Clare MacLeod MSc RNutr Independent Equine Nutritionist

Clare MacLeod MSc RNutr Independent Equine Nutritionist Nutrition isn't everything; but there's nothing without it... Nutrition Consultancy and an extensive online resource, The Equine Nutrition Learning Centre
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIT/MIN SUPPLEMENTS AND BALANCERS?UK forages are always short of minerals for horses (and...
22/08/2026

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIT/MIN SUPPLEMENTS AND BALANCERS?

UK forages are always short of minerals for horses (and vitamins in conserved forages e.g. hay and haylage) so you do need to 'balance' the diet with a feed or supplement.

In reality every vitamin and mineral supplement that is designed to make up for shortages in forage is a 'balancer'.

The term 'balancer' tends, however, to be used in the UK to describe a - usually but not always - pelleted concentrated compound feed that supplies vitamins, minerals, some good quality protein plus a little energy. They often also contain other additives such as live yeast and suchlike.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are technically still balancers but they are fed in a smaller daily quantity and don't supply the good quality protein or energy that 'balancers' do. These supplements are generally fed at a daily rate of around 50-100 g for a 500 kg horse.

The pellets typically used in the manufacture of a concentrated feed 'balancer' are generally fed at around 500 g for a 500 kg horse, per day. These are an alternative to a regular compound feed that is typically fed at around 5-600 g per 100 kg BW (2.5-3 kg for a 500 kg horse). That rate is too high for many horses and would oversupply energy i.e. make them too f4t.

Pelleted balancers are more palatable than vitamin and mineral supplements for some horses, but many will happily eat a vit/min supplement mixed with chaff or soaked beet/forage pellets/mash.

If you want me to check your choices of feeds & supplements, get details of the Horse Feed Check service by commenting 'feed advice".

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WHAT NOT TO DO FOR EMS 🚫(And what to do instead)... ✖️ Please don't chop up a w**d and feed it to your horse because 'so...
21/08/2026

WHAT NOT TO DO FOR EMS 🚫

(And what to do instead)...

✖️ Please don't chop up a w**d and feed it to your horse because 'some research shows it helps'
✖️ Please don't turn your horse or pony out on loads of long grass because someone said its lower in sugar (it's not, compared to shorter grass, when we look at total intake)
✖️ Please don't give a feed or supplement suitable for an EMS horse or pony assuming that it is a treatment
✖️ Please do not feed some liquid or other with a name that includes the term 'lami-' and expect it to work as a treatment or preventative
✖️ Please don't look only at dietary sugar level and forget other carbs such as fructan and - most importantly - body fat levels ie dietary calorie (energy) balance

Instead, I'd recommend:
✅ Please assess the affected horse or pony's body fat level and make a plan of how to ensure that they become - and stay - healthily slim
✅ Please make a plan to adjust their diet to best support their health: first and foremost a balanced diet, including correct calorie (energy) intake, controlled sugar, fructan and starch (NSC) intake, controlled grass intake, adequate fibre intake and attention to how long they might fast (if they need restricted forage)
✅ With meals, aim for a total NSC maximum of 0.1 g per kilo bodyweight per meal ie 50 g for a 500 kg horse
✅ Please take your vet's advice including monitoring blood insulin levels (to help
you understand how their diet is affecting them) and discuss medication if you are struggling despite a slim horse or because they cannot be exercised
✅ Please monitor them very carefully including condition scoring or weightaping (to measure changes in body fat) and signs of laminitis, to keep them healthy long term

If you need help with an individual horse or pony with EMS, please reach out via WhatsApp. There are a variety of options for you (for all budgets).
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FIBRE IS NOT JUST BULK.....for horsesTraditionally, it was assumed that fibre was simply bulk for horses and of little u...
18/08/2026

FIBRE IS NOT JUST BULK.....for horses

Traditionally, it was assumed that fibre was simply bulk for horses and of little use apart from that. Nowadays, we know better than that.

We know that horses can 'digest' fibre, breaking it down and releasing useful nutrients, via fermentation in the gut.

