Minerals for Horses
Types Of Horse Minerals & How To Choose The Right?
Your horse needs certain minerals in the daily diet. There are many options available in minerals for your equine’s diet. But finding the right one for your horse’s diet needs is the challenge. Just like a car, your horse needs the right amount of fuel to run actively and properly. Adequately fueling your steed is important to ensure its longevity and health.
What Minerals Your Horse Needs?
Horses need a balanced dose of amino acids, proteins, calcium, calories, vitamins, and minerals. Unlike humans, horses rely on forage for their daily nutritional needs. But sometimes, just grass in not sufficient to satiate the nutritional needs of the equine’s body. Apart from the protein, animals need certain vitamins and minerals that are not found in the regular feed in need amounts.
First, start by testing the forage your horse is eating. Then decide what minerals you need to add in the diet of the horse that are lacking in regular diet. These minerals are phosphorous, potassium, sodium, chloride, copper, zinc, iron, magnesium, iodine, manganese, and selenium.
Balance of Minerals is Needed
Sometimes, some minerals are present in the forage in excess amounts. They can block the absorption of other necessary nutrients that are lacking in the diet. It is has been researched that feeding calcium to your horse on a daily basis in not advisable. Calcium blocks the absorption of magnesium and phosphorous. So, even excess amounts of minerals is bad in the regular diet of the steed. Mineral supplements have the right proportion of minerals needed by the equines as per their age and body mass.
The skin, hoof, liver, and digestive health of your equine is based on minerals such as zinc and copper. These and other minerals are normally ignored in daily diet. So, before buying a mineral supplement, make sure to check that it has all the necessary dietary ingredients.
The Role of Minerals in the Horse with Dr. Marcia Hathaway – University of Minnesota
