Just What Is A Ration Analysis?

Ration analysis evaluates your horse’s current diet by comparing it against the National Research Council, the N.R.C.

NRC’s nutrient requirements of horses and seeing if it meets, exceeds or is under those guidelines.

The NRC’s published nutritional standards are considered to be the correct RDA (registered daily allowance) for horses. They have a complete list of vitamins and minerals (including the proper amounts needed) for your horse’s needs to develop good health, have a powerful appearance and ensure proper health and nutrition (to prevent certain illnesses and diseases).

Their research discovered that horses, not unlike humans have different requirements based on a variety of categories including 7 different activity levels and 6 different life stages. Fact is each different category dramatically affected the horses’ nutritional requirements.

The different life stages established by the NRC and used in ration analysis are:

• Maintenance Horse – this is your horse at rest no physical work that could tax his body.
   A horse laid off from work.
   
•  Breeding Stallion – this is your horse in breeding season.
   
•  Pregnant Mare – this is your horse in one of the three stages of pregnancy. The first stage is 1-9 months, the second stage is 10 months and the third stage is 11 months.
   
•  Lactating Mare– this is your horse in one of the two stages of lactation. The first stage is foaling to 3 months and the second stage is 3 months to weanling.
   
• Performance Horse– this is your horse in one of the three stages of work. The first stage is light work the second stage is moderate work and the third stage is intense work.
   
•  Growing Foal – this is your horse in one of the five stages of growth. The first stage is weanling at 4 months, the second stage is weanling at 6 months either moderate or rapid growth, the third stage is yearling at 12 months either moderate or rapid growth, the fourth stage is long yearling 18 months in either training or not training and the fifth stage is a two year old at 24 months in either training or not training.
   
•  Senior Horse – this is your horse 15 years old or older.

Correct nutrition is vitally important during each specific step in your horse’s life stage.

The critical nutrients requirements established by the NRC and used in ration analysis are digestible energy (DE), crude protein, lysine, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iodine (I), selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E.

Ration analysis takes the guesswork out of feeding and supplementing your horse. See how your horse’s diet compares to the NRC’s requirements now take the free ration test.

order your diet analysis right now.
(Please note you will be taken to HorseMomsStore.com to complete your order.)

Nutritional imbalances in your horse’s diet can be caused by:

• Your horses’ diet alone does not meet the NRC’s requirements for horses. (You can take our free test and find out for sure right now.)
   
• Your horses’ feed is grown on de-mineralized and worn out soil and has next to nothing for nutritional value. (When was the last time your pasture was fertilized to meet proper nutrient standards?)
   
• Refining and processing of your horses’ feed removes nutrients. (Over heating is common in manufacturing and destroys nutrients.)
   
• Medications can drain and deplete the body’s store of essential nutrients.
   
• Manufacturers of commercial feed often add chemicals to increase production that are toxic to your horse. (Anti-caking agents are used to prevent build up in the processing machines but are made with toxic metals that you feed your horse and don’t even know it.)
   
• Improper diet and supplementation can result in mineral excesses and deficiencies. (Too high or too low can be dangerous)
   
• Actual absorption of nutrients may be inadequate due to low levels of available digestive enzymes in your horses’ stomach. (With out the proper enzymes, proper digestion doesn’t happen.)
   
• Stressors from air and water pollution (acid rain or toxic metals) often increase the need for certain nutrients for your horse. (Horses can be more sensitive to environmental pollution than people and specific nutrients are critical for them to  stay healthy.)
   
• It’s not unusual to find elevated levels toxic levels of aluminum, cadmium, lead, arsenic and beryllium in areas that were once considered rural. Most people can accept these dangers in larger metropolitan areas but have a tough time believing their horses could be exposed. (Fact is pollutants are now being found in the North and South Pole.)
   
• Physical emotional stress can suck out certain minerals while acting as a barrier to prevent absorption of necessary nutrients.
   
• Your horse may even have an inherent predisposition to these mineral imbalances. (It’s not uncommon to see these imbalances passed from mare to foal.)
   
• Certain life stages have increased nutritional needs. Doesn’t it make sense that growing horses, senior horses, pregnant and lactating mares and high performance horses all have different nutritional requirements?

The above forms a powerful rationale for the use of ration analysis and nutritional supplements.

Researchers discovered that a horse’s body is made up of a series of chemical activities that worked together as a system. They theorized that the system directly affected the horses health and well being if something was off, (even a little off) it could have disastrous effects.

For example: the horses ability to perform work, reproduce, have healthy babies, grow normally, fight infection, process food, or produce the proper hormones in the right amounts, would all be comprised.

Eventually if un-treated the horse would become weaker, slowly becoming down trodden. Various problems would surface eventually crippling the chemical systems of the body and the horse would die. In most cases a horse on an untested nutritional program are nutritionally skewed and off kilter or the key mineral ratios are out of balance. That means your horses genetic weakness start to show.

Biochemists began to see how various diseases and health problems improved when they supplied different amounts of various vitamins and minerals. Researchers began to understand the concept of individual vitamin and mineral deficiencies and how they affect the body. Fact is the range of nutrients your horse needs can vary between individual horses from as much as 2 to up to 100 times. It all depends on the horse and where it is in his life stage, activity level and/or age.

order your diet analysis right now.
(Please note you will be taken to HorseMomsStore.com to complete your order.)

The correct amounts of vitamins and minerals in the proper ratios means your horse doesn’t get sick as often or as seriously. It means your horse is more alert and energetic. It means your mare is able to give birth and have strong healthy babies that are able to grow with out abnormalities and feel good all the time while being able to perform work when necessary.

A medical researcher discovered that everything that impinges on cellular health and efficiency causes the body to wear down.

