It’s important to ensure horses receive adequate vitamins for optimal health, and natural sources can be a great way to achieve this. While commercially produced supplements offer a concentrated dose, many horse owners prefer natural sources of vitamins, believing they are safer and more readily absorbed. For example, horses can obtain vitamin D from sunlight and properly cured hay, while green crops are rich in carotene, which horses convert into vitamin A.
What Natural Sources of Vitamins Are Safe for Horses?
The basic nutrients that horses require for maintenance, growth, reproduction, and good health include carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins, and water. When choosing natural vitamin sources, prioritize variety and quality to ensure a balanced intake.
- Pasture: Good quality grass-legume pastures can supply adequate nutrients to maintain an adult horse at light work or mares during pregnancy. Lush, early spring pasture is very high in water and protein contents and may need to be supplemented with a high-energy source, such as grain, to meet the needs of horses performing medium to heavy work.
- Hay: High-quality legume hays, such as early bloom alfalfa, are preferred for horses, especially those that are growing or lactating. Field curing of hay develops vitamin D through the action of the sunlight on ergosterol in the hay crops.
- Grains: Oats are the preferred grain for horses because of their bulk. Corn (maize), barley, wheat, and milo can be used, however, whenever they are less expensive.
- Sunlight: The ultraviolet rays of sunlight produce vitamin D from the provitamin in the skin.
How Can I Supplement My Horse’s Diet with Natural Vitamins?
Supplementing your horse’s diet with natural vitamins can be achieved through various feed sources. Green-growing crops are rich in carotene, which horses convert into vitamin A. When livestock are not fed green forages and are not on good pasture, a vitamin A supplement is often added to their diets to ensure a sufficient supply.
What Vitamins Do Horses Need?
Known vitamins include the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and the water-soluble B group of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, choline, biotin, folic acid, and vitamins B6 and B12 and vitamin C.
- Vitamin A is required for growth, reproduction, milk production, and the maintenance of normal resistance to respiratory infections.
- Vitamin D enables animals to use calcium and phosphorus; a deficiency causes rickets in young growing animals.
- Vitamin E is necessary for the normal hatching of eggs and plays a role along with selenium in preventing muscle stiffness and paralysis (dystrophy) in lambs, calves, and chicks under certain conditions.
- Vitamin C, which prevents scurvy in humans and guinea pigs, can be synthesized in the bodies of most other animals and need not be supplied in their food.
- Vitamin K is synthesized by bacteria in the intestinal tract and can be absorbed, and, if livestock can ingest feces, a dietary supply is usually not important.
- B Vitamins are not important in the feeding of cattle, sheep, and other ruminants, because the bacteria in their rumen synthesize these vitamins. Very young calves, however, and poultry, swine, and other monogastric animals require the B vitamins in their diets.
What Should I Consider When Choosing Natural Vitamin Sources?
When choosing natural vitamin sources for horses, several factors should be considered to ensure safety and effectiveness.
- Quality of Feed: Moldy or dusty feeds should be avoided because horses are extremely susceptible to forage poisoning and respiratory complications.
- Balance: Horses will vary from the normal requirement in terms of weight, temperament, and previous nutrition.
- Specific Needs: A large and ever-growing number of horses stabled in cities and suburbs where sufficient roughages cannot be grown provide a large market for complete horse rations, including roughage, which are tailored to the total needs of specific animals according to their particular function at a given time, such as growth, pregnancy, lactation, or maintenance.
Are There Risks Associated with Natural Vitamin Sources for Horses?
While natural vitamin sources are generally safe, there are potential risks to be aware of. Lush, early spring pasture is very high in water and protein contents and may need to be supplemented with a high-energy source, such as grain, to meet the needs of horses performing medium to heavy work. Conversely, late fall- and winter-pasture forage is low in water and protein and may require protein and vitamin A supplementation. Silages of all sorts should be avoided since horses and mules are extremely susceptible to botulism and digestive upsets.
Ensuring your horse receives the necessary vitamins through natural sources involves careful selection and monitoring. A balanced approach, combined with expert advice, will help maintain your horse’s health and well-being.
Would you like to learn more about specific vitamins and their roles in equine health?