Top Bar Equine Services

One of my favourite parts of what I do is helping horse owners cut through all the noise around nutrition.

I got into equine nutrition because I was that performance horse owner who just wanted to do the best thing for my horses. Everywhere I turned, I was getting different advice. Feed this, don’t feed that, add this supplement, try that product. The more questions I asked, the more I realized how much there was to learn.

What started as wanting to better understand nutrition for my own horses eventually turned into a passion for helping other horse owners do the same.

Nutrition shouldn’t be based on what’s trending. It should be based on the horse in front of you, the forage available to you, and the goals you’re trying to achieve.

After reviewing many equine diets, these are three feeding mistakes I encounter again and again.

1️⃣ Not feeding products at the recommended rate

Many feeds, ration balancers, and supplements are formulated to provide specific nutrients when fed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

When they’re significantly underfed, horses may not receive the intended nutritional benefits.

2️⃣ Not feeding enough salt

Salt is one of the most overlooked nutrients in the equine diet.

Yet it plays an important role in hydration, electrolyte balance, nerve function, and muscle function.

Many horses simply aren’t receiving enough.

3️⃣ Blindly adding supplements

A new supplement isn’t always the answer.

One of the most common things I see during diet reviews is multiple products with overlapping ingredients and purposes.

Before adding another supplement, it’s important to evaluate whether the foundation of the diet is actually meeting the horse’s nutritional requirements.

The best nutrition programs aren’t usually the most complicated. They’re the ones built on a strong foundation.

One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter is that hiring an equine nutrition specialist means you’re about to be sold a long list of supplements.

In reality, my goal is the exact opposite.

The first thing I do is evaluate the horse’s current diet, management, workload, body condition, and overall goals.

From there, I determine whether the diet is meeting the horse’s nutritional requirements and identify any deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances. Sometimes that means adding something. Sometimes it means changing something. And quite often, it means removing things.

Many horses are already receiving multiple supplements that overlap in purpose or provide nutrients that are already being supplied elsewhere in the diet.

My job isn’t to recommend more products. My job is to build a nutrition program that makes sense for the horse standing in front of me.

A balanced diet should do most of the heavy lifting. Supplements should be used strategically, not because they’re trendy, but because they’re needed.

At the end of the day, nutrition isn’t about feeding more. It’s about feeding smarter.

Most horse owners think a topline comes from a supplement.

This horse is proof that it doesn’t. He gained a significant amount of topline in just 60 days.
We didn’t add a topline supplement, muscle builder, or magic powder.

Instead, we focused on the fundamentals:

• Balancing the diet to meet his nutritional requirements

• Ensuring adequate protein and essential amino acids

• Supporting his workload appropriately

• Implementing exercise targeted toward topline development

Within 60 days, the difference was obvious. The reality is that supplements don’t create muscle. Muscle is built when a horse receives the nutrients required to support muscle growth and is then given the correct stimulus through exercise.

A balanced diet combined with appropriate training will outperform a poorly balanced diet and an expensive supplement every time.

Before you spend money on another topline supplement, ask yourself:Is your horse’s current diet actually meeting their nutritional requirements?

Electrolytes are one of the most common supplements I see in feed rooms, and one of the most misunderstood.

Before reaching for an electrolyte supplement, it’s important to ask whether your horse’s basic sodium needs are being met first.

Many horses consume less salt than owners think, and forage alone doesn’t provide enough sodium to meet requirements.

That doesn’t mean every horse needs electrolytes every day. It means every horse should have a hydration plan that matches their workload, environment, and individual needs.

Start with the basics and build from there.

How do you feed salt to your horse?

Your eyes are lying to you.

We’ve become so accustomed to seeing overweight horses that many people no longer recognize what a healthy body condition looks like.

In fact, horses at an appropriate body condition score are often labeled as “too skinny,” while overweight horses are praised as being “fat and happy,” “well-fed,” or “looking great.”

The problem? Excess body fat isn’t just a cosmetic issue. It can negatively impact performance, place additional stress on joints and soft tissues, increase the risk of metabolic dysfunction, and contribute to conditions like laminitis.

Seeing your horse every day can make gradual changes difficult to notice. That’s why objective measurements matter.

Three of the simplest and most valuable tools horse owners can use are:

• Weight tape measurements
• Body Condition Scoring (BCS)
• Progress photos

Weight is only one piece of the puzzle. Two horses can weigh the exact same amount but have completely different body condition scores, muscle development, and fat distribution. Using all three tools together provides a much clearer picture of your horse’s overall condition and allows you to track changes over time.

Make it part of your monthly routine. Take a weight tape measurement, assign a body condition score, and snap a few photos from the same angles.

Because when it comes to your horse’s health, guessing isn’t a strategy.

You don’t know what you don’t know. And that is where Top Bar Equine Services will come in - and save the day.

Top Bar Equine is so professional, caring and passionate about taking your horse as a whole body system that works together from the inside out to optimize health and condition.

This program taught me so much about the what, why, how of the horses nutrition and then when I was stumped or had questions - Top Bar painted things less in black and white and more in colour.

I trust and respect Top Bar Equine Services for all of my horse’s nutritional requirements. While hard at work in the summer, to the less competitive winter months.
And to tie it all together - the woman behind Top Bar is such a positive force in this side of the industry - that she makes it fun and exciting to learn more about equine nutrition.

11/10 would HIGHLY recommend Cass at Top Bar Equine!

- Dakota Conley

Thank you for trusting me with your barrel horse! ♥️

Do you know how much nutrition influences hoof quality?