feed question

Question
Hi, I was thinking about switching my horses over from strategy to enrich 32. Enrich 32 has a lower fat content, right about 5%. I was told you needed to feed them a higher fat content in their feed. Am i just being mislead or is there some justice behind that statement. Do you think Enrich 32 is a decent feed to switch to?
Thanks for all your help, Jessica.

Answer
Hi Jessica,

Thank you for your question.  There are certainly a lot of opinions in the horse industry when it comes to feeding horses, and they can be quite contradictory.  Both Strategy and Enrich 32 are good quality feeds, but are designed to fill very different needs.  So which of these 2 feeds you choose depends entirely on your horse's requirements.

The Strategy is a complete feed, meaning it brings a complete complement of nutrients to the horses diet.  Strategy bring energy to the diet (in the form of starch, fiber and fat) for weight maintenance and gain, protein for muscle maintenance and development, and minerals and vitamins for bone/joint health and other body functions.  You would generally choose a complete feed to improve the overall diet (perhaps if your hay is only of moderate quality)or if your horse is working hard enough that an all hay diet is not enough to maintain your horse's overall condition.  There is no real minimum amount of dietary fat that you need to add to the diet.  An average size inactive horse will derive enough fat in pasture/hay to survive.  Some added fat in the diet can improve body condition, coat quality, anti-inflammatory response but is not absolutely essential.  

Enrich 32 is essentially a mineral/vitamin supplement served up in quality amino acids (specific protein).  It is designed to round out a forage diet by providing the few nutrients that some forages may be deficient in, or can be added to a home made grain mix to create a complete feed.  It does not provide energy in any form, and is designed to be fed in limited quantity.
It will not help your horses gain weight or build a lot of muscle if they are exercising, but it will maintain bone and joint health in your inactive horses.

I don't know enough about your horses or their situations to decide which feed is best for you, but the above information should help you make that decision for them.  I hope this has been of some help.

Thanks, Corlena