Elite Equine Health & Performance

07/07/2025

💡 Fat for Fuel: The Secret Weapon in Your Horse’s Diet 💡

In our last post, we talked about aerobic metabolism — the clean-burning engine that powers your horse through long, steady work. One of the best fuels for that engine? Fat 🔥

Here’s the cool part:
👉 Horses can utilize 100% of the fat they ingest.
Yes, really. Research shows that horses efficiently digest and absorb dietary fat — making it one of the most effective and sustainable energy sources available. 💪

Unlike sugars and starches (which can cause spikes, crashes, and lactic acid buildup), fat delivers slow, steady energy without the drama. Perfect for:
🥶 Cold-weather riding
🏇 Endurance work
🧘‍♀️ Calmer focus without the “fizz”

🌿 Bonus: Fat doesn’t mess with gut pH like starch can, and it can even help with weight gain, coat shine, and metabolic balance.

✅ Top fat sources for horses:

Sunflower seeds

H**p Seeds

Coconut

Cool-energy feeds with added fats

Just like VICTORY! It's all the things you want, and nothing you don't, all in one bag.
eehp.pro/product/victory

🧠 With consistent training, horses become even more efficient at burning fat — meaning longer, stronger, smoother performance over time.

🚫 No sugar crashes
🚫 No lactic acid overload
✅ Just clean, efficient fuel your horse’s body loves to use

07/07/2025

🔥 Fueling the Ride: What Happens When Grain Meets Muscle 🔥

Let’s talk horsepower — literally. 💪
When your horse works, it relies on aerobic metabolism — using oxygen to turn fat and fiber into energy. It’s a clean-burning engine that’s built for endurance, recovery, and steady performance.

But here’s the twist:
When we feed high-starch grains (think oats, corn, sweet feed), we shift the fuel source. Instead of burning fat and fiber, the body starts burning more sugar — especially during intense exercise.

🥵 The catch? Sugar burns fast, and when oxygen can’t keep up (like during bursts of speed or hard work), your horse flips into anaerobic metabolism — a backup system that produces energy quickly, but also leaves behind lactic acid as a byproduct.

⚠️ Too much lactic acid = sore muscles, fatigue, and slower recovery.

So what’s the takeaway?
🚫 Overloading with grain can push your horse into anaerobic mode too soon.
✅ Supporting a fiber-first diet (hay, fats, forage) helps keep energy production aerobic — cleaner, more efficient, and easier on the muscles.

🧠 Bonus tip: Horses are built to run on fiber, not sugar. Let their metabolism do what it does best!

07/02/2025

🚨 The Roller Coaster of Omeprazole: A Ride to Avoid 🚨

If your horse has faced ulcers, Omeprazole might have been your go-to fix — and yes, it works in the short term. But that faint glimmer of relief? It often comes with a twist…

🎢 Rebound hyperacidity: once treatment stops, the body overshoots, producing more stomach acid than before. This can lead to new ulcers — and before you know it, relapse is back on the schedule.

That’s why we created Ulcer Defense — to offer a smoother, long-term alternative that supports gut health, rather than disrupting it.

💚 Inside Ulcer Defense:
Tulsi leaf – adaptogenic and calming for stress-related gut upsets

Peppermint leaf – soothes digestion and helps reduce bloating

Slippery elm bark – coats and shields the stomach lining

Licorice root – promotes anti-inflammatory and healing effects

Cayenne – boosts circulation for nutrient delivery to the gut

Ginger root – eases digestive discomfort naturally

Added polyphenols – potent antioxidants to reinforce gut defenses

🟢 Why this matters:
Instead of blocking acid production (and risking the rebound), Ulcer Defense nourishes and fortifies the digestive tract—keeping your horse off the acid roller coaster and on the path to lasting gut health.

Always consult your vet before making changes, but if you’re looking to break the cycle, this gentle, natural blend may be just the ticket. 🚫🎢➡️🌿

Send a message to learn more

06/29/2025

🎆🇺🇸 Heads up, horse lovers! 🇺🇸🎆

With the 4th of July coming up, our team will be taking a little time to celebrate with family, fireworks, and of course, our favorite four-legged friends! 🐎❤️

📦 Important shipping update: Orders placed after 10 AM Arizona time on Thursday, July 3rd won’t ship until Monday, July 7th.