But read this from 1908:

'Fibrous group of foods (for horses) - they're found to be necessary as a mechanical aid during digestion, provide bulk so are essential to herbivorous animals, as well as being to some extent digested themselves' (No author, Animal Management, From the Veterinary Dept for General Staff, War Office).

It is interesting to read that horse experts knew 110 years ago that fibrous feeds yielded useful nutrients, and weren't just bulk.

And yet some feed / supplement companies still think that all the energy from hay comes from sugar and starch.

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Get Hands On to Feel for Body F4tNow - I'm not saying that weigh bridges aren't useful. Of course they are!Knowing your ...
17/08/2026

Get Hands On to Feel for Body F4t

Now - I'm not saying that weigh bridges aren't useful. Of course they are!

Knowing your horse's actual body mass, or weight, is useful. Particularly for medication / dewormers and also for feeding rates.

But for assessing body f4t 'in the field' ie outside the lab, condition scoring is the best tool we have.

You can find a free blog on a simple method to condition score on my website.

I've popped a link in the comments.
Feel free to share!
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MORE GARBAGE 🗑 😡This horse anatomy book is NOT great value because it's made-up and clearly incorrect.This is no more ho...
15/08/2026

MORE GARBAGE 🗑 😡

This horse anatomy book is NOT great value because it's made-up and clearly incorrect.

This is no more horse anatomy than fly in the air.

There are three main reasons I would never buy anything from this company:

1. They rip off great companies (copying their products), many of which are small companies run by passionate, incredibly hard working people who are busting their gut to keep their company going and their products available to horse owners.

2. I won't buy from companies I don't want to support

3. I'd rather keep at least some of my money circulating in this country, where possible (not always possible, but if there's a choice...).

Of course, it"s up to everyone to decide who they buy from, but I just wanted to raise some awareness.

Oh and also, if you want to learn about horse anatomy I recommend you check out Horses Inside Out .

You'll actually see correct anatomy in their books unlike the made-up garbage as in the picture.

(I daren't imagine what one of their nutrition books would contain 🥴)

Buyer Beware!!
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14/08/2026

SUPPLEMENTS - Yay or Nay?

A little clarification about (health-supporting, not diet-balancing) supplements, and my independence -

You may have seen that I’ve recently been calling out some of the more questionable horse supplements on the market.

That does not mean I’m against all supplements or that I never recommend them.

It means I believe they should be chosen carefully, used for a clear reason and not expected to compensate for problems elsewhere in the horse’s diet or management.

In my new CLEAR Nutrition Method, health-support supplements come at Step 5, the final step. First, I assess the horse’s condition and energy needs, forage, overall dietary balance, and salt and hydration. Only once those foundations have been addressed do I consider whether a particular supplement might be useful.

Even then, a supplement should sit on top of a suitable, well-balanced diet and work alongside appropriate management. It’s also important to be honest: evidence for many supplements is limited, and even a promising product may not work for every horse.

“Might help” is not the same as “will work”, and supplements should not be sold as magic solutions.

However, there are products and ingredients that I believe may be worthwhile in the right circumstances.

Within my paid resources, services and programmes, I provide specific product suggestions and lists to help owners identify the better options and avoid wasting money on products that are poorly formulated, inappropriate or pointless but sold with clever marketing.

I’d also like to make my position on product promotion completely clear:

I do not accept payment to endorse or promote products.

I do not do paid partnerships.

I do not receive affiliate commission.

Companies do not pay me to review or mention their supplements.

If I discuss a product on this page, it is because I have independently decided that it is worth discussing. It does not mean that the product will suit every horse, but it does mean that money has not influenced what I say about it. If a product has been provided to me free of charge, I will always mention that.

My role is not to be 'for' or 'against' supplements. It is to examine them critically, explain what we do and don’t know, and help owners make sensible, informed decisions for the horse in front of them.

Be clear - this post is about the health- supporting supplements not essential nutrient products that are used to balance the diet.

