Why what we feed has to be right

"When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is right, medicine is of no need."

Ancient Ayurvedic proverb

Imagine building your house out of rotten wood

Remember the story of the man who built his house on sand? Or The Three Little Pigs? The same principle applies to the body - structure and foundations matter, whether human or horse.

If we choose to eat ultra-processed meals full of C.R.A.P (not me being deliberately potty-mouthed - stands for Carbs, Refined, Artificial & Processed), that’s our decision. But would we knowingly feed our horse defective ingredients that damage their gut, hormones, immunity, and long-term health?

Every cell in your horse’s body - muscle, bone, organ, skin - is built from the food you provide. So next time you put a feed bowl down, it’s worth asking:

“Am I OK with this feed becoming part of my horse?”

Would we feed them something that disrupts hormone production? Or ingredients so heavily processed or genetically altered they’re linked to inflammation and immune dysfunction? Or synthetic vitamins and minerals their gut doesn’t recognise, delivered alongside fillers that feed harmful bacteria?

Many popular feeds contain pro-inflammatory, gut-damaging fillers that encourage the wrong bacteria and suppress beneficial flora. The result? Gas, bloating, toxin production (SIBO), immune stress - and a horse whose body is quietly struggling.

There’s a reason many feeds are cheap as chips - some cheaper than a bag of shavings - and that’s why we always recommend checking the ingredients list, not the marketing.

📌 Top tip: Ingredients aren’t always easy to find. Product pages often omit them, and feed bags may hide them. Look for the white label sewn into the top of the bag - that’s where they usually lives.

Your horse is what you feed them

We all know the phrase “You are what you eat” - and it applies just as much to horses. Think of your horse’s genes like computer software.
Every mouthful of food is like typing on the keyboard - sending signals that either support health or drive dysfunction.

A fast-food meal sends a “crash incoming” message; whole, nutrient-dense food sends a “run smoothly” signal. And it’s no different for horses.

As Juliet Getty so perfectly puts it:

“Feeding your horse contrary to their innate physiological needs makes their body scream for help.”

And yet many of us have been there - three different feeds (because he likes them), a scoop of this, a slosh of that, a sprinkle of something else… and panic when the latest magic ingredient runs out.

It’s no wonder - the feed world is a minefield. But here’s the good news - it doesn’t need to be this complicated.

The truth about feeds

Most commercial feeds are built around ultra-processed ingredients, by-products, and synthetic additives. They’re shiny, persuasive, and promise everything - but nutritionally, they’re the equine equivalent of junk food, with most factory feeds based on C.R.A.P. - those  Carbs, Refined, Artificial & Processed.

They often rely on:

• bulk ingredients such as wheat, corn, and soya
• genetically modified crops
• fillers far removed from what horses evolved to eat

These feeds disrupt the gut, fuel inflammation, and leave horses craving more - while manufacturers maximise profit.

What you feed becomes the foundation of your horse’s health - yet junk foundations create junk outcomes. It really is that simple.

What should horses actually eat?

Horses are, at their core, hindgut grass-forage-fibre fermenters. Their entire health depends on a well-functioning hindgut fermentation process - fuelled by long-stem, cellulose-fibre-rich grasses. Their digestive systems evolved over millions of years to process forage, not sugary grass flushes, molasses-coated feeds, or synthetic additives.

In the wild, horses:

• roam 20–30 miles a day
• trickle-graze for up to 23 hours
• eat diverse, long-stem grasses
• rely on fibre fermentation for energy and nutrient synthesis

Compare that to modern domestic life:

• restricted movement and turnout
• limited forage diversity
• processed feeds high in sugar, starch, and fillers

This mismatch between biology and feeding is at the root of many modern problems - laminitis, colic, metabolic dysfunction, behavioural issues, and immune stress.

The simple solution

Feed your horse like a horse.

• Forage first
  Free-choice hay, ideally diverse meadow hay. Avoid alfalfa for metabolic horses.
• Balance the nutrient gaps
  UK forage is notoriously low in minerals such as magnesium, zinc, copper, phosphorus and more. A non-synthetic forage balancer (such as our EquiVita range) helps bridge those gaps. See our Mineral Solutions page for deeper guidance.
• Dump the junk
  Avoid molasses, by-products, fillers, and synthetic additives. Choose species-appropriate carriers such as meadow grass pellets, cobs, or simple grass chaff.

Feeding this way doesn’t just simplify your feed room - it transforms health, behaviour, and resilience. Every mouthful programs biology, calms inflammation, and supports immunity, while UPF's do the opposite.

Pulling it all together

• Hay is king
• Balance forage gaps appropriately
• Keep the feed bowl simple and grass-based

It really can be this straightforward.

What about vitamins?

This is where many well-meaning owners are misled - so let’s clear things up.

Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K)

• Vitamins A & E
  Fresh grass is rich in both. Vitamin E degrades in hay, so horses on hay-only diets (especially metabolic horses) often need supplementation. Natural vitamin E is expensive, which is why many supplements use synthetic forms that the liver struggles to utilise. In our balancers, we account for this carefully with adjusted ratios.
• Vitamin D & K
  Synthesised through sunlight exposure and supported by forage and the microbiome. Deficiency is rare - another reason not to over-rug.

Water-soluble vitamins (C)

Horses synthesise their own vitamin C in the liver from glucose in forage, which means supplementation is unnecessary.

Microbiome-produced vitamins (B-complex)

The entire B-vitamin family is produced in a healthy hindgut and is vital for energy metabolism, detoxification, and hoof quality.

Poor forage or disrupted gut health can lead to deficiencies - particularly B6 (P5P) and B12.

For those managing chronic illness, detox issues, or poor hoof and coat quality, the next section is especially relevant.

• B6 (P5P) - Activated B6 is essential for liver detoxification. Synthetic pyridoxine cannot be converted efficiently by the equine liver and is largely ineffective.
  Deficiency contributes to Cryptopyrroluria (KPU).
• B12 - Crucial for red blood cell production and oxygen transport. Can become deficient in over-trained or gut-compromised horses.

The feedbowl

Here’s where it often goes wrong - you can’t balance a horse by adding good nutrition to a feed bowl full of junk.

There are essentially three types of feed:

• Good – nourishing and species-appropriate
• Questionable – over-processed, high in sugar
• Bad – pro-inflammatory, gut-damaging, filler-heavy

The rule is simple - if it’s made from grass - feed it. If it’s not - don’t.

Use a simple meadow-grass-based carrier. You don’t need multiple feeds - just something the gut recognises to deliver supplements properly. And if your horse refuses it? Persevere gently. Sweet junk feeds will have hijacked the brain, so transition slowly - you’ll get there.

To conclude

• Your horse doesn’t need fancy feeds - they need nourishment their biology understands.
• Keep it simple, and keep it species-appropriate.
• Feed grass-based forage, balance wisely, and ignore the shiny marketing.

Next up

The Feedbowl - what's really in those feedbags? For the marketing spin behind the spin — and a closer look at the ingredients we should be avoiding.

Meanwhile, if you want to explore specific feed types in more detail, click the links below to read our individual guides.