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Calm Healthy Horses, Rangiora (2026)

10/10/2026

Protein and Top-Line

Top-Line refers to the group of muscles which run along a horse’s back - from the top of the neck to the top of the hip and along to his tail.

“The best indicator of good quality protein consumption is top-line” - Dr Geoff Tucker DVM

Ben, the horse in the photos, was not ridable at the time so was not in any kind of ‘correct work’ so that didn’t contribute to his improvement in top-line and overall health. He was on pasture turnout but with no supplementary daily feeds.

Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and protein is a major building block of muscles. Of course, fats, appropriate carbohydrates, vitamins & minerals are also part of the structure and functioning.

When Protein is digested it is broken down into amino acids for absorption into the bloodstream where they can be reassembled into various body tissues – muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, hooves, skin, hair, organs, hormones, enzymes etc etc.

The purpose of meeting protein requirements in horses is for construction and repair.

The horse doesn’t ‘store’ amino acids for future use. If there is inadequate ‘quality’ protein in the diet the body starts breaking down its own tissues; such as muscle, and recycles them into more urgent purposes such as enzymes or hormones.

Body structures like hair-coat and hoof horn are not high on the priority list for existence so lack of protein shows up peripherally first.

Lack of quality protein also affects tissues you can’t see – for example, the manufacture of blood components is also compromised and this is why numerous recreational horses are border-line anaemic and have low immune function.

You will observe this as GRADUAL general deterioration of health - loss of top-line, poor hoof quality and hair-coat. This is how the dreaded 'hay belly' happens - it is a lack of QUALITY protein.

Such deterioration can occur when horses are on poor pasture, or are consuming late-cut hay with a low Crude Protein content without adequate supplementation in their daily feed.

It is not advisable to over-supply protein. (as a rule of thumb 1-1.5g protein per kg BW for a horse in light work).

This is because amino acids cannot be stored - their nitrogen must be removed, and the liver uses energy to convert potentially toxic ammonia into urea, for excretion in urine. This additional nitrogen disposal represents an ‘expensive metabolic cost’ caused by excess protein intake

A daily bucket feed should suit the individual horse’s age, size, workload and metabolic status, and complement the rest of the diet.

Since all protein sources are higher in Phosphorous than Calcium, this needs to be considered in the overall diet too.

The signs of Chronic Protein Deficiency are very obvious from looking at the horse. Ben in the photos is a good example.

Ben had been on pasture turnout for the previous year without any supplementary feed. Four months after moving to a 100% hay diet with a daily feed which included crushed linseed and Premium MVA
(Minerals, Vitamins, Amino Acids) he is a new horse.

For guidance with your horse’s protein requirements please contact us via the Enquiry Form on our Home page so we have all the info needed.

05/10/2026

Head-Flicking - Strongly Correlated with Imbalances in the Grass

A big thanks to Di for sharing her head-shaking/flicking story with her beautiful horse ‘Rum’.

We have a high incidence of HS horses here in NZ, highly correlated with short or lush grass, especially ‘dairy’ type pasture.
Grass with a similar nutrient profile to the grass analysed in the last post.

When such grass is their predominant forage the same nutrient excesses/imbalances outlined in the previous post are what cause the systemic (body-wide) disturbance to the biochemistry that AFFECTS the trigeminal nerve (but is not caused by it) and causes the head-flicking/shaking in many HS horses.

A ‘biochemistry injury’ is not obvious to most people but there are major clues – eg urine pH which reflects blood pH and many of the associated symptoms – nose-rubbing/muzzle twitching

Fortunately Di had a friend who pointed her in the right direction. She found a way to remove the cause even though it wasn’t ideal until she got something more permanent in place.

“Rum has just turned 4.

Approx 4 months ago he began acting like he'd had a sting up his nose. Trying desperately to rub his nose on me which looking back it's so obvious, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I had his teeth done, his alignment checked and an overall check. Nothing noted but the ‘head jerk’ was present and obvious.

Whilst on a video call to my best friend I asked her opinion, she knew instantly what it was and told me to keep him off all grass.

This is where my journey with the team at Calm Healthy Horses began.

The website information gave me forewarning of what was coming, emails with amazing encouraging support arrived and into lockdown he went.

All his previous food changed, we sourced new hay as ours was all rye/clover from our property and we built his jail cell (9x6) yard so he wouldn’t be in mud.

I would be lying if I said this was easy. There have been tears and stress but looking back now I'm so grateful for all the wonderful support and guidance I received.

