Printer-friendlyMany of us buy bags of horse feed or grain as part of a feeding program to keep our working horses, or older horses, in good body condition. We all read the feed tags and compare levels of crude protein and fat. We assure ourselves that the old demon - Molasses - is not used because it makes our horses too hot. We marvel at the number of minerals and vitamins that are packed into the product. Ah, the smell of the pelleted grain product as we unzip the bags top closure.
Wait a minute. Something is wrong. What vital nugget of nutritional information is missing from the labels of these products? Think a second. What is the number one nutritional tidbit that is so important that our State and Local governments are requiring that it be present on the package of our chicken McNuggets? You are right - Calories.
Calories are a measure of energy. Energy (and coffee) is what gets us out of bed in the morning and give us the humph we need to work and play. My horses aren't big on coffee, but they do appreciate the energy when I ask them to chase cows in the mountains.
In the world of equine nutrition, caloric requirements are represented as Mega Calories per day. A typical 1000 lb. horse in a low maintenance level of activity needs about 13.7 Mega Calories per day. So, how much forage and concentrates do we need to feed in order to meet this nutritional requirement?
Part of me (the engineering part), wants to know how many calories are in that damn scoop of horse feed. The label is no help. Many of the feed manufacturers will not even release this information as they consider it proprietary.
The other part of me really doesn't care. As long as the horse has a body condition score of around 5, and doesn't kill me when I produce the semi-daily feed - all is OK. If the horse is too skinny, up the forage. If the horse is still skinny, add some grain. I really don't need to know the number of calories that scoop of feed provides - But I want to.
PS - We have a horse feed calculator available on this website. We are gratified that when asked, many of the horse feed manufacturers were willing to provide us with information about the caloric and dry matter content of their feeds. This basic information is required for the calculator to provide feedback on a particular feeding program. Give it a try.
Maybe the tags are the right way to feed
Maybe the grain tags are an example of the right way to look at food? Activity qualifies need.
Most nutritional guidelines are based on volume to feed according to activity level, quality of natural food and life stage. You never see a fat horse unless there is a human with a grain bucket near by arguing a magazine said his horse needed more fat and less protein... Also maybe I'm showing my age but we did seem to have less of a weight problem ourselves before calories appeared on every package and a television in every room became the norm.
For me the most important factor is the manufacturer clearly informs me of recipe changes and where the components of the feed is coming from. I want a US product produced with US produced grains governed by US Health and quality Regulations. I do not want Chinese or any other imported grain which ends up with some contamination showing months after production when animals are dying. Not being Zenophobic just learning from past mistakes.
The right way to look at food
Good point about the source of the components in the feed. There is a lot of trust required by horse owners who feed processed foods that the manufacturer's quality control is adequate and that the feed is not contaminated.
I'm not so sure about the cause and effect of knowing the calories in the food we eat is a factor in obesity. I give more credence to the causes being related to television, cell phones, and the Internet (ouch).
Mark Sellers
Horse Health Matters!
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