Scoop & Scale: An Equine Podcast (Mostly) About Nutrition

Feeding senior horses especially over the winter can be a challenge as many lose condition over these colder months. Some senior horses require different approaches to feeding to ensure their needs are met as what worked in their younger years may not work any more. Chewing can become a challenge requiring frequent dental care and the possibility of needing alternative feed forms.

Feed labels are the informational panels found on the backs of feed bags or seen in to the bottom seem. These labels provide a wealth of important details about the contents and composition of the feed, allowing horse owners to make informed decisions about how the feed might meet the nutritional needs of their horse. While the majority of these labels share a lot of information ab

Many horses are fed hay at some point during the year. Whether only in winter when pastures are sparse or year round due to lack of pasture access, hay is a vital source of nutrition for your horse and a major investment for you. This is the time of year when many owners are making decisions on the type of hay they will feed for the next year and are filling their hay barns. But wh

With more and more knowledge of the importance of gastrointestinal health on our horse's entire health, an ever increasing number of feeds and supplements on the market claim to support gut health. Prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics have become commonly utilized ingredients but what exactly are they and does your horse need them? In this episode we discuss:- what prebiotics, pr

Maintaining optimal weight and peak performance in horses, especially those used for high-intensity athletic activities, can be a delicate and ongoing challenge for even the most experienced equestrian. Throughout the various seasons and demands of the competition calendar, a horse's nutritional and exercise needs are in constant flux, requiring vigilant monitoring and adjustment t

In part 2 of our 2 part series Behind the Scenes at the Summer GamesDr. Clair talks to Dr Joe Pagan owner and President of Kentucky Equine Research (KER). In addition to doing equine nutrition and exercise physiology related research work, KER have also sourced the feed for the last 7 Summer Games. They discuss: - how teams coordinate getting the feed their horses need to the games

Wonder what goes on behind-the-scenes and what it takes to get horses to major international competitions? In this episode Dr. Clair and Michelle are joined by Max Corcoran, a freelance groom, equestrian event organizer, and former longtime member of the O’Connor Event Team. Max shares what it’s like to manage horses on the U.S. Equestrian Team as they travel to international c

Equine feed labels and hay analysis results are full of abbreviations such as ADF, NDF, CP, NSC, and WSC and together they make up an alphabet soup. Ever wonder what they all mean and whether they are important to your horse? And what about gas? Has your horse ever passed gas while being ridden? In this episode Dr Clair and Michelle answer some, listener questions, topics including

Fly management is a crucial aspect of horse barn management this time of year. Flies—here we're talking about stable flies, horse flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and more—​are a nuisance to horses and humans alike. They cause our horses discomfort, stress, and even the spread of diseases, such as Potomac horse fever, West Nile virus, pigeon fever, and vesicular stomatitis. And many

Temperatures are starting to rise across the country! We start to think about ways of keeping our horses cool in the summer months. Switching turn out times to overnight hours, hanging fans and adding electrolytes are some of the common things that people do. Horses rely heavily on sweating to keep cool. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Samantha Brooks from the University of Florida