My advice to anyone on this journey....block out everyone around you for a wee while. Trust the process and remember good things take time and has its good days and not so good days.

We have since built a beautiful track that's grass free and Rum is truly loving life. He gallops around, plays with glee and he looks amazing.

He's back in ridden work and I'm looking forward to our first A&P Show this season.

We will never forget your kindness and support
Di, Gisborne, NZ

For guidance when your horse has issues please contact us via the Enquiry Form: Here is the link:
https://www.wixforms.com/f/7424581212632515616

01/10/2026

THE FACTS ABOUT SHORT, GREEN GRASS AFTER DROUGHT-BREAKING RAIN

This post covers aspects of pasture which are too often, completely over-looked but which, in our experience, are especially relevant to how ‘grass’ affects the health, movement & behaviour of domestic horses.

Just being made aware can save you and your horse significant time, money and stress.

It is also further evidence of how misleading the assumption "the shorter the grass the higher in sugars" actually is.

After the recent drought-breaking rain, we collected pasture samples from a small UK paddock that had up until 3 days prior been continuously grazed by horses.

The grass was only 2–4 cm long. It looked sparse and would commonly be described as “short” or “stressed”, the sort of paddock many owners might think had very little grass.

There were 3 days of rapid growth between these photos, two samples were taken, one at 6pm (24 hours since horses grazed) and one at 9.00am the following morning

We sampled carefully across the paddock, avoiding visible soil contamination. The results are extremely interesting.

The sugar content was not ‘high’ – (this does not mean it would be ‘safe’ for turnout of good-doers, EMS or laminitis prone equines)
Evening grass: 7.6%
Morning grass: 7.1%

But the rest of its nutritional profile is problematic:
Dry Matter ………………………………… LOW

27/09/2026

How Diet Can Influence the Horse’s Experience

Taking on a horse like Koa requires a person with excellent horsemanship skills AND knowledge about how diet influences the biochemistry of nerve and muscle function.

The nutrient composition of the domestic horse’s forage is the ‘wild card’ because of chronically high potassium & nitrogen levels which also vary with the season and the weather. A horse with a healthy metabolism can handle the inevitable variations – but you can tell when the metabolism is no longer coping because the consequences, like hyper-sensitivity as in Koa’s case, become obvious ‘on the outside’.

Koa, an unhandled 4 year old standardbred cross stallion with a history of anxiety,

Because the horse's skin is densely populated in nerve endings, when these are 'on fire', which is a common bio-chemical response to potassium spikes in a horse, they often CAN'T STAND to be touched. It is not hard to see how progress is much more readily possible when they return to normal sensitivity.

Hence when Madeleine took him on, one of the first steps to make the whole process easier on horse and handler was changing his diet at the Rodney Animal Rescue Base the week before he was transported to Madeleine's place by stock-trailer.

His lucerne chaff was replaced with Timothy chaff, measured SALT was added, along with non-potassium-spiking feed. Since being at Madeleine's he has been off green grass too. He settled very quickly and Madeleine was able to make great progress.

The change in Koa was RAPID. In Madeleine's words, "It felt like cheating."

Interestingly he immediately relapsed when he had to spend the night in the ‘grassy lane’ (see first part of the video) and it took another 48 hours OFF that grass to get back to where they had been prior.

They are signs of mineral imbalances which cause disturbances to bio-chemistry, affecting the horse's nervous system including ALL his senses: his eyesight, his hearing, his co-ordination and ability to properly operate his muscles and since, his sensitivity.

Not only is his perception altered, but also his awareness and his sensitivity. He will tend to 'react' instead of 'respond'.

If these issues aren't addressed with some diet changes first, the horse may be having a whole different ‘learning’ experience to what he should be having!

When thus 'Affected' it can be a waste of time, unpleasant for the horse and potentially very risky, to be trying to 'work through' any of these issues because they are not 'training issues'.

A 'Grass-Affected' horse can really struggle to process information and often is simply NOT ABLE to be in a 'learning frame of mind'.

Having the knowledge and experience to recognise the difference between 'bio-chemistry' and 'training' issues is a vitally important aspect of the horsemanship skills that have enabled Madeleine to make great progress with Koa.

Follow Madeleine and Koa's progress at A Horse Called Feijoa

If you would like to check your horse's diet isn't causing any issues please fill out our Enquiry Form. Here is the link: https://www.wixforms.com/f/7424581212632515616

25/09/2026

Looking Terrific AND Jumping Terrific!

Leanne’s daughter Kate has a blast riding her pony!

