EQ-Knowledge

04/27/2024

How Guaranteed is your Analysis? You might be shocked! My small study reveals that what's on the tag might not be as reliable as you thought!

12 feed samples, most of them from major premium brands, were sent for analysis to see whether they conformed to their GA. And, while many of them did, technically, conform, many of them had nutrients that were more than 20% different from the GA.

Click here to learn more! https://www.eqknowledge.com/_files/ugd/38c3dc_71ddea7ed16c440c8cd1a4dc724e3cb1.pdf

06/16/2023

One of these bums is not like the other.

05/31/2023

Is a piece of the puzzle missing?

Is there something missing in your feeding program? Feeding your equine athlete can't accomplish your goals if you're missing a piece of the puzzle.

Are you tired of overspending on your feed and supplement bills, only to find your horses are still underperforming, ribs still showing, or might even be developing serious health problems like insulin resistance?

What if you could feed your horse better, improve the horse’s body condition, make sure they have all the nutrients they need to thrive, AND save significant money?

Hi, My name is Sue Fanelli, and I am a certified Equine Nutrition Advisor. I help horse owners create individualized, science-based nutrition programs for their horses to provide optimum performance and improve overall well-being. My program is based on industry-standard equine requirements and current research and provides a cost-effective, balanced approach to providing excellent nutritional care for the horse.

I do not represent ANY feed or supplement company, I am 100% independent. I can work virtually, so you don't have to be nearby!

And what I have found, is that people really CAN have the best, and it isn’t usually the most expensive. In fact, several horse owners I have worked with saved thousands of dollars per year…PER HORSE!

If you would like to see if there is a way to improve your horse’s nutrition plan and maybe even save money in the process - Please send me a message. My goal is to help owners find the right pieces to help their horses!

01/05/2023

Here we go into 2023! Happy to have Carl Bledsoe coming to Culpeper for a fabulous 3-day clinic! Contact me for more information.

10/22/2022

Winter’s coming! What do YOU do differently to properly feed your horse?

Here are some things to consider:

1. The horse, like all mammals, regulates its body temperature very closely. In colder weather, it takes more energy to maintain property body temperature.

2. The horse’s hind gut ferments fiber, which creates heat. Hay helps keep your horse warm. Increasing their hay ration is a good way to keep them comfortable.

3. Grass is the horse’s super-food. It contains almost all of the nutrients the horse needs to survive. Almost. But when the grass dies, it loses a lot of those nutrients. Hay has almost no vitamin E or vitamin A, and although those vitamins are stored in the body for later use, it’s a good idea to supplement them during the winter. And, while grass has a lot of Omega-3 fatty acids, hay contains significantly less.

4. Depending on many, many factors, the nutrient content in hay varies greatly. Grass hay might be 12% protein, or it may be 6% protein. Similarly, it could contain 6% starch and sugar or 15%. And so on. The only way to know what you’re feeding is to feed hay that has been tested for nutrient content.

What should you do?

1. Unless your horse is on a special diet, consider increasing the amount of hay that they get in cold weather to assure that they are eating 2% - 2.5% of their body weight daily (20-25 lb. per day for a 1000 pound horse). If your horse cannot eat hay, provide enough complete feed (at least 1% of his body weight daily) for them to get the fiber they need. Beet pulp is also an excellent source of highly digestible fiber.

2. Feed concentrate appropriate for the needs of the horse. For easy keepers, a ration balancer that provides nutrients, vitamins and minerals might be appropriate. For others, a performance or senior feed will keep them in good weight.

3. If your hay is supplied in large quantities, it’s simple to test your own. Or, look for a grower who tests their hay in bulk. That way we can find out what else the horse needs to balance his diet.

4. Avoid over-supplementation. The supplement market is huge and while some might help here and there, many of them provide no real advantage. While too much of a good thing may be overtly harmless, the body has to work to get rid of the things we feed that it doesn’t need. Often, simpler is better.

Unsure? Contact me! As a certified Equine Nutrition Advisor, I have the education and background to help you navigate the never-ending market of feeds and supplements.

