Wild Fed Horse

04/23/2026

Hidden Sugar Warning

“Natural flavor” might be adding sugar… and you’d never know.

It’s one of the most vague ingredients on a label.

Best case: tiny amount, no impact.
Worst case: carried in
• dextrose
• maltodextrin
• molasses

👉 All sugar sources.

Now stack that across multiple supplements…

And suddenly your “low sugar” program
isn’t so low anymore.

This is where metabolic issues build—quietly.

At Wild Fed, we don’t play that game.

No sweeteners. No fillers. No masking.

Just real plants, working the way they’re meant to.

Because healing starts with honesty in ingredients.

Read more here: 👉 https://wildfedhorse.com/blogs/wild-fed-journal

04/20/2026

The Truth About Sweet Feed

If a supplement tastes “good”… ask why.

Because most of the time—
it’s not for your horse.

Many supplements are made from:
• synthetic nutrients
• isolates
• processed derivatives

On their own?
They taste awful.

So companies add:
• molasses
• apple flavor
• glycerin
• “natural flavors”

Not for health.
For compliance.

👉 Sweetness = masking.

Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Read more here: https://wildfedhorse.com/blogs/wild-fed-journal

04/19/2026

Shocking Comparison

Would you feed your horse 10 carrots a day?

Most people wouldn’t.

But one owner realized…
that’s exactly what she was doing.

Not with treats.
With a “healthy” joint supplement.

Molasses was the 3rd ingredient.
Each scoop = ~4–5 carrots worth of sugar.

She was feeding 2 scoops daily.

👉 That’s 8–10 carrots. Every. Single. Day.

This is how sugar sneaks in.

Not through obvious choices—
but through products we trust.

Always check the label.
Not the marketing.

04/18/2026

Spring Trap

Spring can wreck your horse’s metabolism… if you’re not paying attention.

Pasture gets the blame.
But that’s not the whole story.

Hidden sugars are quietly showing up in:
• feeds
• supplements
• “healthy” add-ons

And they add up fast.

The tricky part?
They don’t always look like sugar on a label.

So while you’re managing grass intake…
you could still be increasing your horse’s total sugar load without realizing it.

Spring isn’t just about greener pasture.
It’s about total input.

And small daily exposures = big long-term impact.

Because metabolic health isn’t just about pasture —
it’s about the total load.

04/16/2026

Spring is a beautiful time for horses. Pastures begin to green up, horses become more active, and the days grow longer. But spring is also one of the most important times of year to think about blood sugar balance. Many horse owners focus on sugars in grass or treats, but what often goes unnoticed a...

04/16/2026

Do you have to soak hay pellets?

Short answer:
We recommend adding water—but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Our pellets are made without binders and formed under high pressure, creating a naturally dry, concentrated feed. Adding a little water helps bring that moisture back in a way that supports your horse’s body.

Here’s why it matters:

✨ Supports hydration
Adds extra moisture—especially helpful for horses that don’t drink enough or live in dry climates.

✨ Reduces risk of choke
Softens pellets so they’re easier to chew and swallow safely.

✨ Improves digestion
Hydrated feed is gentler on the gut and easier to break down.

✨ Mimics natural forage
Fresh pasture contains water—this brings pellets closer to how horses are meant to eat.

✨ It’s quick & easy
Just add a splash of water, swish, and feed—no need to wait.

✨ Works with your routine
Even a scoop of water from your horse’s trough works perfectly.

Most horses actually enjoy a little crunch, so full soaking isn’t necessary.

👉 Fully soak only if needed (older horses, dental issues, or low saliva)

Simple. Supportive. Aligned with how horses are designed to thrive.

03/17/2026

The Most Overlooked Organ in Weight Gain

Every nutrient your horse absorbs goes straight to the liver first.

The liver decides:

Will this be stored?
Used for energy?
Built into muscle?

If the liver is under stress, feed conversion slows — even if intake is adequate.

Supporting liver function helps the body convert food into usable fuel more efficiently.

Weight gain is not about forcing more feed.

It’s about improving how the body uses what’s already being fed.

I break down bile flow, metabolic stress, and how to support liver efficiency in this week’s article:

👉 Read the full blog here:

Building the Horse — Not Just the Scale If your horse needs to gain weight — but you refuse to spike blood sugar, inflame the gut, or rely on industrial by-products — you are not alone. At Wild Fed, we don’t believe in “fattening up” horses. We believe in rebuilding them from the inside ...

03/10/2026

The Hindgut: The Hidden Engine of Weight Gain

Horses don’t run on grain.
They run on fermentation.

Up to 70% of usable energy comes from microbial fermentation in the hindgut.

