There are few things we humans are more sensitive about than our body weight. Where the rest of the world sees our gentle curves and happy smiles, we see lumps and wobbles and wrinkles. We generally have a far worse opinion of our own body condition than do any of the people around us. I would hazard that this is because our friends and family care about us and see the best in us, and recognize that while we may have a few extra curves we are healthy and happy, and that’s what counts. And if anyone ever said things about our friends that resemble what we have said about ourselves, most of us would likely get pretty vocal about defending our friends.

Dr. Scott Weese, Professor in Pathobiology at Ontario Veterinary College, discusses the latest in Gut Function research.

Horse owners are familiar with the tragic pictures shared on social media of the emaciated horse rescued by the authorities, or the one that could not be saved due to its poor condition. Malnourished horses are a reality even in our affluent Western world. Sometimes these horses are the result of well-intentioned people trying to “save” unwanted horses, only to find they are unable to do so because of cost or scarcity of feed.

Horses are grazers by nature, constantly foraging for optimal gastrointestinal health. While their ancestors had to search far and wide for feedstuffs, today’s horses are often given lush pasture and good quality hay that forms an excellent base diet without having to travel far to get it. In this article, we’ll discuss ration balancer options for low activity horses whose diet is mainly forage, and on the flip side, high-fat supplements for high activity, performance, and sale horses.