I’ll be launching my CLEAR Nutrition Method at my live event days next week, before sharing it widely afterwards. I hope it will make my approach, including exactly where supplements fit, much clearer.

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LOW SUGAR DOES NOT = WEIGHT LOSS I feel like I'm posting this subject every other day but I think I need to, because it'...
14/08/2026

LOW SUGAR DOES NOT = WEIGHT LOSS

I feel like I'm posting this subject every other day but I think I need to, because it's becoming a bigger and bigger problem - quite literally, for some of the horses and ponies involved.

'someone was asking if standing hay would be ok for fatties due to the lower sugar'

As if its just the sugar that causes weight gain and that so long as you reduce sugar intake, they'll lose weight.

NO this is not true!

(I get so frustrated with this because every single day I have owners enquiring, worried about their horse or pony's weight gain, and I think misunderstanding of nutrition is why this is happening so often now).

THE ONLY FACTOR THAT CAUSES F4T LOSS IS A CALORIE DEFICIT!!

(I know, shouty, but honestly, it's worth it if it's caught your attention).

Now, of course you might wish to implement a low-sugar diet AS WELL (sensible, given that overweight individuals might well have raised insulin) but that is a different matter to implementing a calorie deficit for f4t loss.

It becomes clearer if we think of this:

> horses and ponies can break down fibre, releasing energy (calories)
> horses and ponies can get too fat from relatively low-sugar hay or standing hay
> long, mature grass may be higher in fibre and lower in sugar per kilo, but it might provide MORE calories and just as much as sugar (or even more) IN TOTAL compared to shorter younger grass (especially if access is restricted)
> a low sugar diet can still be very high in calories, e.g. high digestible fibre and oil-rich feeds

If we stay focused on one dietary factor or nutrient (like sugar), we will only have a healthy horse from LUCK.

Good nutrition is about all the essential nutrients needed daily (not too little, not too much) AND - most importantly, for good health - the right amount of calories (energy) for a healthy body fat level.

I am becoming increasing concerned for horse well-being to be honest, with all the nutribaloney that is being circulated.

I'm going to be launching my CLEAR Nutrition Method at my live events next week, after which I'll be sharing it to the wider public, in my mission to help owners understand feeding and nutrition better, so that we can have healthier, happier horses and ponies.

If you're feeling confused and want clarity, you can sign up to my free '21 ways in 21 days' to a healthier, happier horse. It's delivered daily into your email inbox and its completely free. Just comment 21 below.

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14/08/2026

Digestive tract support 🐴🍏

You'll note - if you listen - I said thanks to Baileys for the tub, because it was given to me.

As you'll also hear, it was already on my list of recommended digestive support products before the tub was given to me.

'NEVER FIGHT THE OATS'This is something I once heard US trainer George Morris say, quoting Bill Steinkraus (US Olympian ...
13/08/2026

'NEVER FIGHT THE OATS'

This is something I once heard US trainer George Morris say, quoting Bill Steinkraus (US Olympian show jumper).

'Many horses can't stand prosperity. It is impossible to train a horse who is always 'above himself''.

This is such good advice.

In practice, I have recommended slightly underfeeding in a number of cases where the horse had too much energy and vitality for the owner to cope with.

Now, before the trolls come out from under the bridge to attack me (yes, they do, from time to time!) - this is not to say the horse is malnourished or half-starved but simply not overfed.

The cases that come to mind were horses who were natural athletes and naturally high spirited / exuberant, and the owners were less so (on both counts).

With young horses, especially the athletic breeds/individuals who are naturally exuberant, it might pay to start their education - or re-education - without them being fed to within an inch of their eyeballs.

Or to put it more scientifically, overfed energy and protein.

Be careful what you feed so that you don't create a horse you can't handle and can't train!

If you are looking for high energy,/explosiveness (e.g. elite SJ/sprint racing)/peak performance, then yes, that's the time when you will need to feed them with some 'prosperity' but until then, it does pay not to have them popping if you're a not a professional or highly confident and competent rider.

And even if you are, you might still need to adjust the ration to create controlled energy!
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