Using Nutrition To Combat Disease

Every living body is an extremely complex system made up of cells that function to keep the whole organism healthy and operating at optimal levels. The number of structures, proteins, hormones and enzymes in the body is mind-blowing, with the control centre being the DNA.

The body and the cells themselves, send messages and function as busy units, manufacturing things they need to operate, making, moving and removing nutrients and wastes, all the while communicating with other cells.

Constantly changing and remodelling itself, the body is in a continual flux of change, growth and repair.

This process of constant change and remodelling is so complex, it’s no wonder that occasionally something goes wrong!

Some type of disruption happens due to:

• a possible glitch in the DNA
• an infectious organism
• cells and processes can age and wear out
• the building blocks can be lacking from suboptimal nutrition
• a deficiency of a major component or an excess can cause a toxicity
• trauma can also cause damage and ill health

Therefore, it is extremely important that the body and all the cells get what they need to function in the best way possible! If some of the building blocks are missing, or there is an overload of a particular nutrient, this can be a common cause of disease and ill-health.

Prevention is better than a cure!

Use optimal nutrition to combat, heal and prevent physical ill health and disease. Ensure that all critical nutrients are present in the correct ration and balance so that your horse has the strongest possible foundation for health.

So how do we achieve this for our horses?

The first step is to work out what their needs are, we then determine what they are getting, then we fill in the blanks!

The basis of every horses’ diet should be derived from a good quality source of Hay and Pasture. Horses need constant access to forage at between 1.5-2% of their body weight per day.

If we are lucky enough to have a large pasture and access to the same hay for most of the year then we can test the hay and pasture and balance the diet from scratch. If this is not possible then making an educated guess is the next best thing!

Choosing an appropriately balanced, low iron, trace mineral supplement, such as Missy’s Bucket is key, along with a few additions like Salt and Magnesium is a good place to start balancing the diet, if you can’t test the hay and pasture. 

Avoiding high Iron feeds and supplements, keeping an eye on the sugar levels and choosing feeds with a good omega balance is also important.

If we place a high priority on getting the diet as optimal as possible, many of the ailments and diseases that we commonly see in the horse tend to resolve on their own.

Provide the body with what it needs to heal, reproduce and grow, and avoid the things that cause disease, and your horse will have a strong foundation for health!

We can do this with good nutrition!