Do you feed your horses meat?

Do you feed animal based supplements and feeds to your horse?

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Wagtail said:
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.
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Am I a bad horse owner if I ride my horse as well? Or feed a compound mix (although I don't - I feed straights)? Or am I a bad horse owner simply because I don't agree with everything?
Not directed at anyone btw - just saying that just because I don't do A B or C and instead do X Y and Z doesn't make me a bad owner.

No horses are not designed to eat meat, although that didn't stop my pony eating half of my McD's chicken burger (although you could argue there is no meat in it :p) or consuming my fries.

I feed the joint supplement because I believe it works - although looking at the ingredients of the one I feed it does actually have veggie glucosamine (HCl) and also has Chondroitin in it.
Devils claw is not competition safe afaik & is more of a pain-reducer than a joint supplement imo.
I don't mind if my horse has more smelly poos (and he dosent!) if I can keep his joints in good order! :)
 
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siennamum said:
Horses supplement their own diets with fish and meat.
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Indeed...mine apparently stole my YO's OH's ham sandwich a few weeks ago! He said he was standing near to his stable and my horse, who has the longest neck you've ever seen, reached over his shoulder, took the sandwich out of his hand and wolfed it down. He appears to still be alive and wasn't poorly afterwards.
 
Ladybird said:
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!)
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Yes, I believe that Alfa A is absolutely fine.
 
Rose Folly said:
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...
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How disgusting! Just because humans feed animal products to horses and they eat them does not make it right. Dogs will drink (and enjoy) cows milk but they are actually lactose intolerant and it can cause them stomach upsets. They also love chocolate and it can kill them.
 
Are you a supplement expert Wagtail. You seem to be sharing the bounty of your extensive knowledge of feedstuffs.... is this due to a solid background in biochem or just some internet waffle..?
 
I haven't answered the poll as i am aware of most stuff (now anyway!) I chose not to feed cortaflex as I read the ingredients and didn't fancy feeding my horse anything with derivatives of mammalian tissue in. I give him Topspec 10:10 joint supplement as I don't *think* it has any animal products in BUT if someone knows otherwise then let me know by all means!

A&P feeds have the big vegetarian tick on them i think don't they? We did feed ours the olf faithful but my mum bought an alternative at one point but I didn't like the fact it seemed to contain milk in it - I found that a bit odd (I assume it would be cow's milk not horse).

We used to give cod liver oil back in the day but no stick to linseed instead. I don't think ut is right to feed a vegetarian animal meat products as they are not designed to eat them so surely it isn't really right?

My old piny did once filch a cheeseburger though so i guess some do like to try something different. Mind you, back then i think most burgers contained more veggie components than actual meat!
 
Simple System are to my knowledge the only horse feed company that's fully certified by the Vegan society. Food for thought... (<--- sorry, couldn't resist :p)
 
siennamum said:
Are you a supplement expert Wagtail. You seem to be sharing the bounty of your extensive knowledge of feedstuffs.... is this due to a solid background in biochem or just some internet waffle..?
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What a strange reply. If you believe it is right to feed meat to horses, then that is up to you. But why the need to get personal?

It really is a shame that these discussions turn like this. Everyone is politely discussing stuff and then someone like you tries to turn it nasty. I usually find this happens when said person runs out of valid arguments or they are a troll.
 
ladyt25 said:
I haven't answered the poll as i am aware of most stuff (now anyway!) I chose not to feed cortaflex as I read the ingredients and didn't fancy feeding my horse anything with derivatives of mammalian tissue in. I give him Topspec 10:10 joint supplement as I don't *think* it has any animal products in BUT if someone knows otherwise then let me know by all means!

A&P feeds have the big vegetarian tick on them i think don't they? We did feed ours the olf faithful but my mum bought an alternative at one point but I didn't like the fact it seemed to contain milk in it - I found that a bit odd (I assume it would be cow's milk not horse).

We used to give cod liver oil back in the day but no stick to linseed instead. I don't think ut is right to feed a vegetarian animal meat products as they are not designed to eat them so surely it isn't really right?
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Completely agree with this.
 
In general mine have only fibre feeds from Simple Systems, however, Farra does have a joint supplement. That said, her droppings are no more smelly or different to my other horse who does not have one.

Farra also shares the kids tuna and ham sarnies given the chance.

So as a rule I do my best to ensure they are vegetarian but I do seem to have one that is an omnivore by choice.
 
kickonchaps said:
Simple System are to my knowledge the only horse feed company that's fully certified by the Vegan society. Food for thought... (<--- sorry, couldn't resist :p)
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I think you're right. A few of them are vegetarian but some of them may contain milk products.
 
