by Nikki Alvin-Smith
Many horse owners are faced with budget concerns as we head into winter months. The management and care expenses of horses will likely increase at this time of year. If there is an option where money can be saved while actually providing better care for the horse than thought then why not take advantage of it. How? Stop wasting money on unneeded equine feed supplements by cocktailing and duplicating vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional ingredients in your horses diet. But do feed what’s required. More is not better but it could actually be worse.
Why Does Winter Increase Horse Keeping Costs?
There are many reasons for this:
- Horsekeeping expenses rise due to lack of green pasture and supplies of hay or other dry forage being needed.
- Harsher weather means many equines will be spending more time stabled increasing bedding costs.
- Colder weather often means upping the grain rations as well as hay rations.
- For some horse owners their animals will transition to a livery yard with permanent stabling and a useful indoor training option from less expensive backyard paddock care.
- Horse owners opt to increase feed supplementation during winter months to provide additional quantities of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other equine dietary components for specific wellness support due to lack of their availability to the horse without grazing green pastures. This perception that cold winter weather means significant changes are needed in daily horse care has inspired many myths about what is actually necessary. We can bust 9 winter horse care myths for starters.
Here is a quick read seasonal horse care checklist for tips on what to consider as nature transitions through the year particularly as we head into winter.
More Is Not Better But It Could Be Worse
Grand Meadows owner Nick Hartog has keenly educated his clientele (that includes Olympic level competitors through to weekend amateur riders) for years that over supplementation with equine feed supplements can do more harm than good. Hartog’s decades of experience in the feed supplement realm, including being a co-founder of the prestigious NASC { National Animal Supplement Council}, have always been grounded in the mission of the company to provides horse supplements based on science, proven research, and ethical formulations that help horses grow, recover, thrive, develop, and feel their best.
Part of that ethical mantra is spreading the word that when it comes to equine feed supplementation more is not better but it could be worse for the horse. It may seem counter-intuitive to have the leading producer of horse feed supplementation pushing this message, but it is so important that Hartog will not ignore it. The aim to educate the horse owner so they can make the best choices for wellness support for their wee beasties has spawned his latest ongoing Instagram series, “Supplement Savvy.” His frank and sometimes irreverent opinions and sincere knowledge and advice may surprise even the most jaded horse professional who believes they know more than they do.
It is a good idea to understand where over-supplementation can do harm.
Stop Throwing Money Away In The Feed Bucket
The kicker about all the equine feed supplementation marketing that we all receive as horse folks is that we fall for it. Instead of taking the time to do some listening to professionals in the world of horse supplements that have proven their integrity before we pick up a pot or tub of what we believe is best option and spend our hard-earned money often unnecessarily.
As Hartog explains, “What you put into your horse is critical to their health now more than ever. Make smart choices and don’t take things at face value. Do the research.”
That is not to say that we shouldn’t feed any supplements at all. But if we wish to stop wasting money and even more importantly, do the best as our horses’ guardians, then we should buy top quality products at reasonable pricing that are correctly formulated and offer comprehensive wellness support.
Not Your First Rodeo
The awful news that hit the press a few weeks back about the death of over 70 horses likely due to contaminated horse feed reminds us as horse owners that knowing the provenance of our horse feed and equine supplements is as important as knowing which formulations are needed and which are not. As experienced horse owners we can easily become too comfortable in doing what we have always done, and not properly investigating what we are feeding our horses or doing to train them. An open mind is very much a necessity if you want to improve your horsemanship skill set and knowledge is always power.
Confidence in provenance of ingredients, the standard of their manufacturing standard operating procedures as well as accurate formulations and labelling should also be high on the priority list when it comes to feeding an equine supplement. The stellar auditing process of the NASC, which Hartog helped to develop and earnestly follows at Grand Meadows is testament to the fact that he worked to abolish false advertising claims, miscreant activities in production protocols and make the feed supplement business a better place.
Trust But Verify
Another huge area for overspending on horse supplements can simply come from buying lesser quality products or ones that do not actually contain what their label claims they do. SO we are back to the NASC benefit and however small the image of the seal it may be on a manufacturer’s label we should look for it before making any purchase and educating ourselves as to which ones are best formulated. And yep, that comes back to buying science-backed products and trusting but verifying the manufacturer. Remember your horse trusts you to be his guardian – should he?
Get On Track And Stop Wasting Money
You are invited! Your budget saving answers are right here. All you have to do is take some time to check them out.
PLEASE NOTE: AHP members ~ Please share this content. Kindly include Grand Meadows URL and author’s URL wherever published. Please advise use so we can share your platform too. Feel free to contact Nikki Alvin-Smith for further information and high-res photos.
About Grand Meadows: Founded in 1989 by visionary Angela Slater, Grand Meadows is a leading horse health product and equine supplement manufacturer driven by the guiding principle of providing affordable, extremely high-quality science-backed horse products to help ensure horses look and feel their best.
For the past 35 years the company’s mission has been honored and developed further, by President Nick Hartog, who among other accomplishments is one of the founding members and current board member of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), an organization that has a profound impact on the safety, transparency, and legitimacy of the animal supplement industry.
Grand Meadow products are widely used and trusted across the entire horse community from Olympic medal winning competitors and successful horse racing trainers to backyard horse owners. Their equine supplements are highly regarded for their excellent quality resourced ingredients and completely accurate labelling and effective formulations. Learn more at https://www.grandmeadows.com/
About Nikki Alvin-Smith:
Content Creator | PR Partner | Seasoned Writer | Brand Builder |
Major Marketer| Journalist|
Blogger| Ghostwriter|
PR Marketing Specialist/Strategist|
British American|
Grand Prix Dressage
Competitor/Coach/ Clinician|
Please visit https://www.horseinakiltmedia.com/ and https://nikkialvinsmithstudio.com/ to learn more about her affordable services.
Photos are available on request.
Media Contact:
Grand Meadows, Orange, CA
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Tel: 607 434 4470
https://www.grandmeadows.com/