If your herd is counting on their goodies, make sure to get those orders in early! 🛍️🐴

Thanks for your understanding, and have a safe and happy Independence Day! 🎇🇺🇸

06/21/2025

If you have any questions about war horse protocol or victory protocol and why we recommend a forage based diet, feel free to reach out. We are always happy to answer questions. This horse before and after war horse protocol... after war horse protocol, he is now on maintenance Ulcer Defense and Victory daily with a forage pellet, free choice minerals and alfalfa hay. HE IS A DIFFERENT ANIMAL in the best ways possible. He's calmer, he's shinier, he's more muscular, he's happier, he's growing good healthy foot and he is overall just nicer to be around. He is also ulcer free after being scoped before and after 45 days. Feel free to check it out at eehp.pro

06/13/2025

🚨 We're Hiring: Equine Nutritionist – Join Our Forage Made Simple Movement! 🚨

Are you passionate about equine health and nutrition? Do you believe in the power of forage-first feeding and want to make an impact in the horse world?

We’re looking for a forward-thinking Equine Nutritionist to join our growing Forage Made Simple group – a space dedicated to educating horse owners on feeding horses the way nature intended.

🧠 What You’ll Do:

Go live in our community group to share insights, answer questions, and bust myths

Co-host podcast episodes focused on forage-based nutrition and metabolic health

Create educational content that helps horse owners simplify their feeding programs

Provide expert guidance and support to a growing community of forage-first horse owners

🎯 Who You Are:

An equine nutritionist with a strong foundation in forage-based, grain-free diets

Confident speaking on camera and podcast platforms (or willing to grow into it)

Passionate about equipping owners with real, science-backed knowledge

Creative, reliable, and excited to be part of something that’s reshaping the industry

🛠️ This is a flexible, part-time role with flexible terms.
Interested or know someone who’s a great fit? Drop us a message or email us at [your contact info].

Let’s change how horses are fed — together.

Send a message to learn more

06/09/2025

🥑 No Gallbladder? No Problem for Horses! 🐴🔥

Here’s a cool equine nutrition fact: Horses don’t have a gallbladder—but that doesn’t stop them from being fat-digesting champs. 💪

Despite this missing organ, horses digest and absorb nearly 100% of the fats they eat. That’s because their liver continuously secretes bile straight into the small intestine, keeping digestion running smoothly all day long. 📈

But here’s something even cooler:
🔬 Fat digestion actually starts in the stomach, and it follows increasing first-order kinetics. In plain English? The more fat that enters the gut (up to a limit), the faster the enzymes and bile go to work breaking it down.

💡 This makes fat a highly efficient and safe energy source for horses—great for performance, weight gain, and even metabolic management when used properly.

So yeah—gallbladder or not, your horse is fully equipped to handle fats like a pro. 🥥💥

Have you tried adding fat to your horse’s diet? Let us know how it’s going in the comments!



📚 Sources:

Lawrence, L. M. et al. (1995). "Digestibility and effects of dietary fat in the horse." Journal of Animal Science.

06/02/2025

🌱 Monday Mindset Check! 🌱
If your horse’s diet had a “reset” button, would you press it?

Let’s kick off this week with a fresh start—and a fresh look at what’s really fueling our horses. 🐴✨
Here’s the challenge: Strip it back to the basics. Forage first. Smart supplements second. That’s it.

🥕 No processed feeds.
🥬 No fillers.
🧬 Just what the horse is designed to thrive on: fiber + targeted nutrients.

Did you know horses can actually make their own glucose (energy) from fiber through a process called gluconeogenesis? Yep—fiber isn’t just roughage. It’s fuel. 🔥

So here’s your Monday question:
What’s ONE thing you could cut out of your horse’s diet this week to move closer to a forage-first approach?
Let us know below! 👇 We’d love to hear what you’re thinking.

05/28/2025

🚨🔥 **Metabolic Disaster Alert: What Happens When a Horse’s Fuel Can’t Burn?** 🐎💣

Picture this:
A high-performance race car designed to suck in massive amounts of air and burn fuel with precision and power.

