Re-establishing homeostasis with whole food
The goal of any nutrition program is to assist the horse in maintaining homeostasis (def.: A state of equilibrium, as in an organism or cell, maintained by self-regulating processes) under their daily workload and stress factors. Basic building blocks are necessary to build a strong foundation for health, performance, vitality and longevity.
Each horse owner, practitioner, veterinarian, or trimmer/farrier has a favorite food or supplement they think is the best for your horses. In my opinion, the simplest whole food approach is actually the best. Simply put, feeding whole foods, as nature intended, are more bioavailable and contain a multitude of nutritional constituents that increase their effectiveness.
Chances are, once these simple add-ons have had 90 days to do their job, you won’t need all the other expensive supplements with flashy marketing.
Forage
Recently, there is a lot of buzz about complete feeds, supplements and ration balancers that seem to fix all your horse’s ailments. I caution you to start with the forage before adding in more products. You may just be creating very expensive urine and manure. The primary ingredient of any whole food program, forage (hay or grazing) is where the horse gathers the majority of its protein and carbohydrates.
For those living in the North, the horse will be living on the nutritional load of your hay program for 6 plus months, depending on the length of your dry lot season. In this regard, it is important to get your hay tested prior to or at delivery so you can create a feeding strategy based on the nutrition it contains. There are services available that will test both your hay and your pastures. Reach out to your local Agricultural extension offices or feed stores to learn more.
Salt
In addition to the forage, nutritional requirements include fresh, clean drinking water and salt. Salt comes in many forms these days, for humans and animals alike. My preference is Sea Salt. This type of salt contains many natural minerals from the ocean and most closely resembles the mineral make up found in our own bodies. Specifically, I love Celtic Sea Salt. It has a higher moisture level and is less processed than other salts. It also contains some trace minerals, but not enough to fulfill your horse’s daily mineral needs.
Salt blocks, the historic staple in horse pastures, although handy, rarely provide enough salt to refill depleted electrolytes in the equine athlete, but do provide enough sodium chloride to encourage horses to drink more water. The blocks cannot provide nutritional amounts of sodium chloride because a horse would need to lick up to 2 Tablespoons (30g) off that block a day - some may, most will not.
I do not believe fortified salt, which is highly processed and fortified with iodine, is a good option for horses. The processing chemically removes the natural mineral balance in the salt and then iodine derivatives are sprayed on the salt crystals, after which anti-caking agents and stabilizers are added to attempt to keep the iodine from evaporating.
Yet, iodine is an important element…
Enter Kelp.
Kelp is, in my opinion, a wonderful phytonutrient and loose mineral package for a whole foods equine feeding program. From an article I wrote years ago, Feeding Kelp To Horses, Kelp: An Alternative Equine Mineral Program:
The main benefit of feeding kelp instead of a manufactured mineral product is that it is a plant, and therefore easier for the horse to absorb and digest, easier even than the chelated organic minerals now available on the market. It is a complete package, containing muscle building amino acids, vitamins, as well as perfectly balanced micro and macro minerals, with no further supplementation needed.
In addition, Kelp is a natural source of iodine. This means the iodine is bioavailable and therefore the body only absorbs what it truly needs. Iodine is necessary for thyroid management; to produce thyroid hormones. These hormones: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4), are used throughout the body to regulate metabolism and healthy function of the organs of the body.
Without getting into a very long explanation of the negative feedback loop and the enzyme deiodinase, your body needs iodine to make T4 which then can be altered as needed in the body to make T3 for healthy thyroid function. Your body then replenishes T4 levels by using the loose iodine in the system to recreate T4. T3 is responsible for metabolism, temperature and digestive system.
Thyroid issues can come down to the sensitivity of receptor sites and nutrient balance. Kelp has sufficient iodine to facilitate this process, as well as being full of the bioavailable minerals necessary to maintain healthy functions in the body.
Immune System
Next up for nourishment is the immune system. Enter rosehips. Ground or fresh, rosehips contain over 70% vitamin C, but that is not all. Yes, rosehips contain vitamin C, but they ALSO contain fiber, vitamin A, B5, E, lycopene, beta carotene, quercetin, among other compounds. All combined, rosehips become a powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, immune boosting, skin healing, pain-relieving superfood.
Many vitamin C supplements are strictly ascorbic acid, which has amazing anti-viral properties. But, similar to removing the salicylic acid out of willow bark to make aspirin, taking ascorbic acid out of rosehips to make vitamin c supplements misses the bigger picture. When feeding or eating whole food diets, you are feeding the full nutrient load with all of the constituents which makes that food more beneficial for the body then supplementing with one small part of the whole picture.
The body uses vitamin C in a myriad of ways throughout the entire body and its multiple systems. Of importance today is its role in the thyroid and stress response. Stress leads to the release of cortisol which signals the hypothalamus to create and release TRH (thyrotropin-releasing hormone) which signals production and release of TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) which then utilizes the T3 and T4 discussed earlier to affect metabolism, temperature, etc., as well as dopamine.
In this cycle, vitamin C plays a crucial role in the creation and release of TSH (through multiple transactions in the body not explained here). If you don’t have enough vitamin C in the diet, the thyroid could produce excessive hormones, which then become wastes that the liver and other waste management organs have to process. End result, the body needs vitamin C to help regulate stress and its impact on the body. And yes, even pastured horses living their best life have stressors.
MSM
Methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM, is another basic building block. In particular, it is a source of sulfur which is instrumental in a variety of bodily functions. As one of the most abundant elements in the body, sulfur's functions include, but are not limited to; detoxification of free radicals, cellular signaling, maintaining structural support, and assisting in energy production. Most commonly thought of as a joint supplement, Sulfur (MSM) is used by the body to:
Produce amino acids
Create cells, tissues as well as hormones
Detoxification, such as metabolizing medicines, food additives and other toxic metals in the environment
Blood management - keeping it healthy and prevents coagulation
Can reduce respiratory symptoms due to allergic reactions
Reduce inflammation
Maintain healthy connective tissue
In relation to tissue, MSM has been shown to do a few key things, such as: creation of collagen, promote the bodies own ability to produce glucosamine which in turn can improve joint and bone health and it has a role in the production of immunoglobulins (read immune response). Some studies show MSM can assist in nerve pain management as well.
Because the body uses sulfur for so many things, it is not something the equine diet gets enough of from normal food sources. There are very few whole foods that can be added to a diet for sufficient sulfur uptake, In this instance, supplementation is a must.
Conclusion
With so many supplement options on the market, it is hard to decipher what is the best or needed most. Many promise to fix the whole horse, without taking into account the body's ability to absorb and utilize the load of nutrients some larger supplements contain; and others miss the mark completely.
Many feed rooms look like a pharmaceutical laboratory with large amounts of various supplements being fed without an understanding of what is in them or if toxic levels are being reached through multiple ingredient lists. Excessive supplementation, in turn, creates inflammation in the gut and body, NOT homeostasis. In addition, too much of one element could block absorption of another leading to more supplementation and reversed ratios for the essential minerals you are trying to supplement.
The greatest problem of a feed program such as this is as we pile on the supplements, we lose the ability to know what each one is actually doing for the health of our horse as the results get skewed. So we keep adding, never removing, making the equine diet ridiculously expensive and ineffective. Reducing the feed program to tested forage, clean water and the big 4: Sea Salt, rosehips, kelp and MSM, we cover the basic needs. By simplifying to the basic nutrition needed to assist the horse in maintaining homeostasis, we can easily see areas of need.