period of over-consumption. Simply divide the weight of the product by the number of days it took for the horse to finish, then compare that to the label recommendations for daily intake. If multiple horses are housed together - it is nearly impossible to ensure each horse is consuming the correct amount.

☑ Trace Mineral Blocks and Natural Salt Blocks
Trace mineral blocks or natural salt blocks should be used with extreme caution if the intent is to satisfy trace mineral requirements. Many of these blocks contain roughly 95% salt, which means there is physically not enough room in the block to provide adequate amounts of trace minerals based on a horse’s daily rate of consumption. Blocks with that much salt should be relied upon for their salt content only, and trace minerals (i.e. copper, zinc) should be provided through a fortified feed or diet balancer. These blocks (along with plain white salt blocks) can be a great tool for horses who become bored and need something to do during the day.

🩸 Blood & Hair Analysis 🥼
The best way to determine mineral status of a horse is to have the diet fully analyzed by an equine nutrition expert. Keep in mind, forage is the majority of your horse’s diet, so it is a good idea to have your hay tested in order to get the best outlook on your horse’s current program. Once you understand the nutritional gaps in your horse’s forage, you can easily decide on the best feed or supplement to meet his needs.

Blood analysis is simply a snapshot of a single nutrient at a single point in time which may lead to a false sense of security. For example, when calcium is deficient in the diet, the horse pulls calcium reserves from the bone, therefore calcium would appear “normal” on a blood analysis. This gives the false impression that the horse is receiving adequate amounts of calcium from the diet while, in reality, he may not be.

Hair analysis may be helpful for determining if a horse has had exposure to toxic metals, but it is not a reliable means for determining the basic nutritional status of a horse. Environmental pollutants, dirt, mane & tail products, fly sprays, and coat conditioners can all cause inaccurate readings. In addition, hair analysis results can vary based on the color of the hair, time of year, s*x, breed, age of horse, and sample site.

If you suspect your horse may be in need of a specialized nutrition program, or if you just want a nutrition consultant to review your horse’s current diet, Bluebonnet Feeds offers Free Virtual Nutrition Consults! 👉 https://bit.ly/BBconsults

02/06/2025

For clarification 😜

02/06/2025

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At Fulton Performance Horses, a rich history of horsemanship meets modern nutrition—ensuring every horse gets exactly what they need at every stage of life. ...

02/06/2025

"He gets a scoop."

But how much does he ACTUALLY get.....? 😅

I recommend weighing your horse's feed and feeding according to bag recommendations for body weight and activity level. These scoops are both "3 quart scoops" but even with the same feed, the weight is different. You could be under feeding, which means your horse would be lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.

Or! You could be over feeding. And that could mean that you are spending more money on feed when you could be spending that on entry fees 😎

The answer? Keep a cheap electronic kitchen food scale in your feed room. You can buy them for less than $15 on Amazon.

02/05/2025

We all know to never feed moldy hay, always offer clean water, and never let a horse eat too much grain.

But another potentially dangerous situation we might be putting our horses in without realizing is supplementing “straights.”

Supplementing with straights is when horse owners add a single mineral (i.e. “straight” copper, zinc, etc.) to an already balanced diet. This can be dangerous as they often don’t account for how that affects the balance of other minerals and vitamins within the body and potentially cause deficiencies or toxicity.

Interested in chatting with a nutrition consultant about your horses’ nutrition? Fill out this brief form at https://bit.ly/BBconsults to schedule a complimentary consultation. 😊