Endurance is the fastest growing equestrian sport in the world.

Nutrition and Dynamite Specialty Products

Nutritional needs of horses vary according to many factors. Age, metabolism, workload and level of exercise are a few considerations in developing your nutritional program for your horses. Horses are foragers. I prefer to have hay available to my horses so they can graze freely. Because my horses are performance, endurance horses, I like to have the hay available before and after they train. One reason is to get them accustomed to eating when they stop, as a simulation of what they need to do in vet checks.Generally there are two categories of hay: grasses or legumes. Although grass hay is lower in protein and energy, and higher in fiber than legume hay, it is a good choice for many horses. It can provide necessary roughage without excess calories and protein. Legume hay tends to be higher in protein, energy, calcium and vitamin A, than grass hays. This source of energy and protein may be an advantage when fed to young, growing horses, lactating mares, and performance athletes.
	Bogart VF 1st Place Mule Team 65
Choosing quality hay and incorporating it into your feeding plan should be done with the individual horse's needs in mind. Feeding hay alone may not meet the total nutritional needs of young, growing horses or those used for high levels of performance. However, high quality hay may supply ample nutrition for less active adult horses. Depending on your horses needs, supplementing the hay with grains and vitamin/mineral supplements may be necessary. No matter how good hay might look, only through chemical analysis can its actual nutrient value be determined. Certain areas of the country require supplementation of specific nutrients due to insufficient quantities. What I feed: My horses are fed quality Grass hay or a 4 Way that is a combination of 2 types of Grass, Oat and Alfalfa as the primary hay and Alfalfa as a secondary if needed. Hay choice is often governed by what is available in your area. I also supplement with Dynamite Speciality Products. Regularly my competition horses are fed PGR (Pelleted Grain Ration), HES (High Energy Supplement), and TNT. My non-performance horses are given regular Dynamite instead of TNT.. Horses require Minerals fed free choice. Even though your horse may not need grain it is imperative to have available to them, minerals and salt. I feed loose Trace Minerals and NTM Salt. They are available whenever they want. The Salt and red Mineral blocks that we have all used, are actually formulated for cattle. Cattle have rough tongues and are able to lick the blocks and get enough from them. Horses have smooth tongues and need to lick and lick often without receiving enough benefit. You will often find a horse that really needs the minerals/salt trying to bite the blocks. If your horse is licking the ground, licking pipe corrals or eating bark, they are probably looking for minerals. In addition I give Miracle Clay, DynaPro (a Pro-biotic), and apple cider vinegar. As needed, they are given an electrolyte DynaSpark. Occasionally other Dynamite products are rotated into their diet. Contact me to place a Dynamite Specialty Product order or to talk about your human or animal needs: info@malibuendurance.com For more information on Dynamite products visit their website at: www.dynamitemarketing.com My motto is: Less is more. Once a horse is balanced nutritionally, it takes much less to keep them at their optimum weight and health. Consult your veterinarian or a qualified equine nutritionist when formulating your horse's individual dietary needs.