Do you feed your horses meat?

[Wagtail]

You may be surprised that many of you do. If you use a joint supplement such as cortaflex or glucosamine. Or if you feed cod liver oil, or many of the feed balancers. It costs far less for feed manufacturers to use animal protein than vegetable protien and as a result many of us are forcing our horses to eat meat. Happily, more and more horse people are becoming aware of this fact and changing over to products that are guaranteed to be animal protien free.

Anyone doubting just how bad it is to feed meat to horses, even in these forms should remember what happened when we did this to cows.

 

[jrp204]

Chondroitin is made from shark/ray cartilage, glucosamine is often made from shellfish, codliver oil, funnily enough is from COD. So all in all we have it in for fish stocks. So not only are we feeding animal products but we are also aiding the decline in the already unsustainably managed fish stocks.

 

[Wagtail]

Chondroitin is made from shark/ray cartilage, glucosamine is often made from shellfish, codliver oil, funnily enough is from COD. So all in all we have it in for fish stocks. So not only are we feeding animal products but we are also aiding the decline in the already unsustainably managed fish stocks.

And it's no wonder many horses find them unpallatable and it makes their poo smelly.

 

[bumblelion]

Not any more! I'm as careful as I can be and do check things out as best I can. I used to feed cortaflex though, which contains mammalian tissue and also cod liver oil but then got thinking about it and stopped a few years back!

 

[Wagtail]

Not any more! I'm as careful as I can be and do check things out as best I can. I used to feed cortaflex though, which contains mammalian tissue and also cod liver oil but then got thinking about it and stopped a few years back!

Excellent! I think more and more people are wising up to it. I have actually banned it on my livery yard as my husband refused to pick up the poos from a horse that was on an animal based joint supplement. They stank and were quite runny too. The owner switched to vegetarian glucosamine and the problem went away.

 

[Jesstickle]

Mine eat grass. So apart from caterpillars no! I don't give them any supplements. They're mistreated!

 

[bumblelion]

Excellent! I think more and more people are wising up to it. I have actually banned it on my livery yard as my husband refused to pick up the poos from a horse that was on an animal based joint supplement. They stank and were quite runny too. The owner switched to vegetarian glucosamine and the problem went away.

It's just not natural for them is it!? When I first saw your post I had visions of people feeding their horses big macs!!

 

[only_me]

I feed my horse a joint supplement for prevention as he is young and big. Does this make me a bad owner?

 

[jrp204]

I feed my horse a joint supplement for prevention as he is young and big. Does this make me a bad owner?

No, I am not a vegetarian but won't feed or eat fish products due to the unsustainable methods of managing fish stocks.

 

[ABC]

Which feed balancers?

 

[team barney]

I don't feed anything containing meat products, there are better vegetarian options out there, you just have to look.

I hate seeing horses fed cod liver oil, it is disgusting stuff Again there are perfectly viable veggie alternatives.

I don't like to feed supplements containing dairy products either. I have tried one in the past (on a horse I was desperate to fatten) and it didn't help in the slightest, I took the horse off of it in the end and just fed straights, I genuinely thing the milk based supplement was obstructing weight gain.

 

[touchstone]

Just to stir things up a bit though there is research that shows cod liver oil is superior to other oils in controlling glycaemic response if I've understood the research correctly:- http://jas.fass.org/content/82/10/2978.full

Just to add that my horse loves to lick blood if she gets the chance, so presumably they do manage to get minerals etc from it - or I've got demon horse! :0

 

[vroutledge]

There was one occasion when i had left my ham sandwich on the side whilst i was fastening my horses rug up and he pinched it....does that count?? other than that i only feed vegetable/natural feeds i use linseed oil but dont really feed supplements so no problem there.

 

[fburton]

Just to stir things up a bit though there is research that shows cod liver oil is superior to other oils in controlling glycaemic response if I've understood the research correctly:- http://jas.fass.org/content/82/10/2978.full

The paper says that corn oil and soybean oil are "not good sources of the omega-3 FA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)", whereas fish oil is. In this study, only one non-fish oil (corn) was compared with fish oil, which would make sense in relation to the first sentence. However, are there any good, vegetable or plant sources of the above substances? Hopefully someone here will know.

 

[otter2]

I've always been told from as far back as I can remember that horses shouldn't eat meat but I've never really been told why?
I just did a google search and it didn't return much so could someone give me some more info?
I think/hope the closest my horse has ever come to meat products is when she steals my haribo!

 

[vroutledge]

Just to stir things up a bit though there is research that shows cod liver oil is superior to other oils in controlling glycaemic response if I've understood the research correctly:- http://jas.fass.org/content/82/10/2978.full

Just to add that my horse loves to lick blood if she gets the chance, so presumably they do manage to get minerals etc from it - or I've got demon horse! :0

Maybe he's lacking in iron?>?............we put 3 different mineral blocks in the field with the horses and its remarkable how they go to different ones at different times. one in particular is popular so i presume they all have the same minerals that the tend to lack.

 

[Kenzo]

I personally don't have an issue with feeding an animal by product such as fish oil as cod liver oil has been proven help improve joints and reduce pain in both humans and animals, it's not used as a food, it's used as a benefical supplement, I don't look at it as feeding meat but that's just my view.

If I was veggie, however I would have an issue with this and like mentioned, I'd be looking for alternatives.

Where as something might not be natural for them, that doesn't mean to say it won't benefit them.

