Much of the horse world is still geared toward feeding your horse copious amounts of carbohydrates and sugars for absolutely no reason other than to hook your horse on carbohydrates and sugars -- and therefore, their products. Sweet feeds. Molasses goop balls. Heck, they're even putting molasses in equine pro-biotics! The good news is that there really is no need to compromise on palatability -- even with a low sugar/low carb diet. Here are some tried and tested tips I use in my own horses' daily lives. (please check back regularly as I will be updating this list).
- 1-2 teaspoons Beet Root powder mixed with a cup or so of hot water and then stirred into vitamin/mineral supplements to form a tea. Allow to steep for a few minutes (in other words, cover with lid). Then mix in with the rest of your horses' meal. 1/2 cup fruit of Rosehips mixed with a litre of hot water and allowed to steep. Then pour over hay rations. No more hay waste!
- A sprinkling of Peppermint and/or Spearmint directly on your horse's hay. Horses LOVE fresh Peppermint and the herb has so many practical use -- from helping horses adjust to weather changes to helping sooth tummy upsets.
- Soaking hay to lower sugar and starch levels -- then dusting the hay with any of Skode's herbal terrain hay mixers. These are hay formulations based upon the actual terrain wild horses travel. When horses come across these mixtures, especially horses who don't have access to free pasture, the herbs provide a break from monotony in the daily routine.
- Baby food is made mostly from water and therefore many of them have low sugar levels. Mixing a small jar of carrot baby food into your horse's hay pellet meals on days when your horse has been well-exercised (and Insulin levels are down) can provide a nice, safe treat.
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