09/22/2022

Have you heard that iron is BAD for your horse? There are some people who believe this, and have caused others to worry. This new study concludes otherwise. Correlation DOES NOT mean causation! Enjoy! https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/19/2510/htm?fbclid=IwAR2zxG_yihB6OfoZgIogWEbck50hD0k6ohsmh-5QPSlGRpI7n5h_8TNkCHw

07/29/2022

07/14/2022

Is your horse's diet complete and balanced? How do you know?With SO many choices and SO much advertising and false information, it's easy to fall into the supplement trap or blindly follow the social media masses. I can help!

I am an Equine Nutrition Advisor certified through Legacy Equine Nutrition, backed by a PhD Equine nutritionist. My nutrition programs are completely individual and I do not represent any feed or supplement company. I provide a plan based on current equine nutritional science, your goals and your individual horse's needs. You get my support and a comprehensive report, including a thorough review of all supplements!

Your horse needs your attention! Contact me and let's get them on the best nutritional path we can find!

07/10/2022

The heat is ON! Summer is in full swing and the heat and humidity can be stifling.

Heat stress is a dangerous condition! How do we help our horses? Electrolytes can be one way to support their needs. But all electrolytes are NOT created equal!

Electrolytes (sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium) are lost through the skin when the horse sweats. Most of the electrolyte loss is in the form of salt (sodium chloride). At a medium sweat level, a horse can lose up to 2 OUNCES of salt in a workout! That’s about 20 grams of sodium.

What should you do? READ labels! Choose an electrolyte whose first ingredient is salt.

In a short survey of common electrolytes, I found that (following the directions on the package) the products deliver between 6 and 17 grams of sodium daily. That’s a big difference. Cost per day ranged between $.20 and $1.05 – also a big difference. GUESS WHAT? The one that costs the most is not the one with the highest concentration of electrolytes. The one that costs the least isn’t the worst.

Need help? Send me a PM or text and set up a call. I can evaluate your horse’s diet and exercise program and come up with a solution that allows them to stay happy and healthy this summer! Ride on!

06/27/2022

Does your bag tag tell the whole story? Of course not! Bag tags are only part of the "equation". Those percents and ppms don't mean much unless you can do the math and compare them to requirements! How do you know how much of each nutrient your horse gets? Here's a short little tutorial to get you started!

Want to know more? Give me a shout and I can help you understand more and get your horse on a great nutritional path!

https://www.eqknowledge.com/math

06/26/2022

We're super-excited that Judy is coming back in October! Judy is one of a very small handful of Level 4 Centered Riding instructors in the world! This is a really wonderful clinic for people who want to improve their balance and connection in the saddle! To provide the maximum attention and instruction, we are limiting participation to 8 horse/rider pairs. Contact me for more information

04/15/2022

Tired of throwing your money into the stall bedding?

Just a little fun with numbers: On the first graph is the cost per day of the concentrate and supplements for the last 14 horses for whom I have done nutritional profiles. The blue bars are what the owners' cost was before my analysis, the red bars are my proposed new diets. Also I added some options if owners wanted to supplement for one thing or another. Those options are for supplements that actually have some good solid science behind them.

The second picture is one diet - before consult, my recommendations, and options. As shown, the "before" diet lacked nutrients and we were able to improve that profile with cost-effective, science-based recommendations.

Maybe spending money on a nutrition consultation isn't "affordable", but in most cases that money is recouped in a very timely fashion!

Want to know more?? Contact me here or visit my website at eqknowledge.com.

04/05/2022

04/05/2022

FIXED FORMULA? What does that mean?

In horse feed, “fixed formula” means that the manufacturer uses the same of amount of each ingredient in each batch. For example, in a ton of feed, maybe the mill puts in 400 pounds of beet pulp, 500 pounds of alfalfa meal, … etc. The number of pounds of each ingredient never changes. Sounds awesome, right???

Not so fast.

All of the ingredients are agricultural products and – like hay and grass – their nutrient contents vary from year-to-year, location-to-location, even time of day harvested! In fact, they vary a LOT. Protein content in beet pulp alone ranges from around 7.6% to 10.8%. Sugar and Starch from 4.3% to 20.8%! That’s HUGE.

