HSF Equine Nutrition

12/29/2025

12/29/2025

Ration Balancers

What is a ration balancer?
Think of eating a protein bar that has your daily amount of vitamins, minerals and protein in a small portion.

Ration Balancers are designed to be fed at a low feeding rates, meaning usually 1-3 lbs. maximum. Balancers are typically pelleted feeds, and include most of your horse's daily basics. Ration Balancers are excellent for horses who need low calorie diets, horses needing low grain & low nsc diets, horses who are over conditioned, and those who are doing excellent on forage alone but need daily vitamin/minerals/amino acids guaranteed.

What Ration Balancers are often missing are calories and fat, which can leave some horses needing more. In many cases you can add Ration Balancer to other diets, for instance a horse who needs more calories than a Balancer provides can have a Performance or Complete feed added on at a lower feeding rate than is typically recommended- where the balancer acts as the main vitamin/mineral/protein source and the other grain acts as extra fat and calories, plus extra digestible nutrition. This can be especially important for older horses, horses with poor teeth, horses with weight difficulty, and more.

Next we'll get into complete feeds, and how they can be fed alone AND with a balancer!

12/29/2025

Winter weather is in full swing and it's a great time to evaluate your feeding program!

I'm a certified equine nutrition consultant offering diet analyses, individualized feeding programs, product recommendations, weight loss and gain plans, metabolic diet planning, and more!

I specialize in seniors and horses with metabolic conditions, and I also work with young horses, performance horses, horses in illness & injury rehabilitation, and horses of all breeds and sizes including minis 🐴

Winter can be tough for many horses and having a solid nutritional foundation will set them up to not only thrive in the winter but also to excel in the coming spring!

I make farm visits as well as offer virtual appointments- reach out to me on Facebook, email hsfequinenutrition@gmail.com or hsfequinenutrition. com 🐎

12/26/2025

Some may not agree with me on this, but “OLD” is not an acceptable excuse for a horse being skinny. Yes, senior horses are harder to feed. Their teeth wear down, digestion changes, and they burn calories differently. Keeping weight on them takes more effort, more money, more time, and more intention. That part is true.

But thin is not the same as skinny.

An older horse may lose some topline. They may look softer, less muscled, ribs showing a bit, a little tucked as the years add up. That can be normal. Ribs clearly showing, hips sharp, spine protruding, and no padding anywhere? That is not age. That is neglect.

Old age doesn’t lower the standard of care. It raises it. Senior horses require regular dental care, appropriate feed, parasite control, and often multiple meals a day. If you cannot meet those needs, the kindest choice is to ask for help or make different arrangements.

They carried us for years. They worked, taught, and trusted us. Growing old should not mean growing hungry.

12/24/2025

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas Eve from HSF Equine Nutrition and all of our animals 🎄♥️

12/22/2025

Winter weather is in full swing and it's a great time to evaluate your feeding program!

I'm a certified equine nutrition consultant offering diet analyses, individualized feeding programs, product recommendations, weight loss and gain plans, metabolic diet planning, and more!

I specialize in seniors and horses with metabolic conditions, and I also work with young horses, performance horses, horses in illness & injury rehabilitation, and horses of all breeds and sizes including minis 🐴

Winter can be tough for many horses and having a solid nutritional foundation will set them up to not only thrive in the winter but also to excel in the coming spring!

I make farm visits as well as offer virtual appointments- reach out to me on Facebook, email hsfequinenutrition@gmail.com or hsfequinenutrition. com 🐎

12/21/2025

It's cold outside, but you can help keep your horses warm by providing them with a balanced, high forage diet!

For horses who are underweight, adding some additional fiber and fat sources as well as offering blanketing as needed can be super helpful.

For horses who are a bit on the rounder side, winter is a great time to limit grain intake, provide good forage coupled with as much outdoor movement as possible and get them to a healthier weight before spring grass 🌾

Schedule an appointment with me anytime for help getting your horse's diet on track in 2026! 🐴