“Griffin is a rising 8 year old Westphalian papered German Riding Pony ‘Penmain Pitch Perfect’.

We imported him from Penmain Riding Ponies in the Yarra Valley Melbourne when he was 3.

We’ve been taking him slowly up the levels in Show Jumping, Dressage and Eventing.

Aside from his huge talent he’s a really lovely boy too.

He thrives on Premium MVA and GrazeEzy. We know when he has the incorrect minerals as his Palomino coat changes to a washed out Krispie biscuit kind of colour.

Definitely pleased to have found mineral supplements that work for him!

When I don’t have him on GrazeEzy I can’t touch his skin".

For help feeding your child’s pony please complete our Enquiry Form.
Here is the Link: https://www.wixforms.com/f/7424581212632515616

20/09/2026

We’d like to help Madeleine with these challenging Rescue Cases!

Madeleine is outstanding at handling the unhandled Kaimanawa horses, and rehabilitating Rescue Cases from Rodney Rescue.

Recently Madeleine took on a particularly difficult case from Rodney Rescue. Koa is an unhandled, 4-year-old Standardbred-cross stallion.

These horses take more time than normal and there are several more such cases to follow after Koa.

Go to Madeleine’s FB page ‘A Horse Called Feijoa’ to read about ‘Koa’.

The costs of taking on these cases ‘comes out of Madeleine’s pocket’.

Madeleine uses our Calm Healthy Horses feeding regime and supplements as an integral part of their return to optimal physical and mental health.

If you would like to help Madeleine by purchasing some Good2Go or a supplement for them we have some special prices whereby we are helping too:

Just PM us or write Koa on the comments and we will message you the Koa Special price list.

We will send your purchase directly to Madeleine so there will be no added freight cost.

OTHER OPTIONS TO HELP:

- Hay, haylage, or Timothy chaff
- Calm Healthy Horses feed or supplements
- Unused Equestra Omeprazole sachets
- Financial donations to Rodney Animal Rescue earmarked for him
DONATE:
Rodney Animal Rescue Trust
06-0383-0980543-00
Reference: Koa
Message Madeleine for local feed drop-off or for her to collect. She is Pukekawa based, near Mercer in the North Waikato.

17/09/2026

Managing EMS for Long Term Soundness After Laminitis

Thoughtful management adjustments can make a big difference to your horse’s future.

Glenys’s horse ‘Alli’ had laminitis (see x-ray) about 7 years ago. He was almost pts.

The vet in attendance said there was no need to test his insulin levels as it was obvious looking at him that he had EMS. She advised ‘No grass, No grain’.

He was shod with heart-bar shoes (after the farrier plastered his soles with a mix of ‘dental gel & copper sulfate’ and pads)

If was an effort to keep him off any short, green new growth, but this has been essential to keeping his EMS under control and preventing any relapses.

He subsequently did have times when his crest thickened up and which prompted ever stricter management of grass intake. ‘He definitely could not have ANY little green shoots!’

What has worked well for Alli is
- Ensuring his living area is 100% grass free – he lives on a ‘small-scale’ track.
- Alli lives on 2 slices stalky hay unsoaked every morning (unless his weight needs getting under control again) but mainly grass-seed straw – actually rye-grass straw (which we had tested**) and while it is very low in essential nutrients it is not high in potassium, nitrogen or sugars, it IS HIGH in fibre and has worked brilliantly for him. No need to soak. He has 2 slices of plain grass hay am & pm.
- No lucerne!!
- Providing daily essential nutrients in his bucket feed (Oat straw chaff, beet, linseed/sunflower/ SOS to balance the phosphorous/ Premium MVA & salt.
- Once sound he could go back to trekking – long (eg 7 hour) treks in the mountains. Glenys said his crest soon disappeared!
- Glenys adds LowGI over the Show/Trekking season

Eight months later - “Hi! Got all 4 feet x-rayed again yesterday. All hooves are perfectly normal now. Soles are 11.2mm thick. Excellent considering his pedal bones were nearly through the sole...bulging. How about that! So grass-seed straw does the trick and would surely help many people who live in New Zealand as it's cheap and easy to get***. No soaking needed. I'm a happy girl”

**Dry Matter 85.6%DM
ADF 34.8%DM
NDF 58.0%DM
Nitrogen 0.7%DM
Crude Protein 4.7%DM
Potassium 1.1%DM
Soluble sugars 7.0%DM
DE 9.7 MJ/kg
DCAD 185 Me/kg

***not so easy unless you live in Canterbury. A downside is that it is baled in LARGE squares - 500kgs!
An otherwise wasted resource for horse people that could be accessed if logistics could be solved…………..

