Sunday, May 27, 2012

Horse Vitamin And The Feed Bag Tag

By Mark Givens


A good horse vitamin will help your horse's health. This should always be added along with your horse's diet program. Do you provide your horse hay or feed? You have to know what you precisely feed your horse. Don't really know what's inside your horse feed in the bag? Join the growing group of horse folks who are confused about what is really inside their horse's feed. Nevertheless, having said that, it's an easy challenge to treat with a bit of knowledge. Learn how to read a feed-bag label. Determine how much protein your horse needs and learn how to balance feed protein and forage (out in the pasture) proteins.

Your horse needs proteins for advancement and repair of muscle, healthy skin, mane, and hooves, for dairy production, reproduction plus the upkeep of healthy red blood cells as well as bone. This does not include extra weight or energy. Here's an idea of the minimum daily crude protein needs: mature idle animals 8.5%, mares within the last 3 months of pregnancy 11%, mares in lactation 14%, foals 18%, weanlings 16%, yearlings 13.5%, 2-year-olds 10% and performance animals 10%.

The first nutrient listed on a feed-bag tag is raw protein, and you would like it to be very digestible. The very best resource for protein is soybean meal, since it is full of lysine and other amino acids, meaning high digestibility. Nevertheless, soy bean meal is expensive, so lower quality feeds make use of corn gluten meal, linseed meal, brewer's grain and distiller's source. Hmmm, this means you get exactly what you pay for, so beware.

Here's how you can figure out if the horse is getting its day by day protein need. If your horse is eating 5 pounds of 10% crude proteins grain and 15 lbs of grass hay tested at 6% crude protein, perform the math. Five pounds of grain times 10% implies 50; 15 pounds of hay times 6% equals ninety. Add those together and you have 140 units of protein each day. Now add the total weight of the feed each day, 5 lbs as well as fifteen lbs and you get twenty pounds per day. Divide the feed weight into the protein units (twenty put into a hundred and forty) and you have 7% proteins within the horse's diet plan. Wonderful, but what if your horse requires 10% protein each day?

A great horse vitamin will truly help your horse get stronger and far healthier. It is best to be mindful about what you provide your animal and take note if what you're giving is really meeting the horse's nutritional requirements. If your horse needs more proteins, then your choice is to feed an increased protein forage or higher protein grain. The preferred choice is giving a higher crude protein forage. Don't supply more protein than your horse needs. It is a waste of money and feeding excess protein may cause medical problems. Horses clear their systems of excessive protein by drinking large amounts of water, which can result in kidney problems. When in doubt regarding feed, consult your Doctor.




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