Tag Archives: horse feed

Why am I posting so much about our horse’s feeds?

Posted on April 9, 2011 | 3 comments

I’ve had a lot of emails but since I’ve started posting about GM feeds, I have had thousands! Within 3 days of posting the GM Alfalfa issue, I had more emails and responses and downloads of the brochure than all the other posts on this blog! (I have been answering the questions as fast as I can: sorry for the “blanket” response to most but I’m getting overwhelmed with emails). I’m proud of all of you! We care for our horse from the inside out! You are paying attention!

“We care for our horse from the inside out.” April

Since everyone is listening, I will add another important post on feed. This one deals with chemicals. While our horses rarely see pesticides on our hays, it’s important to know where your hay comes from. Growing next to fields that use sprays (especially aerial spraying) means your hay crop will be contaminated.

A few years ago, I watched a farmer spraying a crop of peas. The cloud of insecticide drifted over to a horse facility and landed on 2 ponies and a quarter horse belonging to a friend of mine. In less than 6 months, the quarter horse lost weight and died. The 2 ponies lived, but one is still suffering.

The vets concluded that it could have been from vaccines. While I agree (as I don’t like vaccines), I did watch the insecticide cloud drift for 3 days in a row over to their small field. The other horses were not directly in the drift. The vets dismissed my findings.

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Please Print and Hand Out GMO Flyers To Feed Stores

Posted on March 21, 2011 | 8 comments

Hi everyone! Seems as if the Genetically Modified Feed articles I have posted recently far exceed any of the hits to the training posts! I am glad, because it means you care about taking “beautiful care” of your horses on the inside as well as the outside!

I’d like to ask you to download the PDF files of a brochure on GE alfalfa, corn, sugar and soy, as it applies to your horse’s health, and distribute it to every place you can think of:

Feed Stores: bring them a handful and let them know you are not going to buy GM (GE, GMO) alfalfa when it’s harvested and baled at the end of this year.

Distribute it to: Tack stores – Horse organizations – Stables – Breeders – Local clubs – Horse shows and events – Friends – Put it out across the big wide web!

The most pressing issue for me are the 2011 sterility reports on humans. Within a single generation of eating GM foods, we are now seeing a proliferation of men with sterility problems ( http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=2011+sterility+and+gmo&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart http://www.google.ca/search?q=2011+sterility+and+gmo&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a). This is the beginning: don’t let it happen to your horses or animals.

A big thank you to everyone that’s taking this seriously. Yes, it will be an inconvenience getting non-GM alfalfa at the end of 2011, but we have time to turn it around with your help! So get these brochures downloaded and printed, and get them to your feed stores first – educate them if you can, but make sure they know you will not be buying this garbage, whose advantages are only for the profit of large corporations.

GE Alfalfa Brochure inside: Horse Industry Brochure Inside

GE Alfalfa Brochure outside:Horse Industry GE-GMO Alfalfa Brochure outside

Caution: the files are large, so if you have trouble printing kilobytes right now, this may be a long process. To start, print the outside PDF first. Then reinsert them into your printer again and print the inside. You may have to fiddle to get it right side up! If your paper jams on the second pass, let the paper sit flat for a day and it will feed better. On the outside sheet you will notice a tiny dot near the photo of the little girl feeding the horse, and another by the two horses discussing the cons of eating GE Alfalfa. Those dots are for you to find the “fold” when you are folding these brochures. This makes it real easy for you to get your brochures looking real nice. You will notice the inside fold is shorter: I planned it that way! I have to say this or else I will get hundreds of emails wondering why this doesn’t work. I have also added photos of the brochure below.

Happy printing and folding, and I’m interested to hear your stories and comments about your GE alfalfa blitz!! And as always, you can email me at: aprilreeves at shaw dot ca


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Young filly busts through fences to get to lead mare

Posted on January 12, 2011 | 2 comments

Question from New Zealand: I have been working through your site for answers to a lot of questions  :-)  and have found it invaluable as I work with my wild caught mare who is now 7 yrs old.  She was only broken in at 5 and then we just got her home and a couple of months later she broke her foot.  So after a year out with that I’m starting her all over again. She was trained by Trisha Wren who’s methods are similar to your own.

BUT the issue is with her little paddock mate.  A warmblood 3yr old, almost 4yr filly (Pipsqueak) who each time I take Charity away from her gallops and bucks around her paddock.  The last time she wasn’t even out of site but took off around her paddock and chest crashed a gate twice.  The 3rd time she knocked it off it’s hinges.  Very luck for us she didn’t cut herself but it must have bruised. Many times I thought she was going to jump the gate. Now she hasn’t always been like this.
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Horses and Genetically Modified foods – A recipe for survival or extinction?

