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Supporting Your Horse's Immune System

What does it take to optimize the equine immune response and fight off disease?

Also in this Issue

Rhodococcus equi Pneumonia: Rethinking Treatment to Fight Resistance
Skill, Science, and Sensitivity: Unpacking Horse Training Misconceptions
Rehabilitating the Neurologic EPM Horse
Building a Balanced Diet for Your Mare and Foal
Joint Health Matters: Top Therapies for a Successful Season
The Abscess Ruptured, But My Horse is Still Lame. Now What?
Understanding Horse Aggression
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Florida Mare Tests Positive for Strangles

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Managing Your Performance Horse’s Joints

April 9, 2025

Understanding, Recognizing, and Managing Pain in Horses

March 20, 2025

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How Much Does It Cost to Own a Horse?

Dealing With Equine Colic: Here are 33 Do’s and Don’ts

Promoting Longevity in Performance Horses

Everything You Need to Know About Laminitis in Horses

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April 15, 2025

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Feeding High-Performance Horses

Subcategories:

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The Underweight Horse

Jennifer O. Bryant September 5, 2005

Managing and caring for a persistently underweight horse can be difficult and frustrating for the owner and/or caretaker.

It probably comes as no surprise that a horse taking on the rigors of a 100-mile endurance race or a three-day event might need a different diet from one that ambles the trails around home or carries a child through the occasional weekend show. The

USEF Names Kentucky Equine Research as Official Equine Nutritionist

Press Release March 17, 2005

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to name one of the world’s foremost equine nutrition specialists as the Federation’s Official Equine Nutritionist. Kentucky Equine Research (KER), based in Versailles, Ky., boasts more

Feeding the Problem Horse

Heather Smith Thomas October 19, 2004

Some horses present special challenges, such as being too thin, too fat, or sick. Some horses are finicky and are hard to keep weight on, especially when working.

Feeding Management for Stressful Situations

Christy M. West November 1, 2002

“Anytime you ask a horse to be a performance horse (taking him out of his natural environment), you put him in a stressful situation,” said Joe Pagan, PhD, owner of Kentucky Equine Research (KER) in Versailles, Ky., during his presentation

Feed for Speed

Ray Geor, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM October 1, 2002

Few dispute that nutrition is important for athletic performance in racehorses. However, I’d wager that there is much less agreement among horse owners, nutritionists, and veterinarians when asked to expound upon the “nitty gritty” of what works

Feeding for Performance

Brett Scott, PhD, Dipl. ACAN February 1, 2002

Feeding high-performance horses is a challenge. If nutritional requirements are met appropriately, performance can be improved over those horses which are fed imbalanced diets in irregular amounts. When working with a veterinarian or nutritionis

Matching Diet to Activity Level

Ray Geor, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM December 1, 2001

When it comes to extracting the maximum effort out of your performance horse, there is no doubting the importance of a sound feeding program. He needs a balanced diet to replenish fuel reserves, repair tissue, and provide a foundation for

Advances In Equine Nutrition: KER conference 1998

Amy Gill, MS, PhD October 5, 2001

The nutrition conference for feed manufacturers presented by Kentucky Equine Research (KER) of Versailles, Ky., attracted more than 200 delegates involved in research and feed manufacturing from the United States, Europe,

A World Apart–Olympic Games 2000

Kimberly S. Brown September 13, 2001

Changes in diet, transportation, high-level competition…all are known to take their toll on performance horses. Combine these three and you have the making of a disaster, unless proper preparations are made to combat these stresses. For the

Performance Boosters

Ray Geor, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM August 1, 2000

They purport to Increase power. Delay fatigue. Increase stamina. Build muscle. Reduce recovery time. Extensive research has proven… Doubtless, most of you have seen and read advertisements for nutritional supplements in”P align=left>They purport to Increase power. Delay fatigue. Increase stamina. Build muscle. Reduce recovery time. Extensive research has proven… Doubtless, most of you have seen and read advertisements ” align=left>They purport to Increase power. Delay fatigue. Increase stamina. Build muscle. Reduce recovery time. Extensive research has proven… Doubtless, most of you have “align=left>They purport to Increase power. Delay fatigue. Increase stamina. Build muscle. Reduce recovery time. Extensive research has proven… “lign=left>They purport to Increase power. Delay fatigue. Increase stamina. Build muscle. Reduce recovery time. Extensi”ign=left>They purport to Increase power. Delay fatigue. Increase stamina. Build muscle. Reduc”gn=left>They purport to Increase power. Delay fatigue. Increase stamina”n=left>They purport to Increase power. Delay fat”=left>They purport to Incr”left

Pre-Exercise Feeding

Ray Geor, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM May 1, 2000

When and what should I feed my horse before exercise? This question is very familiar to equine nutritionists, and generally sparks considerable debate about feeding management of horses prior to competition. While it generally is agreed that

Body Fuel

Ray Geor, BVSc, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM January 1, 2000

The importance of nutrition for optimization of athletic performance cannot be overemphasized.

Feeding Racehorses

Karen Briggs August 1, 1999

On several occasions in the past year or two, we’ve discussed in this series the intricacies of feeding young horses for optimum growth. We’ve also walked you through the pertinent points of fueling the high-performance equine athlete, for

Feeding the High-Octane Horse

Karen Briggs August 1, 1998

But because forages are not high-energy feeds, the athletic horse’s diet needs to be supplemented in order to provide enough energy for him to perform at peak capacity. Traditionally, this is done by feeding grains, which are rich in carbohydrates

Feeding Fat for Energy and Performance

Karen Briggs July 1, 1997

If there was a nutritional buzzword that was started in the ’90s, it was fat. We fitness-conscious (and frequently overweight) North Americans still might not fully understand the differences between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol”P>If there was a nutritional buzzw