If you buy a premium feed from a good, reputable company, it’s likely that they test their ingredients and that they have a small range of acceptable values. BUT – if you buy your feed from a local source who doesn’t have great QA procedures in place, you have no idea what you’re getting.

The photo is a graph of the possible range of nutrients in a theoretical feed made of beet pulp, wheat middlings, soy hulls and alfalfa meal.

Scary? Yes, it is. Want to know more? Contact me and I’ll help you unravel the mystery of feeds!

03/31/2022

It took a long time, but I finally made a web site! Please check it out. EQ-Knowledge is here to help you make your life easier and your horse's life the best that it can be. We're here to help! https://www.eqknowledge.com/

01/26/2022

Ever wonder if what you feed your horse is right for them? Do you have questions about your feed or your forage? Come join us at the Galloping Grape on February 9. Bring your bag tags, your supplements, and your questions! We will try to get them answered for you.

12/20/2021

Jim the Feed Guy took the time to write this really great explanation about why we don't need to worry about iron. Please take the time to read ALL of this!

In the past year or two Iron has become the bad guy in equine nutrition since soy, wheat mids and GMO ingredients have been degraded to juvenile delinquents.

Iron is blamed for thrush, poor hooves, bad coats and a host of other conditions none of which can be laid on the doorstep of iron.

I was surprised to learn just this past week that iron causes laminitis. Really?

This idea seems to be spreading rapidly in the horse world and particularly among those concerned with insulin resistance in their horses. Of course, there is no basis in research or reality for this idea. It has arisen out of a conflated misinterpretation of a paper written by a prominent clinical member of the ECIR world.

This conflation was propagated by a short article posted on another laminitis cause’s website by an author who obviously didn’t do a spittles drop of fact checking before hitting the “submit” button.

It is time for me to do my part in putting this nonsense to rest, at least until someone presents research data to revive the zombie.

Let me begin by stating again what I have stated at least a thousand times to anyone who brings up “iron overload”. It isn’t a thing. Because iron is in everything, horses have evolved an excellent iron management system.

The iron in a horse’s natural diet has a bioavailability of 20% or less, which means that a very small fraction of iron ingested is actually absorbed by the horse. In fact, the availability of dietary iron is so low for horses that they recycle the iron in their blood.

There are extremely few documented cases of iron toxicosis in horses from a naturally occurring source. The few cases that have been noted resulted from large doses of iron supplement. Indeed, horses are far more likely to be anemic.

Flaky hooves, thrush, coat fading and other issues attributed to iron overload and corrected by introducing zinc and copper to “balance” iron were actually more likely to be caused by a deficiency in zinc and copper than an overload of iron.

I have had this discussion with five different equine nutrition PhDs and a clinician at UC Davis. There is no issue with iron. Zero. It’s settled science.

To remind everyone again; I am NOT a scientist or clinician. I am a layperson who relies upon a trusted group of professionals to answer my questions and point me at the appropriate research. I don’t have any theories because I am not qualified to formulate my own theories. I do have some credentials in my wheelhouse that give me the ability to carry my own end of a conversation with equine PhDs. Holding commercial pilot certifications and designing network security technology for thirty plus years helps.

Now, where in the world did this belief that iron causes laminitis originate?

In 2019 Elanor Kellon VMD and Kathrine Gustafson, PhD published a paper documenting a data study that observed a POSSIBLE link between serum ferritin and insulin levels in insulin resistant horses. No correlation with laminitis is mentioned.

It is titled “Possible dysmetabolic hyperferritinemia in hyperinsulinemic horses”.

I’m just going to cut to the chase here and skip to the end of the paper…

“We recognize limitations to this retrospective analysis. This was not a prospective, controlled study comparing age-matched groups with and without hyperinsulinemia. The existing evidence investigating the bidirectional relationship between iron and hyperinsulinemia in horses is extraordinarily limited despite considerable scientific inquiry in other species. To the authors’ knowledge, Nielsen et al. (2012) is the only controlled study that used an equine model, but as a proxy for captive rhinos. A controlled, prospective study of sufficient power using dynamic tests of insulin sensitivity, diet control and analysis, iron indices, and inflammatory markers or other factors influencing ferritin is needed to disentangle the complex relationship between insulin and iron in the horse.”