For help with your horse in your situation please contact us via the Enquiry Form. Here is the link: https://www.wixforms.com/f/7424581212632515616

09/09/2026

There is 'The Itch' and there is ‘Paresthesia’

If your horse is suffering from ‘the ‘itch’ and you can’t seem to get on top of it, then this information may help.

When ‘the itch’ is seasonal and coincides with greening of the grass, or rapid grass growth as in early spring or Autumn it could be ‘paresthesia’ which is ‘tingling, prickling or burning sensations in the peripheral nerves’. Humans describe it as ‘skin crawling’.

Forage analyses of this short, rapidly growing grass show sugars well under 10%. What they do reveal are excessive potassium and nitrate levels, both of which can interfere with blood calcium levels** causing nerves to become increasingly excitable.

The horse’s skin is densely populated in nerve endings, all over! The very intense sensations cause them to bite and rub themselves raw. It drives them MAD!

When horses become itchy (or get sore feet) they have usually been living sub-clinically ‘on the brink’, often on short or lush green grass, and are pushed over the edge by any seasonal or weather-related changes.

Address the Cause First:
-Lower potassium and nitrate intake by taking them off the offending grass and feeding them plain grass hay
-Eliminate lucerne/alfalfa
-Ensure adequate salt intake and a good broad spectrum multi-mineral WITH all the Vitamins
-Add a well formulated calcium supplement

Other signs of this same imbalance, which may be mild or severe and can come and go:
• Over-reactive, tense, spooky or explosive behaviour
• Head-flicking, ear-shaking, scooting or bolting
• Excessive separation anxiety, general agitation
• Muzzle sensitivity and nose-rubbing
• Tight muscles, stiffness, tendency to travel hollow
• Difficulty holding up a leg for the farrier
• Wheezing or coughing
• Digestive Upsets
• ‘Footiness’, laminitis
• More frequent urination
• Edemas/swellings

For specific help, please contact us via the Enquiry Form. Here is the link: https://www.wixforms.com/f/7424581212632515616

Photos – 1 Itchy to the point of rubbing himself raw!
2 Exactly one month after diet changes, the itch had cleared up and the hair had grown back.

**The horse may be consuming plenty of calcium, but that does not mean enough is available in its biologically active, ionised form.
A high potassium load can influence acid–base and mineral balance. When blood becomes slightly more alkaline, more calcium binds to proteins such as albumin, leaving less free ionised calcium available to stabilise nerve and muscle-cell membranes.
Nitrates add another mineral imbalance and stress on the metabolism. Together, high potassium and nitrates can make it more difficult for the horse to maintain normal electrolyte and calcium balance.

04/09/2026

Clarifying the Calm Healthy Horses Message

The Integral Equine post and PDF, “Grass affected — real or pseudo-science?”, misrepresents our CHH message.

In fact if the author of the article really understood our information, what we do and how much support we give people 24/7 the tone of the FB Post/article would be quite different.

CHH coined the term “grass-affected” as a practical, descriptive term to draw attention to grass and how it can adversely affect the metabolism of many domestic horses. The purpose being to help owners identify the cause of their horse’s health, movement and/or behaviour issues, often when all else has failed. It is not a veterinary diagnosis.

We draw attention to various aspects of pasture, particularly those inherent in cool season grasses when they are the predominant forage ALL YEAR ROUND.

Same for warm season grasses under certain conditions, they also create a different set of issues for horses grazing them.

We explain the cyclical/seasonal nature of the horses ‘natural’ diet where they do consume green grass in the spring but for most of the year their forage is more mature and their metabolism has an annual rest over the long, harsh winters.

The relevant question is whether the horse’s current pasture, total intake and management suit that individual horse.

‘Grass-Affected” does not mean all grass is harmful.

Over the last 20 years, we have seen significant improvements in our own horses and received countless reports from clients whose horses improved in comfort, behaviour, movement and digestive function after making the forage and management changes that better suit the equine digestive system and overall metabolism.

The article suggests that, “in most cases”, grass-affected issues can be explained by a sudden dietary change. This may explain some cases, but no evidence is provided to establish that it explains most.

Our work primarily involves horses with persistent or recurring problems - not simply horses reacting briefly from spring grass growth.

Potassium: We agree that Potassium is essential and that horses commonly consume more than their minimum requirement from forage.

However, chronically high potassium intake can result in disturbances to blood calcium levels****. It also elicits an insulin response**

Hemolysis of blood samples is always reported on blood test reports so a person knows to disregard high potassium readings in these cases.

