Happy Horse Nutrition

31. Is This Horse Fed Right? A Vet's Guide to the Rapid Assessment of Nutrition


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When a horse presents with ulcers, colic risk, poor performance, slow healing,  unexplained weight change or a plethora of other health conditions, nutrition may be part of the story—even if it isn’t the primary cause.

In this episode, Dr Nerida, PhD shares a practical, vet-friendly framework for a rapid field assessment of diet: the same fast mental checklist nutritionists run through when they first meet a case.

You’ll walk away with three high-impact screening steps: 

(1) is there enough forage (and are there long fasting gaps that increase gut risk), 

(2) is grain being fed appropriately and in a digestible form (to avoid starch overflow into the hindgut); and 

(3) is the horse actually receiving correct supplementation—meaning a fortified feed/balancer/vitamin-mineral supplement at the proper feeding rate to cover common nutrient gaps and prevent “silent” deficiencies.

✅ See all the figures and tables used in Dr Nerida’s AAEP presentation and read more about the rapid diet assessment framework https://www.myhappy.horse/rapidassess

👇 Download the MyHappy.Horse app and use the Rapid Diet Assessment tool to quickly find red flags and decide when a full nutrition assessment is needed.
https://apps.apple.com/app/myhappy-horse/id6633422324

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Happy Horse NutritionBy MyHappy.Horse