17 Hand Equine Nutrition

10/19/2026

Do you have a senior horse? Are you nervous for how they will fare this winter?

Come join us in person this Wednesday, Oct 21 at 6pm at in Lafayette, CO!

We’ll be talking nutrition strategies for horses who deserve the very best retirement! They carried us in their younger years and now deserve the best care possible in their golden years. We’ll discuss how to replace hay correctly for those toothless wonders, how to feed senior horses with metabolic concerns, talk through how aging and inflammation affect our nutrition strategies, and considerations for the harshest season for our oldies.

Door prizes to the first to arrive!

Get 20% off hay testing or diet consulting services if you attend! Please visit www.17handequine.com for current prices.

Date: Wednesday, October 21st: Caring for Senior Horses
Time: 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Location: 10975 Maple Ra, Lafayette, CO 80026

RSVP via Jotform QR code or Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/share/14oeLdf74E8/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/11/2026

Got a long commute today? In this recent WeHorse The Equestrian Connection podcast, I discuss how to prepare your horse for the change of seasons!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4hkpOrx6dkk4VpcPWRVG8y?si=pJr59F-QQcWh0rHgiNPQ0w&utm_source=copy-link

The Equestrian Connection · Episode

09/30/2026

Thanks for having me Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Division! It was a great morning talking about equine nutrition and ways to help our four-legged officers feel their best.

09/29/2026

Hunker Down With Your Hay last week was a great little crowd! Don’t forget, this Wednesday at 6:00pm Mountain time I am hosting a VIRTUAL event with the same topic- how to make the most of the hay you have as we struggle during a drought year!

It’s FREE! You can join from anywhere! You can stay in your pajamas and learn more about feeding horses!

AND first one to enter gets a door prize coupon for Hallway Feeds and Bluebonnet Feeds!

Sign up here: Virtual Event- Hunker Down with your Hay Wednesday, Sep 30 · 6–7 PM View details & RSVP https://calendar.app.google/9iaGoQM7MgsyRrUTA

09/28/2026

It seems annoying simple for me to say this, but if you’re chasing after the best most wonderful joint/anti-inflammatory/detox/unicorn supplement and your horse is a body condition score of 7 or higher, your priority needs to be reducing your horse’s weight for the wellbeing and longevity of their life.

It can be incredibly difficult to do so depending on the situation, but try to identify where you can shave a few calories off the top. If you’re feeding a trace vitamin/mineral but your horse won’t eat it without a couple pounds of senior feed, look into a more palatable ration balancer with a lower feed rate. Do they need that flake of alfalfa, or maybe can we swap that for plain grass? They don’t need that sweet treat- use hay pellets instead.

Next, increase your horse’s activity level if at all possible. Put their hay on the opposite side of their run from the water. Add ground poles in their environment for them to move over (safely) for extra passive movement. Increase the duration of your rides and use a tracking app to really know how far and how intense your rides are (most riders over-estimate riding exertion). Can you offer your horse to other riders so they get an extra couple rides a week?

Managing easy keepers with boarding restrictions is a TASK and not for the faint of heart. However, the best money you can spend is on prevention. An obese horse can be a ticking time bomb for metabolic conditions, no matter how old they are.

If you’re stuck, reach out to me for help. You don’t have to come up with a plan alone!