Posted on December 30, 2010 | 16 comments

I have received a lot of emails about GM feeds, so I compiled a post that describes the basic information you need to know about GM in horse feeds, and the potential issues and dangers around them. I also post any new issues at the bottom of this page.

GMO – Genetically modified organisms are mankind’s way of producing desired effects within a plant/animal that nature either has not done yet, or cannot do. GM plants are created in a lab by scientists, that alter the DNA of the plant by adding a foreign gene into the plant’s DNA (one example was the flounder fish gene in tomatoes). It’s not an exact science, in the aspect that it works first time, every time. It can take years to perfect, adding millions to the cost of the experiment. The most common alteration to the plants horses eat (corn, sugar) is the addition of Bt bacteria, which alters the plant to resist the intense continual spraying of pesticides on the plants without killing them. It also allows any insects that come into contact with that plant to die from trying to eat it.

Think about this for a second, and then continue reading.

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Horses and Genetically Modified forages: Are we Moving Our Horses Toward Extinction?

Posted on March 28, 2010 | 11 comments

Hello everyone. I rarely speak about “issues” in the horse world, but this is too big and too important to walk away from.

Our horse’s forages: alfalfa and hay – are in potential peril, and within a few years may be gone forever. Here’s the story:

All Alfalfa and Wheat may be Genetically Modified in North America in the next few years

GE corporations (Monsanto & others) are working hard to push their untested GMO alfalfa and wheat crops in the US and Canada. The US already has 5332 acres of RoundUp Ready alfalfa (since 2004). There is no wheat yet anywhere. Because the alfalfa was grown before it was approved, it was halted and is undergoing additional testing and environmental studies. No human or horse studies have been done to prove this is safe. No long term studies are ever done on any GMO foods. Many independent tests show serious health issues (Genetic Roulette).

Horses have evolved over thousands of years, naturally

Horses are sensitive to their environments and their feeds: any horse owner who has any level of awareness of their animal understands this. Their bodies have evolved slowly over time to adjust to changing plant types and feeds. However, along came man, and believed that he/she could do better than Mother Nature. As we asked more of our horse, we began to alter the feeds we give them.

The horse, though, has evolved for years, slowly, methodically, and if you look at the timeline to how many years we have been changing his natural diet, it’s really not that long (20-30 years). It has been a dramatic ride for the horse: from field to stalls: from hay to concentrates and feeds he would never find in the wild (soy, corn, heavy oils).

It’s not working. Horses are getting fatty liver diseases, insulin resistance, heart attacks, cancers and the same type of health issues humans have (that eat high fat and carb diets). And now there’s another issue to add to the mix: genetic modification. Thirty years ago this was unheard of. Last year 6 horses under the age of 10 died from cancer in my area.

What is Genetically Modified foods and why should you be concerned for your horse?

Genetic modification has many levels of concern attached to it, from health to environment and corporate control. We’ll take a look at each one so you have a good general knowledge of the problems horse owners may face.

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Calling all horse owners: stop GM Alfalfa!!

Posted on January 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

Please send this to every horse owner you know!

I’m involved in politics when it comes to horses. I am a food activist and have spent years studying and understanding food and how it impacts us and our horses. I lecture and speak all over the country on this, and I’m asking for your help.

I want our horses to be able to eat healthy, non-toxic foods and I want to be able to buy horse feeds without fear of this. However, those of you who feed sweet feed – you are feeding GMO, Genetically Modified Organisms. The corn 20 years ago is no longer the same. It has been genetically altered (DNA has been changed) and contains deadly bacteria (Bt), viruses, and pesticides/herbicides. While this may not matter to you, the rise in cancer and other serious health problems in young horses leave one suspect, especially when you didn’t even hear of a horse getting cancer 40 years ago. In 2009 in my area 6 died from cancer before the age of 10.

Please read through this and decide for yourself. I hope that you act and send your letters in today. Your horse will thank you for it by living a long, healthy life. We don’t want GM foods, not for us or our animals!

Appeal to farmers and consumers – Act now to stop GM alfalfa.

Send your comments to the US Department of Agriculture by February 16,
2010.

Its not yet legal for Monsanto to sell its GM alfalfa seeds in Canada
but a US injunction on planting in that country could soon be
overturned. If GM alfalfa is planted in the US, it will quickly
contaminate our food system as well as Canadian alfalfa crops. It will
also lead to the legalization of GM alfalfa in Canada (Canada approved
Monsanto’s GM Roundup Ready alfalfa in 2005 but it still needs variety
registration as a last step before commercialization here).
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How can a small barn helper make horse chores easier?

