John Toli

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Reflect, Learn, and Plan

I know we are all getting tired and frustrated when hearing about COVID-19 in all facets of our lives. Several horse owners who board their horses cannot even visit their horses due to barn closures. Folks usually travel to South Carolina from all over the country for the show season, which has unfortunately taken a back seat. I choose to find the golden horseshoe. We can use this unfortunate downtime in a positive manner for our horses as well as for ourselves. We can use this time to reflect, learn, and plan for the rest of our year or even our future. Today, I will step away from a purely

Energy for Athletic Performance

I received a request for an article that would discuss aerobic vs. anaerobic activity and the types of feed advantageous for both. This subject matter could develop in many different directions because there are many multi-discipline horses these days. I am hoping to simplify this broad subject in this short article. If you want to chat in depth about this subject, I do welcome phone calls. All horses use fuel in this order: fat, carbohydrates, protein. We never want to get to the point of using protein for fuel as that would be burning muscle. I will follow up later with an example. Horses that use aerobic energy (with oxygen)

Let’s Do Some Math

What does % mean when it pertains to equine nutrition? It means that you need to know a little bit about math. We can get into part per million and grams, but that will be another day. Let’s focus on percentages today. Throughout the years of feeding horses, feed companies have trained consumers, not with purpose, to buy a specific type of feed based solely on protein percentages of 10%, 12%, 14%, or 16%, since the choices were rather limited. These percentages do not tell you the quality of the proteins, nor does it tell the amino acid breakdown. That being said, many high quality 10% protein feeds can out

Animal Wellness | Balanced Nutrition for Horses

With riding horses, balance is key. If a rider doesn’t have balance, it affects feel, stability, and control while in the saddle. An imbalance of the bit, reins, and weight in the saddle can all have an impact on how a horse moves and reacts, even if not noticeable to the eye. The same can be said for equine nutrition. An imbalance in feed, supplements, hay, or water can start to cause internal changes which affect ability to perform as well as overall equine health. Balance is key to a successful nutritional program for your horse. Balanced nutrition for horses seems relatively simple and it should be, as feed companies