THRIVE FEED BLOGS

One of the most overlooked aspects of horse health is not nutritional at all. It is social. Horses were never meant to eat alone. The Horse Is a Herd Animal Before It Is Anything Else A horse is not an individual creature by nature. It is a herd animal. Its nervous system evolved in the presence of others. Safety is collective. Calm is shared. In the wild, a horse grazes with the herd, moves with the herd, rests with the herd, and watches the world through many sets of eyes.

One of the most important truths in horsemanship is this: Horses often change emotionally before they change physically. Owners are usually watching weight. Watching topline. Watching coat. But the horse’s first communication is often behaviour. A horse will tell you something is off long before the body shows it clearly. Behaviour Is the Earliest Signal Horses do not complain with words. They communicate with changes in: Willingness Attitude Sensitivity Focus Energy Expressi

One of the first things people notice about a horse is its coat. A dull coat. A rough coat. A coat that will not shed properly. Or the opposite, a horse that begins to bloom with softness and shine. Owners often think of coat condition as something cosmetic. But in horses, the coat is rarely just about appearance. The coat is often a mirror of what is happening inside the gut. The Outside Reflects the Inside A horse’s coat is built from nutrients, but those nutrients must fir

If you ask people what a horse needs for health, you will hear about feed, supplements, minerals, protein, and calories. But the most important nutrient in a horse’s life is rarely discussed with the seriousness it deserves. Water. Not as an accessory. As the foundation. Water Is Not Optional, It Is Biology A horse is not fuelled by feed alone. Every biological process in the body depends on water: Digestion Fermentation Circulation Temperature regulation Joint lubrication To

The modern horse lives in a world it did not create. It did not choose confinement. It did not choose meal feeding. It did not choose rich pasture surges. It did not choose stables, rugs, hard ground, artificial schedules, and human expectations. The horse never asked for the modern world. And yet it lives in it with extraordinary tolerance. Horses Were Built for a Different Life The horse evolved to: Graze steadily Move continuously Live in herds Digest fibre Respond to natu

Horses do not speak. They do not explain discomfort. They do not tell you when something feels wrong. But they communicate constantly. And one of the clearest places they communicate is in their eye. The look in a horse’s eye is often the most honest health signal you will ever see. Wellness Has a Presence A healthy horse is not only a horse with good weight or a shiny coat. A healthy horse has a presence. It has softness. It has quiet awareness without tension. When a horse

The modern horse world is full of opinions about feeding. Balanced diets. Performance mixes. Senior formulas. Supplements. Energy feeds. But underneath all the noise is one simple question: What was the horse actually built to eat? Because the horse is not a modern invention. The horse is an evolutionary grazing animal. And that truth has not changed. The Horse Was Designed for Forage For millions of years, horses survived on one primary thing: Fibre. Grass. Sparse plants. Ro

Horses do not ask for much. They do not want complicated lives. They do not thrive on surprise. They do not seek novelty. What horses crave, at the deepest biological level, is predictability. Routine is one of the greatest gifts you can give a horse. Horses Are Built for Rhythm In nature, horses live by steady patterns: Grazing Moving Resting Drinking Watching the herd Repeating The horse’s nervous system is designed around rhythm. Consistency is safety. Uncertainty is stres

Horse owners often separate two things in their minds: Digestion, and behaviour. They think the gut is one system, and temperament is another. But the horse does not work that way. In horses, the gut is not just a digestive organ. The gut is a nervous system influence. In many ways, it is the horse’s second brain. The Hindgut Is the Centre of the Horse A horse is a hindgut fermenter. That means the horse’s entire biology depends on microbial fermentation of fibre. Most of the

One of the saddest misunderstandings in the horse world is this: A horse is labelled as difficult when it is actually struggling. People say: “He’s naughty.” “She’s stubborn.” “He’s being disrespectful.” “She just doesn’t want to work.” But horses do not behave like humans. They do not plot. They do not scheme. They cope. Horses Are Always Responding to Something When a horse changes behaviour, it is rarely random. A horse that refuses is communicating. A horse that spooks is

One of the most common misunderstandings in horsemanship is assuming that a quiet horse is a relaxed horse. Sometimes it is. And sometimes it is not. A horse can look calm on the outside while carrying enormous tension on the inside. And that is where good horsemen must be careful. Quiet Does Not Always Mean Comfortable Some horses express stress openly. They spook. They dance. They fidget. They make their concern visible. But other horses do the opposite. They go still. They

Most horse owners feed their horse/horses every day. It becomes routine. A scoop. A bucket. A quiet moment in the paddock. But feeding is never just calories. Feeding is communication. Feeding is trust. The Feed Bucket Is a Daily Relationship To a horse, food is not a product. It is security. It is rhythm. It is one of the most consistent interactions a horse has with the human world. When you feed a horse, you are telling it something: You are safe. Your needs will be met. L

A horse’s digestive system does not suddenly stop working at sixteen. Its instincts do not fade at twenty. Its nature does not disappear. The horse is still the horse. What changes, very often, is the body carrying discomfort. Just like humans. Pain Is a Stress Response Pain is not merely a sore joint. Pain is a full-body stress signal. When a horse lives with chronic discomfort, arthritis, inflammation, or mechanical strain, the nervous system responds. Stress hormones rise.

There is a moment every good horse owner eventually encounters. Nothing dramatic happens. There is no obvious injury. No crisis. Just a feeling. The horse looks the same, but not quite. And if you have been around horses long enough, you know exactly what that means. Because horses rarely shout. They whisper. Horses Communicate Quietly A horse does not sit you down and explain discomfort. It cannot describe digestive unease. It cannot tell you that something feels off. Instea