Posted on January 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

Question: Hello April, I’m a horse girl and I always love being at the barn. I am working at my barn doing everything from helping the kids, dealing with the horses and doing all those fun barn chores :) I am hoping you could give me a few tips on the areas I would like to improve on.

I am 14 and I have been riding for about 5 yrs now. I have been told I have a riders body, which does make me proud, but I don’t have what you might call farmers muscles. I am very slim and about 5’3, so when I have to bring in the stronger more difficult horses or do hard barn chores, it can get a little difficult for my little arms.

I usually hay the horses, so I have to pull off the flakes and get them into the wheelbarrows. My huge problem is trying to rip the hay if the horses on need a half flake. I try folding the hay this way and that and putting all my weight on it but I still end up getting more hay on the floor and myself than in the stall. Do you know any techniques of tearing the hay or anything that might help ?

Also do you have any tips on keeping control over the larger more spirited horses? I am usually pretty confident while bringing in, but if I have the big ones and they are being difficult or they don’t want to stop, I’m pretty sure they will drag me with them.

Thank you for your time! I hope I can have less days of hay problems! :)

Answer from April Reeves: While you may not feel like this right now, the toughest girls are your size. It’s just a matter of time and more hay lifting and you’ll be the fittest, strongest girl in your area! The other really great thing about being strong when you’re young – muscle has memory, and when you get older you can get it back fairly quickly. Once you have it you don’t lose it.

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How do I feed my yearling Arabian filly correctly?

Posted on January 11, 2010 | 3 comments

Question: I have a yearling Arabian filly that I want to feed correctly. I have gone through countless pages of books, online websites, and opinions from feed stores, friends, trainers, and breeders. EVERYONE is an ‘expert’ – no one has a consistent opinion and I’m getting frustrated.

What I DO know, is that she is doing really well on her Orchard/Alfalfa (30% alfalfa or less) and now that she’s a yearling I want to drop her protein from 16% to 14%. She gets 2 qt/day of the grain. She’s ok on the feed I was giving her, but I DON”T like how sweet it was. She has free access to the hay, and I want to put her on something that she will truly benefit from as far as her graining. I saw in another post your comments on Arabians and sweet feed and its effects on their coat and system.

What are your opinions on feeding the Growing Arabian Yearling? Do you think their tendency to take a little longer to mature physically should change the “regular” young horses diet? In what way?

Answer from April Reeves: When it comes to feeding first ask 2 things:

1. Are there foodstuffs in the product that a horse would not find in the wild (molasses, sugars, especially refined, corn, soy, oils)?

2. Do the feeds you purchase (concentrates) have studies done by the manufacturer themselves? Many companies are jumping on the ‘trends’ bandwagon, meaning they build what horse owners want. Problem is, not all horse owners have a clue as to what their horses actually ‘need’. We tend to overfeed our horses, pumping them with chemicals, diets and concentrates that they really don’t need and their liver and kidneys sure don’t! I’m always questioning the motives behind a feed company’s choice of ingredients. Many are in it for the quick dollar, not the simple science of the horse.

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My Thoroughbred cross is suddenly behaving badly!

Posted on October 18, 2009 | 1 comment

Horse BuckingQuestion: I bought a 4yr old tbx gelding 3 months ago and am concerned by his behavior. He was initially very stubborn to lunge (he would rear and refuse to go out on a circle) but I managed to get him going well within a week or two. He was very friendly and easy to handle on the ground. Then I began to ride him (he was only backed at this point). He has been riding really well and learning quickly. I’ve been careful to praise him a lot and have not had much need to scold him. Then suddenly he changed. I rode him and he refused to go forwards, instead cowkicking and bucking whenever I put my leg on. He’s also started to kick out violently when asked to move over in his stable! Out of the stable, he will move over fine! The only changes I have made are bringing him in overnight and feeding him! please help! Im scared of my 17hh youngster!

Answer from April Reeves, Horseman’s U.com: I’ll be honest: this is a problem for a professional that is not scared. From here, it will take a very firm hand, and a very brave heart.

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Why are horses aggressive at feeding and what can you do about it?

Posted on October 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

Hand feeding a horse hayQuestion: My horse is mean at feeding time. She pins her ears back and lunges at the hay in my hands. Yesterday she bit me. I can’t even put grain in her stall any more without her attacking me. Help.

Answer from April Reeves, Horseman’s U.com: First, let’s understand the psychology behind why a horse reacts this way.

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Am I feeding my 6-year-old Arabian properly?