He found that the major factors that keep the body’s cells healthy are:

• A nutrient rich diet. (The minimum just to maintain a healthy life)
   
• Adequate amounts of supplemental nutrients. (depending on a variety of reasons; life stage, activity, age, mineral and vitamin imbalances)
   
• Reduced stress. (excess stress overloads the body and depletes mineral stores, unless they are replenished the body breaks down)
   
• Regular exercise. (increases the body’s ability to get nutrients to the cells and removes waste products from the cells)

It means since not all horses suffer from poor health or illness there is strong evidence that many diseases can be avoided or delayed by better management, diet, supplementation and regular exercise. By doing this you can take your horse to the next level of health and performance.

It is also important to know the signs of illness or weakness are always accompanied by inflammatory stress. Inflammatory stress almost always results from cellular stresses which can include vitamin, mineral or other nutrient excesses or deficiencies. The presence of toxic metals like aluminum and arsenic interferes with how the body utilizes minerals.

Unfortunately with inflammatory stress, the cells can no longer adequately perform all their jobs. With the cells functions impaired the signs of ill health or a general over all, lack luster look may begin to emerge.

The good news is in many cases the inflammatory stress your horse is suffering from can be reduced or eliminated by a diet consisting of the proper nutrition, and a custom supplement with the right amounts of nutrients delivered at the right times for your individual horse.

It’s common sense that healthy cells are the foundation for a healthy functioning horse at any age. It just goes to show you, when the horses body systems are working closer to optimum, then the horse is healthier and really performs.

Knowing what your horses’ diet is lacking will give you the power to control his health. You can use this information to fine tune your horse’s performance and condition to levels never before possible or keep him at much higher levels of health that they aren’t already experiencing.

Once we’ve finally identified the problem using a ration analysis and/or hair mineral analysis we can pinpoint your horse’s exact imbalances in his diet and body chemistry and recommend a custom supplement to correct the problem.

Supplements used to balance your horse’s diet and body chemistry may include multiple vitamins and mineral products, individual vitamins and minerals, digestive aids, glandular products, specialty products (anti-oxidants, immune builders, herbs, etc.), anti-inflammatory (devils claw, msm, yucca, boswellia, grape seed, etc.) and joint products (glucosamine chondroitin sulfate, sodium hyaluronate).

A custom horse supplement in a equine nutritional therapy program can consist of:

• Multiple vitamins and mineral supplements provide a small quantity of all the basic nutrients. Often a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement is recommended according to your horse’s metabolic type. 
   
• Additional chelated minerals and vitamins are recommended to balance specific levels and ratios, alter the mineral balance, as well as to correct deficiencies and help eliminate toxic metals.
   
• Individual vitamins in extra quantities are given to balance mineral levels and ratios, to enhance energy production and to help eliminate toxic metals.
   
• One or more digestive aids. Digestive aids are helpful to slow metabolizes. They tend to have low levels of digestive enzymes. Acidophilus, herbs and other supplements for the digestive system may be recommended based on symptoms.
   
• Glandular suited to the metabolism type or to aid in elimination or other functions. They help in stress recovery. The use of these supplements is based on symptoms. 
   
• One or more specialty supplements based on your horse’s hair analysis or symptoms. Specialty products maybe recommended which do not fit into any of the other categories. Herbs can provide minerals, vitamins and other compounds to support body function. Some herbs can be taken over a long period of time and others should only be taken when needed. Antioxidants and immune builders support your horse through detoxification and help to strengthen your horse’s own body defenses.
   
• One or more anti-inflammatory supplement based on your horse’s symptoms. These are used to reduce inflammation and support body function.
   
• One or more joint supplement based on your horse’s symptoms. These are used to help repair and lubricate the joints.

Equine nutritional therapy using hair analysis, ration analysis and custom horse supplements may be thought of as a method to re-pattern cellular activity. The repeated doses of the supplements gently push the body chemistry in certain ways.

By holding the body chemistry in a balanced position, energy levels rise. This in turn allows deeper healing to occur such as elimination of toxic metals. Eventually the supplement program can be reduced as the improvements become permanent.

order your diet analysis right now.
(Please note you will be taken to HorseMomsStore.com to complete your order.)

When you have your horse’s diet analyzed you get the following:

• A complete nutritional analysis and ration plan.
  (Designed based on your horse.)
   
• Hotline access to our support staff when and if you have questions or need special help with your horse. (Special emergency access for clients only.)
   
• A monthly e-mail newsletter
  (Includes horse health and well being articles, feed back from other horse owners that are participating in the program, book reviews, case studies and other information designed to help you help your horse.)
   
• Access to Horse Moms blog create a group for your barn, videos, pictures and chat with other horse moms.. (More resources added monthly.)
   
• A journal to keep track of your horses progress, heath, condition, shows, events, and there’s more ....
   
• one year calendar showing when to reorder your horse’s supplements
  (It makes it easy to stay on track.)
   
• tracks when to have another ration analysis done
   
• blank calendar days to add in important events and a blank note section.
  (You can keep on track with your horses progress.)
   
• charts to keep track of your horse’s vaccination history, de-worming history, dental checkups, hoof care, medical history, reproductive history and feeding chart to track changes to your horse’s diet. 
   
• Easy reference material concerning your horse’s health; life stage chart, nutrient requirements, conditioning chart, vaccination schedule, and worming schedule with a list of wormers.

We develop a relationship with you and your horse so you can take advantage of our nutritional balancing expertise and learn about the process your horse goes through as he makes positive changes toward balancing his body chemistry.

So if you’re ready to do something positive for your horse and give the program, hair analysis, ration analysis and custom supplement a try click here and order your diet analysis right now.
(Please note you will be taken to HorseMomsStore.com to complete your order.)