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Description: Many horse owners waste money each day on feed and supplements that their horses don’t need. Ignorance can also lead to harmful feeding practices. Learn how to improve your feeding practices and gain a healthier horse. HorseCare Program Not sure if you're feeding your horse a balanced diet? Are you feeding him enough protein or too much? Is he missing an important mineral in his ration or is that expensive supplement not really necessary? Check your current rations or develop a new, balanced ration in a few easy steps using the HorseCare Program (Windows only). Other ration formulation programs with similar abilites can cost up to $300!  This program helps formulate a balanced, least-cost ration for growing horses, working horses, breeding stallions, and pregnant or lactating mares based on weight, growth rate (for growing horses), age, and training status (for growing horses) or work level. All weight data can be given in pounds or kilograms. It also supplies a common feeds library of 112 feeds and allows you to modify current feeds or add new feeds to the list.  The user can easily enter a horse's current ration and the feeds available to make a new ration. Using this information, the program then calculates the nutrient levels of your current ration and formulates several "best rations" based on the available feeds and your horse's nutrient requirements and ratios. The top rations are then displayed in a table showing the feeds in the ration, the amount to feed, the cost, and the nutrient levels (compared to needed amounts). All relevant horse nutrients are included, from energy, protein, and lysine to minerals and vitamins. The rations can also be viewed in graph form to easily see which nutrients meet the requirement levels. The horse nutritional requirements are based on the National Research Council's standards. A Guide to Horse Nutrition Feeding Rules - Learn how to safely and effectively feed all types of horses. This section has information on basic feeding guidelines for every horse and advanced guidelines for specific classes of horses. It also covers buying and storing, weighing your horse, and things to think about when providing water for your horse. Feeds - Learn about using pasture, hay, grain, supplements, and commercial feeds correctly in a feeding program. The common horse feeds, from corn to citrus pulp, are covered with pictures of the feed, information on how to feed it and information on the nutrients it contains.   Physiology - Tour a horse’s digestive tract. Learn where the different nutrients are digested, how they are digested, and where they are absorbed. View endoscopic footage of a real horse's digestive system, from the pharynx to the stomach. Also learn about nutrition-related problems like bolting, colic, and diarrhea. Nutrients - Learn about all the different nutrients that a horse requires and why he needs them. This section includes information on what foods a nutrient is found in, its function, the horse's requirement, deficiency and toxicity signs, and the nutrient's interactions with other nutrients.   Deworming - Learn about internal parasites and how to control them. This section covers management pointers for an effective deworming program and information on worm types, dewormer classes, and methods of deworming. Ration Calculations - Learn how to calculate your horse's current ration to see if it is meeting his nutrient requirement levels. Also learn how to create a balanced ration for your horse.
This CD-ROM was reviewed for accuracy by Kevin Kline, Ph.D., Professor of Equine Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana. The latest information on horse nutrition was included in this CD-ROM. Western Horseman reviewed it in their August 2000 issue. The review was in the Western Preview section, page 213. Here is the text of the review. Thoroughbred is reviewing it, probably in their week of Sept. 3 issue. The review was in the New Products section. Return to Published Works page | ||||||
