So what is my NO GRAIN CHALLENGE? Simply Don't Feed Your Horse Grain! But how simple is it? I will explain that in greater detail, but If you think about it, what are horses meant to eat in nature? Millions of years of evolution did not evolve horses to efficiently eat grain! That is something WE have done in the last couple of hundred years.
The
TRUTH is we can really use another word for grain, SUGAR and there are so many ways Horse Owners are ACCIDENTALLY feeding their horses SUGAR thinking they are giving them a healthy reward! I will tell you exactly where these SUGARS are sneaking in and how you can stop it to get your horse back to being their healthy and happy self.
This challenge is FREE to do, and I am not selling you any supplements! I just want to give you a short experiment you can do to improve your horse's health. If you would like to learn in depth about the details of Horse Nutrition I do have a course you can take but I will explain that later, this Challenge is 100% FREE and can actually save you money if you are buying grain and supplements to feed your horse.
If your horse has any health issues, then consult with your veterinarian before starting any diet change.
In very old horses (25 years and older) be careful because the chronic inflammation may cause them to actually loose weight without grain. In these cases get a medium chain triglyceride source of fat to add energy that is non-inflammatory. ( This is one exception where I would recommend a product such as CoolStance® which is shredded coconut meal as a great way to add non-inflammatory energy. When searching for a supplement for older horses be sure to avoid vegetable oils such as corn oil because they are inflammatory.)
To recap the No Grain Challenge:
My recommendations are to:
1) Stop feeding sugar (grain and all supplements including treats, carrots, sugar cubes, apples etc.).
2) Increase grass and clean hay consumption.
3) Have unlimited access to water and pure salt (rock salt or Himalayan).
Further, I highly recommend starting a diary to record every possible observation and commit to this diet and chart for a year. If you feel capable, after a year write a summary of your observations and send it to me with permission to post and help me get the message out.
Remember, if you don’t like the results you are getting you can always return to your original diet. No harm done.