There really isn’t a need for any further study to disentangle anything. Insulin resistance in horses has been extensively studied and the consensus is that the same metabolic function causing insulin dysregulation in horses is the same mechanism that causes elevated ferritin levels. In any case, dietary iron conclusively does not play a role in insulin dysregulation or laminitis.

“While even severe iron overload can occur in horses without evidence of metabolic syndrome (Theelen et al., 2019), iron is unlikely to be an independent causal factor…”

The study found no correlation between iron and laminitis. In fact, laminitis isn’t mentioned in the entire paper.

I might add based on the statistical formulae used to determine a linear correlation between insulin and ferritin the correlation is a low moderate. An “r” factor of 0.34 is just above the moderate correlation factor, the limit being 0.3. Below 0.3 it is a “poor” correlation.

In addition, the Pearson Correlation formula is very limited and does not make any allowance for variables ignoring many other factors in determining a correlation.

While we are here I’d like to use this as a teaching opportunity for other laypeople to understand what to look for when they are overwhelmed with the technical scientific terms and some questions to ask.

It is important to note that neither of the authors hold PhDs in equine nutrition. This in no way disqualifies or diminishes their work in any way. The paper was based on sound methods and is completely transparent. However, for me anyway, it is a consideration since five equine PhDs I’ve discussed this with are all on the same page. Dr. Kellon is a well known VMD while Dr. Gustafson holds a PhD in Visual Electrophysiology for humans.

Thirty-three horses were selected from the ECIR database based on their documented case histories as provided by their owners. Dr. Kellon is a fixture of the ECIR group so it is no surprise that this would be a source for data points. All of the horses were diagnosed with insulin resistance and confirmed with blood sampling. The authors state that all the subjects were insulin resistant and no control group data of “normal” horses was available.

These thirty-three samples were not taken in a controlled research laboratory environment. The samples were provided by members of the ECIR group after being obtained by their veterinarians.

Since any good study requires some form of control group of “normal” horses, the authors chose to use a 2012 study, “A potential link between insulin resistance and iron overload disorder in browsing rhinoceroses investigated through the use of an equine model” which tried to determine why many captive rhinos suffered from laminitis.

This study found that elevated levels of insulin correlated with elevated levels of ferritin.

Ferritin is not iron. It is a protein that binds iron and transports it to the liver for storage.

I’m not going into the whole ferritin, hepcatin, yadda, yadda equine iron management system. Several great equine PhDs have explained it much better than I would ever be able to.

Here’s a great one: https://www.horsejournals.com/horse-care/feed-nutrition/iron-equine-diet

Here’s a good one on copper and zinc: https://thehorse.com/19784/trace-mineral-basics-zinc-and-copper/

The other study mentioned and it’s probably the one most cited by the “iron bad” crowd is Theelen et al. 2019.

The fact that this study is cited at all confounds me as a layperson. Twenty-one horses and a donkey in The Netherlands showed signs of iron toxicosis in coat and hoof quality. They had been drinking water containing high levels of iron for an extended period of more than nine years.

Transferrin levels were elevated which only indicates high levels of iron in the diet. Post mortems of the horses that died during the study showed signs of high iron levels in liver, spleen and other organs.

Since the liver and spleen are the primary organs for storing and filtering iron it should come as no surprise that a thirty year old horse drinking water with high iron levels for a minimum of nine years might have some extra iron in its organs.

Nowhere does this study indicate that iron was a primary cause of death or debility of any of these animals. Certainly laminitis is not mentioned.

In addition, the study provides no baseline measurements of the environmental iron. No mention of feed protocols.

The study is simply bad science.

So, why does all this get me worked up?

Well, for starters any bad, mythological, conflated or otherwise misguided advice makes me crazy. Horse owners have enough to worry about without running down every rabbit hole that pops open.

This is particularly true for people who are dealing with metabolic horses. There is enough on our plate to manage without worrying about anything that is nothing.

As the concerned owner of a metabolic heart horse I would be at the top of the list of people wanting to know about a relationship between iron and laminitis. It is one of the reasons I took such an interest in this when it appeared a year ago.

