Calcium, Phosphorus & Bone Nutrition for Young Horses

Proper nutrition is absolutely essential to maintain bone health in horses, especially during the critical phases of skeletal growth and development. It’s imperative to continuously assess and manage a young horse’s diet, starting from in-utero development and extending through their training.

Key Nutrients for Skeletal Development in Horses:

Calcium and Phosphorus for horses: are crucial for bone development, strength, repair, and optimal muscular and nervous system function. These nutrients are particularly vital during pregnancy, lactation, growth, and exercise. Maintaining the right blood concentrations of calcium and phosphorus is essential. In cases of insufficient dietary intake, the body draws on its bone reserves, leading to issues like reduced bone density, bony malformations, and an increased risk of fractures.

In recent times, the recommended daily calcium and phosphorus requirements for horses across all categories have been adjusted upwards, making it probable that these levels may not be met in the diets of horses confined to stables in the Middel East.

Furthermore, apart from the minimum quantities of calcium and phosphorus essential for horses, the specific ratio in which these dietary elements are provided plays a pivotal role. An imbalance with excess phosphorus can hinder the body’s ability to absorb calcium, prompting the body to compensate by drawing from its bone reserves. For most horses, the ideal phosphorus-to-calcium ratio falls within the range of 1+1/2:1 to 2:1.

To fulfill the precise and balanced dietary needs for these critical minerals, it is recommended to enhance the daily rations of growing and young horses with a suitable nutritional supplement such as Cal-Gro, our supplement for mares and foals. Cal-Gro offers the correct calcium-to-phosphorus ratio and is enriched with supplementary nutrients that facilitate the metabolism of these essential dietary components, in addition to supporting various other vital aspects of bone and joint development.

Once a young horse is ready to commence training, they should consider changing from Cal Gro to Osteo-Glycan. Osteo-Glycan is our superior joint equine supplement in powder format containing marine collagen, vitamins and minerals to support bone and joint development, especially for young horses entering training with increased physical demands. This is a common time that we see injuries in horses, especially considering the testing hard ground conditions in the Middle East, so we want to ensure that they are supported as best as they can be.

When to Commence Horse Training:

Recent research indicates a contrary finding to previous expectations: initiating controlled training for two-year-old horses, including short bursts of high-intensity exercise with appropriate rest intervals, actually reduces the risk of bone fractures on the race tracks in later life, in comparison to horses that begin training at the age of three or four. This reduction in fracture risk is attributed to structured bone remodeling in two-year-old horses due to appropriate exercise regimens, provided there’s a sufficient daily intake of essential nutrients crucial for optimal skeletal development.

If you wish to explore further details about best equine supplements supporting skeletal growth and mobility, don’t hesitate to consult one of our equine nutrition experts.

References:

1. O’Connor, C.I., et al., Mineral balance in horses fed two supplemental silicon sources. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 2007.
2. Logan AA, Nielsen BD. Training Young Horses: The Science behind the Benefits. Animals (Basel). 2021 Feb 9;11(2):463