I must be the worst mother - mine loves to steal egg sandwiches, bacon sandwiches and Power Aid from the bottle. The dog steals their feed and they are not designed to eat anything but meat.

An old pony used to eat ice blocks and Coka Cola. I have no problem feeding Cod Liver Oil it is one very important vitamin to protect your horse from Navicular. Horses use sunlight to produce Vitamin D if you cover your horse from ears to tail he won't get the sunlight he needs to produce the Vitamin he needs to keep his bones strong.

One of the reasons stabled horses are so prone to joint problems - lack of sunlight on their bodies.
 
Horses like all mammals cope well with milk as youngsters, though I understand there are changes which occur as animals age which make milk and dairy products counter productive. I'm told, that where dairy plays a smaller part in the human diet, that the population enjoys longer healthier lives. I have no proof of this other than anecdotally based information, but, the Japanese seem to do ok.
 
Evelyn said:
I must be the worst mother - mine loves to steal egg sandwiches, bacon sandwiches and Power Aid from the bottle. The dog steals their feed and they are not designed to eat anything but meat.

An old pony used to eat ice blocks and Coka Cola. I have no problem feeding Cod Liver Oil it is one very important vitamin to protect your horse from Navicular. Horses use sunlight to produce Vitamin D if you cover your horse from ears to tail he won't get the sunlight he needs to produce the Vitamin he needs to keep his bones strong.

One of the reasons stabled horses are so prone to joint problems - lack of sunlight on their bodies.
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My dogs will eat anything including salad except for raw tomato. Mind you dogs are actually omnivores not carnivores so that would explain it. Horses eating meat through choice is really very odd indeed. Though I have also known it happen. I would expect it to do them no good whatsoever.
 
AndySpooner said:
Horses like all mammals cope well with milk as youngsters, though I understand there are changes which occur as animals age which make milk and dairy products counter productive. I'm told, that where dairy plays a smaller part in the human diet, that the population enjoys longer healthier lives. I have no proof of this other than anecdotally based information, but, the Japanese seem to do ok.
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I have heard that too. Cows milk is actually not that good for people of any age, though that is not going to stop me enjoying butter and cheese even if it does cause me problems sometimes.
 
little_critter said:
A&P make quite a big thing about their feeds being vegetarian so I would suspect there are no animal products in them. I use R&R - it smells lovely!
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Bear in mind vegetarians can eat dairy products, so being vegetarian certified doesn't necessarily mean there's nothing derived from animals in the feed
 
I dont feed supplements atm and feed what I know is a completly well balanced feed from Allen and Page which I highly recommend.

I have been looking into a supplement from Feedmark and didnt even think to look for meat within it. I am honestly shocked
 
I am vegetarian and when my horse started developing arthritic symptoms I was reluctant to put her on Cortaflex for the reasons you describe. I tried her on Superflex (veggie alternative) instead for a while but it didn't do much good as the arthritis was more advanced.

Talking to my vet, turns out Cortaflex has hardly any of the active ingredients you need and now my horse is on Synequin which is full of bovine and marine nasties. I had to wrestle with my conscience to feed it to her but my reasoning is that to get this horse fully sound and back in full work (which makes her happy, she is only twenty and isn't nearly ready to retire yet), I have put her through surgery for a bone chip, which carries all the risks of a general anaesthetic and steroid joint injections which have the risk of laminitis.
I love my horse to bits and I want the best for her, including, in an ideal world, a vegan diet. However, if feeding her gross slaughterhouse by-products on the advice of two specialist vets is going to help her long-term soundness and longevity, that is exactly what I shall do. I won't eat it myself though because I'm still veggie.
 
I currently don't knowingly feed my horses animal protein products, that said one is being fed a competition cube so there may be a trace in that. I have previously fed suppliments containing animal protien (muscle building balancers, marine based joint suppliments etc) and do not have a problem with this at all. I would happily feed similar products in the future.

I would imagine my horse gets plenty of animal protein by supping the odd critter in his field water supply etc.

In terms of horse management I think there are far more important issues to be concerned about than tiny amounts of animal derived protein in feedstuffs.
 
stacey_lou said:
I dont feed supplements atm and feed what I know is a completly well balanced feed from Allen and Page which I highly recommend.

I have been looking into a supplement from Feedmark and didnt even think to look for meat within it. I am honestly shocked
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This is my ingredents list for the product I was looking at, looks complety meat free to me. I think?

