Exclusion Diet
Always consult your vet where you have concerns about your horse's health.
Exclusion diets are increasingly popular and very useful in identifying where people have food intolerances or issues. The same approach can be used for horses.
Typically if a dietary issue is suspected, then a useful exclusion diet that can be used for a period of 3 weeks consists of:
- Hay – ad lib
- Unmollassed Alfalfa (bagged or pellet)
- Seaweed, Brewers Yeast, Magnesium Oxide
- Soaked Unmollassed Sugar Beet
Nothing else should be added to the feed – no succulents (apples, carrots, parsnips etc.), no grains, no commercially prepared supplements, and absolutely no sugar or peppermint treats!
The horse should have no access to grass whilst on an exclusion diet.
if there is no improvement on the exclusion diet then consider removing Alfalfa, or simply going down to hay and water for a week. Horses can get along quite well on just hay and water for that time.
An interesting side effect of the exclusion diet in horses and people can be an increase in sensitivity to the the offending substance, grass for a horse or perhaps wheat or glutten for a person - so there is a bigger over reaction when the substance is eaten. However after a period of time on an exclusion diet, the substance can be re-introduced if essential and there may be no reaction.