Posted on September 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

Arabians are versatile and fun!Question: I have a feeding/nutrition questions regarding a 6 year old Arab gelding. He is out 24/7 and brought in for feedings. His rations this winter was: 1/2 scoop of sweet feed with 2 pounds Triple Crown Safe Starch for breakfast, then they are turned back out where free choice grass/timothy/alfalfa hay.  I bring him in to feed in the evenings where he gets 2 more pounds of the Safe Starch with 6-10 alfalfa cubes, and 10-12 dry ounces of rice bran which I then moisten, a capful of soy oil (for the omega threes), and cup (8 oz exactly) of sweet feed mixed together.  Once I am done with him he is turned back out for more hay.

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What salt block is best for horses?

Posted on September 11, 2009 | 8 comments

Horses need cobalt in their diets if they don't receive cobalt anywhere else.

Blue cobalt salt block

Question: When we went to buy my new horse a salt block there were so many choices! I was told the brown one was best, then a customer in the store told me to buy the red one, so I didn’t buy anything! And they have blue and white ones too!! Help! Are the colors poisonous?

Answer from April Reeves: In my opinion, the perfect salt block for horses does not exist yet (hint to equine feed manufacturers – form one from sea salt please).

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How can I add pasture time to my very thin TB mare?

Posted on March 14, 2009 | Leave a comment

Thin horse needs time to adjust to pasture Question: Hello. I just purchased an 11 yr old 16.1 hh TB brood mare who is very skinny and lost her foal to Placenta Previa about 8 days ago. She was a race horse as well. The man I purchased her from said she was abandoned and took her in and only had her for 4 weeks. He said she has been fed hay most all her life.

I don’t want her to colic and I want her to put weight on. I eventually want her to be in the pasture full-time, but don’t know how to wean her into pasture without her getting colic. Right now I feed her a flake of alfalfa hay in the morning, let her out for about 2 hrs in the afternoon to graze, then another flake of hay early evening, then 5 scoops of senior equine with 2 scoops of wheat bran at night. Is this nearly enough??? I would prefer her to graze more than to get more hay, but I am in fear of her getting colic. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you so much.

Answer from April Reeves: Putting weight on your mare is going to be a slow process. Depending upon her history of neglect, many mares never get good weight back. Once a horse is very thin, it’s a tough road to get back the weight, as much of it is muscle, and severe or prolonged starvation and depleted feeds can waste muscle tissue.

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Are Hays and Forages affected by Genetically Modified Organisms?

Posted on October 12, 2008 | Leave a comment

A SPECIAL POST BY KATHRYN WATTS, SAFERGRASS.ORG

Question: “Is there any evidence, or any studies done regarding effects of Genetically Modified forages and grains on horses?”

Answer: The easy answer to your question is no.

The term ‘genetically modified’ is not well understood by lay people. Do you mean genetically engineered? As in inserting genes, such as creating resistance to RoundUp? RoundUp Ready alfalfa and soybeans, canola oil and BT corn are probably the only ones that might end up in a horse.

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Is Alfalfa for horses?

Posted on October 12, 2008 | Leave a comment

A SPECIAL POST BY MARIJKE VAN DE WATER, B.SC., DHMS

Question: I have had many people tell me to feed my horses alfalfa. Not only is it expensive but I’m afraid they will get hot and stupid on it. Can you give me any advice?

Answer by Marijke van de Water: It looks as good as it tastes-bright green, leafy, rich – and should the horses spot it in your wheelbarrow they’ll abandon good pasture with hooves flying and gobble it like candy. It makes the horse owner feel good. But what about the horse?

There’s no denying that alfalfa is nutritionally dense-protein content is well over 15% (even higher if dairy grade), and it contains very high levels of calcium, magnesium, and other vitamins. Unfortunately, one of the primary drawbacks to alfalfa is its high protein content.

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Horses & Oil Don’t Mix! Can you give oil to horses?

Posted on October 11, 2008 | 13 comments
Marijke van de Water

Marijke van de Water

A SPECIAL POST BY MARIJKE VAN DE WATER, B.SC., DHMS

Question: I was told by an animal nutritionist that I should give my mare oil to help her coat and thin condition. I have also heard that oil is not good for horses? Why would that be? He did not recommend one over the other.

Answer from Marijke van de Water: Your animal nutritionist is recommending canola oil, corn oil, or some other vegetable oil to fatten up your horse. This recommendation is based on the fact that fats provide energy in a very concentrated form thus making it very difficult to burn off quickly. Fats are very slow to metabolize. One calorie of fat is equivalent to 3 pounds of oats or 6 pounds of hay. Very dense indeed. But is a daily feeding of 1/2 to 1 cup of oil from questionable sources a healthy cure-all to weight gain?

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