When fiber is properly fermented, microbes produce steady, low-glycemic energy — without blood sugar spikes.

If fermentation is unstable, weight gain becomes inefficient.

Common signs of hindgut imbalance:

• Loose manure
• Gas
• Poor feed conversion
• Difficulty holding weight

Fiber → Fermentation → Stable energy → Muscle building.

If we ignore the hindgut, we miss the foundation.

I explain how this works (and what chia and flax actually do in the colon) in the full blog:

👉 Read it here:

Building the Horse — Not Just the Scale If your horse needs to gain weight — but you refuse to spike blood sugar, inflame the gut, or rely on industrial by-products — you are not alone. At Wild Fed, we don’t believe in “fattening up” horses. We believe in rebuilding them from the inside ...

03/03/2026

Why Your Horse Can’t Gain Weight (It’s Not About Calories)

If your horse is eating well but still looks ribby…
It may not be a calorie problem.

It may be an amino acid problem.

Muscle isn’t built from calories alone. It’s built from essential amino acids — especially lysine.

Most grass hays are low in lysine.
So even when protein percentages look “adequate,” the building blocks for muscle may be insufficient.

Without enough lysine:

• Topline won’t develop
• Muscle repair slows
• Hoof quality declines
• Weight gain stalls

You can increase calories all day long — but if one essential amino acid is missing, the body cannot build new tissue efficiently.

Real weight gain starts with better building blocks.

I break this down more fully (including the science) in this week’s blog:

👉 Read the full article here:

Building the Horse — Not Just the Scale If your horse needs to gain weight — but you refuse to spike blood sugar, inflame the gut, or rely on industrial by-products — you are not alone. At Wild Fed, we don’t believe in “fattening up” horses. We believe in rebuilding them from the inside ...

01/12/2026

🐎 Is Coconut Oil Actually Good for Horses?
Let’s talk about fat — because the type matters.

🌱 How horses are designed to handle fat

Horses evolved to eat:
• Forage (fiber)
• Very small amounts of fat naturally found in grasses & seeds
• Mostly unsaturated fats, not saturated fats

👉 Important: Horses do NOT have a gallbladder.
That means they release bile slowly and continuously — not in a big surge like humans do.
Because of this, horses struggle to digest large or dense fat loads, especially saturated fats.

🥥 Coconut oil: what’s the issue?

Coconut oil is:
• ~90% saturated fat
• Mostly medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)

MCTs can be helpful for humans — but horses are built very differently.

🚫 Why coconut oil can be problematic for horses

1️⃣ Saturated fats are harder to digest
• Require more bile coordination
• Horses already have limited fat-digesting capacity
• Can lead to:
– Loose manure
– Hindgut disruption
– Reduced fiber fermentation

2️⃣ MCTs bypass normal digestion
• Absorbed very quickly in the small intestine
• Bypass the slow, steady energy system horses rely on
• Can stress:
– The liver
– Insulin regulation (especially in easy keepers or IR horses)

3️⃣ Not supportive of the microbiome
• Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties
• Helpful topically — but internally it can suppress beneficial gut microbes
• This is the opposite of what we want in a hindgut fermenter

4️⃣ Not anti-inflammatory for horses
• Saturated fats tend to be pro-inflammatory in horses
• Especially compared to omega-3–rich fats

⚠️ When coconut oil might be used (rare cases)

Very small amounts may be tolerated:
• Short-term weight gain in hard keepers
• Senior horses with poor dentition

Even then:
• Doses must be tiny
• It should never be a primary fat source
• There are better options 👇

✅ Better fat options for horses

✔️ Whole-food fats (best choice):

🌾 Ground flaxseed (gold standard)
• Omega-3 rich
• Anti-inflammatory
• Supports gut, skin, joints & hormones

🌱 Chia seed
• Similar benefits
• Very gentle and well-tolerated

💡 Bottom line:
When it comes to fat, horses do best with small amounts of gentle, whole-food, unsaturated fats — not concentrated saturated oils.

01/01/2026

Do probiotics really help horses? 🤔🐴
We’ve been digging deep into the research… and the truth might surprise you.

Here’s what science is showing us now:

🔹 Most probiotics don’t permanently colonize the equine gut — they act more like short-term visitors.
🔹 Some strains (like Bacillus subtilis and yeast cultures) offer proven benefits for hindgut balance and inflammation.
🔹 Many fragile strains used in horse supplements may not even survive heat, oxygen, or barn storage.
🔹 Even “dead” pro

Probiotics are everywhere in the horse world. Powders, pastes, feed-throughs, “digestive balancers,” and daily supplements all promise the same thing: a healthier gut, better digestion, and improved immunity.