Finally, iron is so ubiquitous in forage and feed ingredients that removing the “added” iron from a feed or balancer would be like withholding a tablespoon of salt from the ocean.

As far as I’m concerned, monitoring iron intake and paying for supplements to “handle” iron in horses should be thrown on the pile of all NSC must be lower than 10%. Impractical and unnecessary.

This isn’t just my opinion. It is science. No settled science supports a relationship between laminitis and iron. Likewise, no settled science supports iron toxicosis in horses from any natural dietary source of iron. The opposite is true. All settled science tells us that iron overload doesn’t occur in horses unless it has been induced by over supplementation

Stop trying to second guess the nutritionists who specialize in making our horses healthy. Iron is added to feeds and balancers for a reason. The majority of horses do not get enough.

There is no relationship between iron in a horse’s diet and laminitis. None. Not as a causal factor nor as a contributor.

12/08/2021

YOUR horse is worth it!!

December is always so busy! Buying, wrapping, cooking, trying to keep up with businesses… we’re all a little crazy. But as we head into winter, it’s time to look ahead to the New Year and consider what changes we’d like to make.

I have been interested in equine nutrition for a long time now, and what started me down the path went something like this:

FRIEND: So-and-so’s horses look amazing – she feeds them Brand XX feed. We should feed brand XX feed too!

ME: What makes brand XX feed better than all the rest?

FRIEND: ?????

Well, that made me want to know, so I collected bag tags…. Everywhere I went, every brand I could find. I solicited friends to send me theirs. I made a giant spreadsheet. (If you know me, you’re not surprised here) And… I had a lot of information and no clue what to do with it. So I studied and learned and discovered on my own.

For me, last year was a year of change. I dug really deeply into equine nutrition and found a really great program to learn and grow, and now I am an Independent Equine Nutrition Advisor with Legacy Equine Nutrition. We are a small group of highly educated people backed by an extraordinary PhD Equine Nutritionist. It’s been a really wonderful path and I want to share all I’ve learned with the world!

Sometimes we struggle with our horses – they may not look as good as we think they should, or maybe they lack energy. Maybe they are a little heavier than we would like, or have metabolic challenges. Sometimes we add supplements – maybe because the package says they will help, maybe someone else says it helped their horse. Sometimes we end up spending a lot of money on things that are really “stabs in the dark” and we have no idea whether they work or not.

Many of these issues can be helped with a good, science-based nutrition program! .

My programs assure that your horse’s nutritional needs are met and that he has the tools he needs to do the best job he can do. If you have a tricky issue, we have the option of bringing a PhD in to assess the program. The investment you make creating a solid nutrition program for your horse can SAVE YOU MONEY that you otherwise spend on supplements that do nothing and SAVE YOU WORRY about whether you are providing the right things. YOUR HORSE IS WORTH IT!

Interested? Drop a comment and I will tell you more.

11/21/2021

So often we hear questions on which feed builds top line. THIS builds top line! Yes, you need the right amino acids to make the muscle fiber but without the exercise - no muscle.

Using pole work as part of a rehabilitation programme is often recommended by physios and may be part of your routine, but why?

Looking at the picture and using what literature is available, lets look at the benefits of just walking over a series of poles.

Bri’s posture changes completely between the two pictures; she has to clearly increase flexion of her limb joints in order to clear the poles. But did you know, this increase of joint range of motion has been measured in every limb joint, including the shoulder and hip (Murrary et al., 2020). This is particularly useful if your horse has arthritis or ’stiff’ joints, as the increased range of motion occurring aids joint mobility.

You can also see the ‘lift’ through her back when travelling over the poles. The change in her head and neck posture combined with the muscles in her back and abdominals engaging whilst walking over the poles results in thoracolumbar back flexion. The space between the dorsal spinous processes in the spine increases when the back is flexed in comparison to when it is hollow. In cases of kissing spine or general weak top line, pole work is crucial as the back muscles are being strengthened during this exercise, resulting in a stronger, healthier back (Shaw, Ursini, Levine, Richards & Adair, 2021). Over time, top line will improve as muscle mass increases in the back and spinal posture improves.

