So some good questions have sprung up from my introductory post on minerals for horses.  What do we do about excess iron in well water?  I have excess sulfur in mine…what about that? There is a highly prevalent idea in recent equine medicine that equine supplements are unnecessary.  I think there is good proof that many supplements are a complete waste of money.  But I also know that our modern horses faces many dietarychallenges in their environment…poor forage options, limited grazing, isolation, static diets of grains and limited quality hay.  Obesity and lameness are common.  Insulin resistance and Cushings disease are epidemic.  I’ve read that excess iron causes laminitis and poor foot health, and excess copper can cause anemia.  Lack of selenium causes tying up.  The list goes on and on.  Its clear that minerals are important and that they need to be provided in an ideal amount….not too much, not to little.  So how do you know what your horse needs?  Is there a mathematical formula?  Nope. So lets look first at minerals in …

So a friend recently asked me for advice about how to help her older mare with suspected Cushings. So I thought I would take the opportunity to describe my approach to equine rehab. Part one…Equine Nutrition Basics. Its a huge discussion and I start at the same place for any horse, Cushings or not. The photo attached is of obese Leilja, two years ago. Although not Cushings related, her weight put her at risk for hoof problems and tendon injuries. So an ideal weight is really important for healthy horses. The first thing most people do with obese horses is to withhold food or feed poor quality hay and nothing else. This doesn’t work well and although horses might lose weight (many don’t with this approach), the trade off is mineral deficiencies that cause disease. The truth is completely opposite. Horse are created to instinctively eat for minerals. If they don’t have access to the minerals they need, they will overeat whatever is in front of them…be it hay, wood, rocks, etc. So they simply …