 

[Rose Folly]

I'm told that Akal Tekhe horses (forgive the spelling) in their homeland are handfed balls of mutton fat. One of the greatest endurance breeds on earth perhaps? So can't be all bad...

 

[CHH]

Mine don't get supplements, but thankfully no real cause.

We are really conscious - our farm is both livestock and arable and we have recently researched the chemical additives into something as simple as chicken layers pellets... and it's not good... we're back to mixing our own cereals for them.

Once on a hack though, we were in the forest having a ride - this is 20 years ago. My sister and I on our ponies.
We stopped at the burger bar at the layby and got some lunch - burger each and a can of cola.

My horse could drink out of a can (yes I know so wrong given this thread!).

My sister dropped by accident a piece of her burger and our two horses behaved like dogs fighting over a scrap, we were both stood shocked - her pony ate the burger piece on the floor!

I think they were more after the bun/bread as we usually gave them bits, and when the bit of burger dropped they just both lunged at it.

That's the nearest to meat feeding my equine I've got!

 

[aran]

linseed oil/meal is a natural veg based oil that is high omega 3:6 (like fish oils).
most veg oils are high omega 6:3 - which is not ideal esp for joints.

personally i don't feed any fish (or meat) based products to my horses

 

[Wagtail]

I feed my horse a joint supplement for prevention as he is young and big. Does this make me a bad owner?

Not if you didn't know it was meat based. Now you do know that it is meat based, why not try vegetarian glucosamine or devils claw or linseed oil? All are just as good for his joints and more natural for him.

Horses have very long intestines that are not designed to deal with animal protiens which tend to break down faster and rot away in the intestines, hence the smellier poo of carnivors and horses that are fed meat based supplements.

 

[Wagtail]

I've always been told from as far back as I can remember that horses shouldn't eat meat but I've never really been told why?
I just did a google search and it didn't return much so could someone give me some more info?
I think/hope the closest my horse has ever come to meat products is when she steals my haribo!

Yes, see my earlier post. It's due to the length of intestine and the fact that animal protiens break down much quicker and will rot in the intestine (of people) so would be much worse in the even longer intestines of horses. Also, BSE was a direct result of feeding animal proteins to cows.

 

[Wagtail]

There was one occasion when i had left my ham sandwich on the side whilst i was fastening my horses rug up and he pinched it....does that count?? other than that i only feed vegetable/natural feeds i use linseed oil but dont really feed supplements so no problem there.

Lol, you bad owner, you. My mare would snort at anything containing meat. She even snorts at beer or ice cream (that hubby tried to feed her ).

 

[siennamum]

Horses supplement their own diets with fish and meat.
"a number of the 140,000 slaughter horses entering the EU annually carry the parasite Trichina, which is more usually associated with carnivores rather than herbivores. All horses now have to be tested for this--or rather the meat does, since being a filaria it doesn't show up in blood tests. But the more worrying aspect is that it has been transmitted to the human population. There have been outbreaks of trichinosis in humans eating horse meat--either fresh or as salamis."

 

[Wagtail]

Horses supplement their own diets with fish and meat.
"a number of the 140,000 slaughter horses entering the EU annually carry the parasite Trichina, which is more usually associated with carnivores rather than herbivores. All horses now have to be tested for this--or rather the meat does, since being a filaria it doesn't show up in blood tests. But the more worrying aspect is that it has been transmitted to the human population. There have been outbreaks of trichinosis in humans eating horse meat--either fresh or as salamis."

Could this be due to people feeding them animal protien?

 

[vroutledge]

Lol, you bad owner, you. My mare would snort at anything containing meat. She even snorts at beer or ice cream (that hubby tried to feed her ).

haha he gets in to everything, he loves pinching crisps(cooked in vegetable oil of course lol) he likes cream soda and he likes smelling at my bacon sandwich when i have one.

 

[Wagtail]

Which feed balancers?

Unless the company states that it does not use animal protein, then they most likely do! Blue Chip, for example, say they use 100% natural ingredients. Not that they do not use animal protein, so unless someone proves me wrong, then I expect that they do use animal derived products. However Badmington feeds do not, nor do Allen and Page. There will be others that are free of animal byproducts but they make it less clear.

If your feed bag says 'do not feed to animals intended for human consumption' then it will contain animal proteins.

 

[siennamum]

Could this be due to people feeding them animal protien?

I think it's from fresh meat/blood.

Horses have had animal protein for centuries. Iceleandic ponies traditionally get salted herring by the bucketful. there's lots of anecdotal evidence of horses liking blood & even of horses killing and eating things.

 

[Mince Pie]

Vroutledge my cob has successfully stolen several Bacon sandwiches over the years! Interesting about the milk powder as it is in a conditioning feed that several people recommended me so I would have thought it was useful for weight gain.

 

[Ladybird]

Unless the company states that it does not use animal protein, then they most likely do! Blue Chip, for example, say they use 100% natural ingredients. Not that they do not use animal protein, so unless someone proves me wrong, then I expect that they do use animal derived products. However Badmington feeds do not, nor do Allen and Page. There will be others that are free of animal byproducts but they make it less clear.

If your feed bag says 'do not feed to animals intended for human consumption' then it will contain animal proteins.

I'm switching to A&P R&R when my current bag of feed is about finished, the only other thing I feed is Alfa-A (Currently original, may swap to molasses free/oil).
I would assume being fairly basic they are free from animal products?

Other than that they are both buggers for stealing biscuits off me, so I think I can safely say we're meat-free! (Unless Alfa-A proves otherwise!)