Ingredients:
Rice bran, micronised linseed, sodium chloride, calcium carbonate, MSM, glucosamine HCl, YeaSacc1026 live yeast, BioMos, B vitamin complex, potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, PowerMin Performance Complex (chelated zinc, manganese, iron, copper), vitamin E, selenium, maize meal, L-carnitine, calcium gluconate, magnesium chloride, silica.
 
kickonchaps said:
Bear in mind vegetarians can eat dairy products, so being vegetarian certified doesn't necessarily mean there's nothing derived from animals in the feed
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Hmm, looking on A & P site it doesn't actually say what the ingredients are but i thought it did on the bag itself? I could be wrong. I am sure when I compared their old faithful with the alternative we had though there were no milk products in it. However, I am not sure about their other feeds.

It's a mine field really!!
 
Wagtail said:
My dogs will eat anything including salad except for raw tomato. Mind you dogs are actually omnivores not carnivores so that would explain it. Horses eating meat through choice is really very odd indeed. Though I have also known it happen. I would expect it to do them no good whatsoever.
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Dogs are Carnivors totally - they have pointy teeth for chopping food, strong stomach acid to deal with rotting meat, and short intestines.

They eat just about anything though because they have adapted but this is not good for their health. Ther has been a massive increase in skin problems and cancers since the evolution of extruded foods. Dogs are decended from wolves and wolves eat meet. not grains and vegetables - except grass which makes them throw up.
 
When I buy a supplement for my horse its based on my vets recommendations or the recommendations of friends that have used the product before on their horse. I usually go buy what the cost is rather than whether it has fish/meat products in it. I am aware that it is dangerous to feed animal products to the same species but aren't we a little in danger of going over the top here? I will continue to feed my horse the joint supplement he is on as I and many more people are governed by what is left in their purse at the end of the week and not by mad hysteria from the media.

If we knew what was in everything we ate we probably wouldn't eat it. A little bit of knowledge and all that....

I was under the impression that BSE and the human variant of BSE which is CJD (Cruetzfeldt Jacob Disease) was caused by bits of brain tissue along with bone and other tissues from cattle being made into a form of 'pony nuts' for cattle to be eaten. Are we now saying that there is 'brain tissue' in our joint supplements?
 
ihatework said:
I currently don't knowingly feed my horses animal protein products, that said one is being fed a competition cube so there may be a trace in that. I have previously fed suppliments containing animal protien (muscle building balancers, marine based joint suppliments etc) and do not have a problem with this at all. I would happily feed similar products in the future.

I would imagine my horse gets plenty of animal protein by supping the odd critter in his field water supply etc.

In terms of horse management I think there are far more important issues to be concerned about than tiny amounts of animal derived protein in feedstuffs.
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Yes, they said that about putting sheep in cattle feed, these scientifically based nutritonalist experts who caused devastation, sickness and loss of life both animal and human.
 
stacey_lou said:
This is my ingredents list for the product I was looking at, looks complety meat free to me. I think?

Ingredients:
Rice bran, micronised linseed, sodium chloride, calcium carbonate, MSM, glucosamine HCl, YeaSacc1026 live yeast, BioMos, B vitamin complex, potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, PowerMin Performance Complex (chelated zinc, manganese, iron, copper), vitamin E, selenium, maize meal, L-carnitine, calcium gluconate, magnesium chloride, silica.
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Depends on the glucosamine source! But tbh I wouldn't get too hung up on things, just don't feed them fillet steaks :)
 
unbalanced said:
I am vegetarian and when my horse started developing arthritic symptoms I was reluctant to put her on Cortaflex for the reasons you describe. I tried her on Superflex (veggie alternative) instead for a while but it didn't do much good as the arthritis was more advanced.

Talking to my vet, turns out Cortaflex has hardly any of the active ingredients you need and now my horse is on Synequin which is full of bovine and marine nasties. I had to wrestle with my conscience to feed it to her but my reasoning is that to get this horse fully sound and back in full work (which makes her happy, she is only twenty and isn't nearly ready to retire yet), I have put her through surgery for a bone chip, which carries all the risks of a general anaesthetic and steroid joint injections which have the risk of laminitis.
I love my horse to bits and I want the best for her, including, in an ideal world, a vegan diet. However, if feeding her gross slaughterhouse by-products on the advice of two specialist vets is going to help her long-term soundness and longevity, that is exactly what I shall do. I won't eat it myself though because I'm still veggie.
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I can quite understand that. However, having taken numerous supplements myself to help my back arthritis (from a childhood injury). I can honestly say that nothing worked in the slightest. I have also had horses on various supplements through the years including cortaflex (when I didn't realise or even think about the ingredients) and they made no difference at all. Good luck though. Let us know if it works for her. :)
 
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