Walking over poles will also trains a horses gymnastic ability. It has been shown to result in increases in stride length (de Oliveria et al., 2015). Ideal for any horses involved in work that tests their performance such as jumping.

Lastly, the poles are a proprioceptive challenge as Bri is using her visuomotor coordination to elevate her hooves over the poles. Not only is this exercise crucial for everyday actives ie not tripping / jumping safely, but it also can be used in the rehab of neurological cases (Brown, Stubbs, Kaiser, Lavagnino & Clayton, 2015).

As we can see, just walking over poles has a huge range of benefits! Pole work is a useful addition to your horses exercise regimes, and for rehabilitation of injuries. I always recommend in hand poles initially to allow your horse to work without the weight of a rider, and to work independently. Your physio may recommend trotting poles, raised poles and different pole layouts as part of a progressive therapeutic exercise programme for your horse. As always, consult your physio to see what is appropriate for your horse at this stage.

Get in touch for more information

📞07551271289
✉️ [email protected]
🌐berkshirevetrehab.com

References

Brown, S., Stubbs, N., Kaiser, L., Lavagnino, M., & Clayton, H. (2015). Swing phase kinematics of horses trotting over poles. Equine Veterinary Journal, 47(1), 107-112. doi: 10.1111/evj.12253

Murrary, R., Walker, V., Guire, R., Spear, J., Newton, R., & Tranquille, C. (2020). Effect of walking over ground poles and raised poles compared to no poles on limb and back kinematics in horses with different postures. Equine Veterinary Journal, 52(S54), 9-10. doi: 10.1111/evj.10_13365

de Oliveira, K., Soutello, R. V., da Fonseca, R., Costa, C., Paulo, R. D. L., Fachiolli, D. F., & Clayton, H. M. (2015). Gymnastic training and dynamic mobilization exercises improve stride quality and increase epaxial muscle size in therapy horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 35(11-12), 888-893.

Shaw, K., Ursini, T., Levine, D., Richards, J., & Adair, S. (2021). The Effect of Ground Poles and Elastic Resistance Bands on Longissimus Dorsi and Re**us Abdominus Muscle Activity During Equine Walk and Trot. Journal Of Equine Veterinary Science, 107, 103772. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103772

11/21/2021

Take the time to watch this!!!!! It’s super important and debunks several misconceptions about f***l egg counts!! And he’s kind of entertaining to boot!

11/18/2021

Interested in probiotic and pre-biopics? The truth is that we don’t know a lot about the horse’s gut flora. Here’s a way YOU can help!! It’s simple and it will pave the way for more cost-effective ways to really manage your horse! https://www.purinamills.com/horse-feed/campaign/equine-microbiome-kits?fbclid=IwAR21p4VpclOhR6PIKjIDoS06JS9EB0FhO-Lwfp79UggqDvgw-cHxyPf9bfE

The Purina Equine Research team is researching what a normal equine microbiome looks like and wants your help. Sign up to participate in the MQ equine project.

10/27/2021

Fat and shiny means healthy? Not so fast!! Let's make sure we have all the right things!

10/22/2021

So many supplements - so little time!! Which ones work? Which ones are... well... snake oil? Look to your Legacy nutrition specialist to find out more. Save money by finding the best nutrients at the most reasonable pricing

10/22/2021

We're super-happy to do a demonstration of our novel program in Nashville, NC! If you're in the area and curious about how I can help your horse, drop by and enjoy a day of learning and fun. Our host is the best!!

10/21/2021

Nutrition - it's not just a stab in the dark! We can help you find your way through the maze and create the best program for YOUR horse.

10/19/2021

Is your horse's diet in balance? Are they getting enough of all they need? Are you over-feeding one thing and under-feeding another? Let us help you find out.

10/18/2021

I am super-excited to introduce this new program! Together, we can find the best way to meet your horse's needs and let it be the best that it can be!!

10/16/2021

What do you and your horse need to achieve your potential??

08/15/2021

Judy Cross-Strehlke is coming to Knight's Branch Farm in West Point this October! This is a great opportunity to ride with a truly educated horseman! 10 participants only but we will also have a lesson day on Monday!

07/24/2021

I find this very interesting indeed