This is a very interesting thread.
I don't show horses, so all the effort mentioned above is a bit out of the question, especially if you have more than one or two horses to deal with.
I really liked the comment about the shine and gloss coming from within! My horses have free range on 17 acres of mixed grasses and during the winter get some feed and all the dry clean hay they want. I am working at upgrading the quality of the hay but it isn't where I want it yet.
A couple of years ago I had an opportunity to talk to an old timer about the way horses were kept up before people had the ability to pay a feed store for supplies. He told me that his father would gather hay and raise two small crops to keep up the horses during the winter. ....A small plot of corn and a small plot of sweet potatoes. He said the rationale was that if the corn didn't produce much beyond human consumption needs, the sweet potatoes would fill the gap. ..If both were banner crops the horses and mules would be very well fed for the winter.
I have started doing that in my garden, but I feed the corn to the horses as it matures. The big difference is with the sweet potatoes. I fed them 9 bushels of imperfect organic sweet potatoes last winter and their coats are very shiny this year. I put very little effort into brushing and just occasional hand rub them to keep them emotionally linked to me. ...The down side is that they became very fat once the grass got strong and are just now starting to trim up a bit as the summer grasses weaken,,,,, but their attitudes are very good and they seem happy and content. - Just what I want for spoiled pets!
With this in mind, I would suggest those who are trying to keep their horse in top shape to give sweet potatoes a try as a hand supplement/treat for your horses. They will immediately know just how good those silver dollar sized slices are, and you will know that they are getting a balanced supplement Mother Nature designed.
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