Feeding Horses with Special Nutritional Needs

Receiving a diagnosis of the condition behind your horses health or performance problem is usually a relief but the satisfaction of getting the diagnosis can be quickly replaced by fear and uncertainty regarding what to do about it. Questions around both the longterm prospects for your horse and the costs involved to support the horse with such a condition can be daunting. Owners of horses diagnosed with special nutritional needs often feel bewildered and frustrated as they attempt to put together an appropriate management protocol.

What Constitutes A Special Nutritional Need For A Horse?
Horses with special nutritional needs are those whose health is dependent on management of the nutrients which would otherwise be a regular part of the equine diet. Frequently the management of these nutrients will ensure better performance but sometimes reducing or eliminating a nutrient from the affected horses diet can be a life or death matter. Regardless of whether you care for your horse at home or board him at a topnotch facility including or excluding certain nutrients can be a challenge.
Once you have a diagnosis of your horses condition it is important to develop a plan with your veterinarian as to what management protocols will be the most effective in addressing the issue. Sometimes there are pharmaceutical options that can help the horse lead a productive life and frequently there are diagnostic tools like blood work and timely radiographs that can assist the owner in managing the condition. It can be helpful to know if there is a genetic reason for the condition if it relates to diet and exercise or if it is a combination of the two. In any case it is very important to get a handle on the amount of the specific nutrients of concern in the diet and to find a way to regulate it in the management of a horse with special nutritional needs.
Start With Carbohydrate Management
Before we talk about equine diseases related to carbohydrates it is helpful to remember that they are a big class of nutrients including simple sugars like fructose and glucose as well as complex sugars called fructooligosaccharides or fructans. Also included in the carbohydrate group are starches and cellulose or fibre which is a very complex carbohydrate. In general simple sugars and starches are digested in the stomach and small intestine of the horse while the complex fructans and fibre are fermented by the beneficial microbes