Holistic horse care industry develops with demand

By Marty Metzger
North Forty News

Just as people more frequently purchase natural foods for themselves, horse owners, too, are now exploring a holistic philosophy.

The northern Colorado area offers them many choices for commonsense products and services. For example, Ranch-Way Feeds produces a comprehensive line of natural, nutritional feeds for horses, as well as for poultry, swine, cattle, goats, sheep and alpacas.

David Sewald, Ranch-Way's purchasing manager, said that demand for organics made it financially feasible to market them. So, in June, the facility dedicated a milling system for the natural products because the USDA requires separation of organic from nonorganic goods.

Ranch-Way's Easy Feeds for equines include 40-pound bags of Organic Horse Mix (with soy and corn), Organic No-Corn/No-Soy Mix and Organic Horse Supplement. Organic Minerals can be purchased separately, per specific need. While available at the Fort Collins mill, they're also sold through a four-state network. All of these feeds are produced with certified ingredients inspected by a third-party agency and formulated for the animal's nutritional requirements. They contain no antibiotics, hormones or restricted-use proteins.

Owners who board out rather than home-care their horses have holistic options, too. Robin Davis's Mustang Hollow is sort of a back-to-the-future ranch between Nunn and Wellington. Davis said that her holistic philosophy is to "maintain a sustainable lifestyle for horses," through empowering owners to look at their horse in its entirety.

She purchased the 80-acre property in 2005, employed her multi-year background in herbals and essential oils, and added homeopathy a couple years ago. Davis monitors each horse's health, individually feeding soaked beet pulp, soaked alfalfa pellets, triple-screened racehorse oats, and free-choice grass hay. She also incorporates powdered minerals and salt, both as free choice. Her boarding facility, which can accommodate up to 15 horses, currently houses seven, each cared for to meet its particular needs.

By going to the "purest" feed choices, even a dry lot can be made more functional and natural, said Davis. Barefoot trimmer Jaime Jackson, who practices natural hoof care, has coined the term "Paddock of Paradise" for one such arrangement that creates movement by strategic placement of several small feeding stations and water within a one-half acre or larger paddock.

Davis said the holistic mindset is becoming more mainstream and that many deworming and vaccination practices in the past few decades became fear-based routines instead of appropriate tools. Unlike traditional stables, Mustang Hollow's programs are based on distinct needs rather than a rigid schedule. Dewormers can be natural or chemical, again individualized.

More and more veterinarians are recommending new ways to eliminate internal parasites, largely due to increasing resistance to commercial wormers. Allen Landes, DVM, of Equine Medical Service in Fort Collins pointed to research findings presented at the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in Las Vegas. Rotational deworming appears to have sped up rather than slowed the progression of equine internal parasites, according to extensive studies.

One innovative holistic approach is called a targeted plan. As listed in EMS's spring 2009 newsletter, its four components are targeting specific horses, at specific times each year, in specific management schemes, with a specific dewormer. This method uses fecal testing to determine fecal egg counts. The result quantifies the number of eggs per gram of feces. Parasitologists have determined that approximately 20 percent of horses in each population carry the majority of parasite loads. Identification of these individuals is one way to reduce spread of parasites by targeting those horses for more frequent testing and deworming.

Holistic trends also apply to stable management. For example, Davis depends on a synergistic relationship among horses, barn cats and mice instead of using vermin traps and poisons.

A community of holistic horse care proponents annually presents the Holistic Horse Affair in October. Speakers, products and professional services are exhibited. A collection of horse care articles is available online at www.holistic-herd.com.