Pivotal Equine Nutrition

10/30/2026

Is your horse’s diet actually inflammatory, or have certain ingredients just earned a bad reputation? 🌿🐴

Soy, alfalfa, grains, and omega-6 fatty acids are frequently labeled as “inflammatory,” but equine nutrition isn’t quite that black and white.

Inflammation itself is a normal, necessary biological process. What we’re concerned about is inflammation that becomes excessive, prolonged, or poorly regulated. The nutritional approach depends on what we’re trying to manage.

For example, limiting sugar and starch may be essential for a horse with insulin dysregulation, while reducing forage and environmental dust is a major priority for a horse with asthma. EPA and DHA may also help modulate certain inflammatory responses, but their effects depend on the condition, dose, and outcomes being evaluated.

Even research examining grain-based diets demonstrates that feeding practices and physiological context can influence inflammatory responses. An individual ingredient doesn’t tell us the whole story.

There is no single “anti-inflammatory diet” appropriate for every horse.

Rather than building an ingredient blacklist, we should be evaluating the complete ration, the individual horse, and the evidence supporting our nutritional decisions.

Good nutrition isn’t about feeding the latest buzzword. It’s about understanding what we’re feeding, why we’re feeding it, and what we’re trying to accomplish.

Feed the horse. Not the buzzword. 🌱

📚 References: Durham et al., 2019; Nogradi et al., 2015; Ross-Jones et al., 2016; Suagee-Bedore et al., 2020; DiSilvestro et al., 2026.

Full blog: https://pivotalequinenutrition.com/feed-for-thought

10/27/2026

Fall ACTH ≠ Fall Laminitis: Are We Blaming the Wrong Hormone?

In the fall, there are always a lot of posts circulating about PPID and laminitis risk. One thing that often gets lost is that PPID and insulin dysregulation are distinct conditions that can occur together, but a horse with PPID is not automatically insulin dysregulated.

That distinction matters when we talk about laminitis risk, ACTH, insulin, and nutrition.

For a more in-depth explanation 👇🏼

https://pivotalequinenutrition.com/feed-for-thought/f/fall-acth-≠-fall-laminitis-are-we-blaming-the-wrong-hormone

10/19/2026

Chunky doesn’t automatically mean well-balanced. 🐴(🐷)

An overweight horse has taken in more energy than they’ve expended. That tells us about calorie balance, not about whether the ration is meeting protein, vitamin, and mineral requirements. Body condition scoring is fundamentally a measure of fatness/adiposity, not nutrient adequacy.

🌾 Forage can provide plenty of calories without necessarily providing every essential nutrient in the right amount. Forage composition varies, which is why even weight-loss diets for obese horses still need to pay deliberate attention to adequate protein, vitamins, and minerals. The ECEIM consensus specifically recommends providing appropriate vitamin/mineral fortification while restricting dietary energy.

⚖️The goal isn’t simply “feed less.”
It’s to reduce excess calories while still meeting essential nutrient requirements. That may mean lower energy forage, controlled intake, and an appropriately formulated balancer or other source of fortification.

Bottom line:
🐷 A round horse can be getting too many calories and still have an unbalanced ration.

Body condition tells us how much condition the horse is carrying, not the completeness of their diet.

Link to full blog: https://pivotalequinenutrition.com/feed-for-thought/f/well-fed-is-not-well-balanced

10/17/2026

Spooky. 👻

10/12/2026

When a senior horse starts struggling to maintain body condition, owners naturally tend to start shopping for a senior feed. Before you click “add to cart” though, there is something important to consider: your horse’s dental health.

How are his teeth? Has a licensed professional actually looked in his mouth (with a speculum!) to see what’s going on in the depths? Does he have a history of subpar dental health, and are you coming up on your dental anniversary?

Have you found slobbery clumps of half-chewed hay around your hay stations? This means someone is “quidding” their hay, and it’s time to put your detective hat on to figure out who the culprit is. 🕵🏼‍♀️

The answers to these questions help determine how you move forward with choosing an appropriate feed.

🦷 Poor dental health + trouble chewing hay?
You may need a complete feed, one formulated to replace some or all of a horse’s long-stem forage intake when fed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

👵🏼 “Senior” doesn’t automatically mean “complete.”
Many senior feeds are complete feeds, but not all are. “Senior” describes the horse the product was formulated with in mind; “complete” describes what the feed can do.

🏷️ Don’t take the label too literally.
A younger horse can absolutely eat a senior or complete feed if the formulation fits their needs.

⚖️Feeding rate matters.
Fortified feeds are designed to provide their intended amino acid, vitamin, and mineral fortification when fed at the recommended rate. If that rate provides too many calories, a different product may be a better fit.

🔍 Ask yourself:
How much does this horse weigh? What life stage are they in? What’s their workload? What’s their BCS? How much forage are they actually consuming, and what’s its quality? Can they still chew it effectively? And can the chosen feed be fed at the at the rate needed to provide the intended fortification?

Disclaimer:
Every horse and every situation is different. For tailored advice, please submit a request for a free ration evaluation.

10/08/2026

A supplement is something added to another thing to complete it, make up for a shortage, or improve the whole.

In the context of your horse’s diet, (which you’ve definitely had evaluated for free with me, cough cough) supplements should come after the whole ration is evaluated and because there’s a specific reason to add one.

Your horse does not need a separate scoop for every organ, joint, hoof, and hair follicle.

Before adding another tub to gather dust in your feed room, ask:

🔎 What am I trying to accomplish?
Are you filling an identified nutrient gap, supporting an individual need, or targeting something specific?

🥣 What is the horse already getting?
Pasture, hay, fortified feeds, and current supplements are all contributing. Multiple products can easily provide many of the same nutrients.

⚖️ Is the dose meaningful?
An ingredient appearing on the label doesn’t necessarily mean there’s enough of it to produce the intended effect. Look for research-backed doses, not just research-backed ingredients.

📚 Is there evidence for the intended use?
A good-sounding ingredient or plausible mechanism is not the same thing as evidence that a product actually produces the desired result in horses.

🌾 Could the base ration address the problem first?
The whole diet should be assessed prior to layering products.

Supplements aren’t inherently good or bad. Targeted supplementation can be incredibly useful. The goal is to know what each product is contributing and why it deserves a spot in your horse’s bucket.

Bottom line: build a balanced ration first, define your needs and goals, then supplement with purpose when appropriate.

👇 Does everything in your horse’s bucket have a job?
What supplements do you find yourself drawn to?

09/18/2026

Horse owners, I want to hear from you!

We make decisions about our horses’ diets every day, shaped by experience, education, research, professionals, and what has worked over time.

I created a short survey so I can understand what horse owners know, question, and value when it comes to equine nutrition, including what you expect from nutrition support and what would make it useful to you.

There are no right or wrong answers, and I want to hear from owners at every experience level.

It takes less than 5 minutes, and your responses will help guide future education and content from Pivotal Equine Nutrition.

👇 Feeding Horses: What Do We Know, Question, and Value?

https://forms.gle/p7RU24GcZFyXaXs27

I know you horse people are busy, and I appreciate your time!

Evidence-based equine nutrition consulting | Personalized ration analysis, farm visits & virtual consultations | Peyton Teague, Ph.D.

08/09/2026

Welcome to Pivotal Equine Nutrition with me, Dr. Peyton Teague! I have been passionate about equine nutrition for years, and I'm excited to be official and able to help horses and their owners build a solid nutrition pro...