The article also states that nitrates are not “normal” in grasses.

Nitrate occurs naturally in plants especially in cool season grasses. Under certain environmental/growing conditions they can rapidly accumulate.

How well any individual horse copes in these situations depends on his metabolic status at the time.

Horses have zero requirement for nitrates and differ from ruminants in their response.

Nitrates are converted into urea in the liver ready for excretion via the kidneys – they cause horses to urinate more often and can cause their urine to smell of ammonia. They are a known cause of digestive and many other issues.

Incorporating these factors into a complete dietary assessment from which management and dietary adjustments are made, considerably improves the horses’ comfort, movement and behaviour.

CHH would have welcomed direct questions before this inaccurate characterisation of our approach was published.

Video – lowering potassium intake can make a significant difference to neurological issues such as head-shaking as in the case of Hoover in the video.
References
*Merck Veterinary Manual: Nitrate and Nitrite Poisoning in Animals
**Mineral Tolerance of Animals (2005) Ch 24- Potassium, Ch 34 Nitrates
*** Christine Janis, The Evolutionary Strategy of the Equidae and the Origins of Rumen and Cecal Digestion
**** Equine Nutrition and Feeding – David Frape

31/08/2026

Drought-Breaking Rain: When the Grass Greens Up!

A friendly heads-up for horse owners in drought-affected areas of the UK or anywhere grass has been grazed short and subjected to conditions that cause it to shoot away.

We’re used to it down-under as most regions of NZ and Australia experience these conditions including droughts annually. Horse owners are aware of the potential consequences, especially for horses that are not receiving daily feeds containing good broad-spectrum minerals, vitamins and salt.

After drought-breaking rain, dormant pasture can suddenly ‘green up’. Fresh green shoots containing high levels of potassium and nitrate nitrogen appear – they are particularly potent wherever prolonged drought has caused cracks in the ground. Of course the horses go for them.

Nitrate levels tend to be at their highest overnight and in the mornings. Inconveniently opposite to sugar levels!

The lower parts of stems are most likely to have the highest nitrate levels.

Make sure horses have a bellyful of hay BEFORE turnout on any new grass.

Having evolved in very low nitrogen environments, horses are not adapted to handle high levels of nitrates in their diet. They have a different layout of the digestive tract to ruminant cattle, but it is important to note how careful farmers are with all their livestock when it comes to nitrates following drought breaking rains.

This is a time to check whether the horse’s usual diet genuinely provides adequate broad-spectrum vitamins and minerals, including sodium, magnesium and calcium.

Many horses receive forage and only a token bucket feed, which may not supply the full amount of priority nutrients that the owner assumes it does and a lot of people still rely solely on a salt lick to meet their horse’s daily sodium requirements.

So ensure your bucket feeds contain adequate salt. Sodium, calcium & magnesium are essential for normal hydration, electrolyte balance, nerve and muscle function.

In the absence of sufficient sodium, nitrates in effect rob the horse of positively charged calcium & magnesium which latch on the negatively charged nitrates for excretion in the urine. This can result in some of the more extreme 'behaviours' & 'gait abnormalities' and is when additional supplementation is warranted.

These nutrients are not a substitute for controlling access to new grass, but a properly nourished horse is way better supported during periods of sudden grass growth.

Plus, if this new green grass is all the horses have to eat, FIBRE in the form of HAY will also need to be supplemented, including when grazing muzzles are employed.

How any individual horse will be affected depends on his metabolic status at the time.

This is why horses can be affected in different ways:
Digestive disturbances** – loud gut sounds, loose manure, colic
Frequent urination, oedemas
Anxiety, spookiness, over-reactiveness
Stiffness, various gait abnormalities like locking stifles
‘Footiness’, laminitis
Increased sensitivity, head-shaking, respiratory issues

Best advice: If your horse is not behaving normally, DON’T GET ON!

Where possible, keep horses OFF emerging green shoots by using a grass-free track or yard, or sectioning them off with temporary fencing as best you can where they can live on hay.

Ideally, grass needs to be more mature and stalky before it is suitable grazing for horses.

Brand-new green grass isn’t always safe.

For nutritional help in your situation, please complete our Enquiry Form:https://www.wixforms.com/f/7424581212632515616

**Refer to the NRC Mineral Tolerance of Animals – page 456: “Non-ruminant animals (including horses) have NO requirement for nitrates at all,” and a toxic effect of acute nitrate levels is generally severe gastritis.

Calm Healthy Horses

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