Now imagine the fuel keeps pouring in…
But the ignition is blocked.
🔥 The system backs up.
🔥 The heat builds.
🔥 And boom — a **catastrophic fire**.

Your horse is that machine. Some horses are subject to this on a weekly basis during competition.

🌱 Forage and feed = the fuel
🧬 Insulin = the ignition system that allows the body to convert glucose into usable energy

But when you blunt insulin — using drugs like **guanabenz, dormosedan, rompun, sedivet, or other alpha-2 agonists** — you block the ignition. The body *can’t use the glucose flooding the system.*

❗ The result? **Hyperglycemia** — dangerously high blood sugar
❗ The body spirals into a **metabolic disaster**
❗ What happens next?

🔻 Systemic inflammation
🔻 Oxidative stress
🔻 Lactic acid overload
🔻 Hormonal chaos
🔻 Tissue damage
🔻 **Laminitis**
🔻 The onset or worsening of **metabolic syndrome**

Got a Cushing’s, PSSM, or competition horse with already elevated cortisol?
No problem… *as long as you’re okay with them knocking on death’s door.*

---

💭 Whatever problem you think you're solving with these drugs, consider this:

👉 There are no solutions — only trade-offs.
👉 Every drug comes with a cost: **nutritional deficiencies, metabolic strain, and biological consequences.**
👉 And all of this might be acceptable... if you're okay with **dramatically shortening your horse’s health span**, **accelerating age-related decline**, and ushering in a cascade of chronic health issues.

So we have to ask ourselves —
**Is it really worth it? For what? And at what cost?**

\

🧠 Sources:

* Harris, P. A., et al. *Equine Applied and Clinical Nutrition*
* Durham, A. E. *Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract.*
* Frank, N. et al. “Equine Metabolic Syndrome.” *Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine*

05/23/2025

Store wide sale, good through Monday 12 am Arizona time! Thank you to all who gave the ultimate sacrifice! Have a safe and fun weekend!
*exclusions apply.

05/20/2025

🧠🐴 Gut Feeling: Is Your Horse’s Diet Messing with Their Mind?

We talk a lot about what’s going into our horses’ mouths—but not nearly enough about what it’s doing to their gut and even their brain. 😟

Modern equine diets often pack in high starch, low fiber, and processed feeds—totally different from the forage-rich meals horses were built to thrive on. The result? A stressed-out gut microbiome—and that’s where trouble starts.

👉 When the microbiome gets disrupted (hello, excess grain and not enough forage), it can lead to leaky gut syndrome. That means harmful stuff can pass through the gut wall and enter the bloodstream, sparking inflammation that doesn’t just stay in the gut—it can affect the brain, too.

This gut-brain link (aka the gut-brain axis) is no joke. Inflammation from the gut can show up as:

🔹 Anxiety
🔹 Aggression
🔹 “Off” behavior or poor rideability
🔹 Reduced focus and performance

🧬 Studies back it up:

Schmidt et al. (Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2020) linked gut microbial imbalance to neuroinflammation.

Gordon et al. (Animals, 2021) found that high-starch diets increased gut permeability and behavioral issues.

Dougal et al. (PLoS ONE, 2013) and Costa et al. (Equine Vet J., 2012) showed how diet affects microbial health and inflammation.

So what can we do?

✅ More forage
✅ Less processed feed
✅ Support the gut daily
✅ And when things go wrong… respond fast.

That’s where our products come in:

💥 Emergency Formula – For horses in distress, showing ulcer symptoms, or struggling with behavioral changes linked to gut inflammation. This formula gets in fast to calm, coat, and support the gut lining.

🌿 Maintenance Formula Ulcer Defense – A daily, long-term solution that supports a balanced gut microbiome, protects against acidity, and helps prevent future issues—perfect for performance horses, sensitive tummies, and those in transitionto forage only. .

Let’s feed horses the way nature intended—and give their gut (and brain!) the support they deserve. 💚🌾

📚 Sources:

Gordon et al., 2021, Animals Journal

Dougal et al., 2013, PLoS ONE

Costa et al., 2012, Equine Vet Journal

🙌 Drop a comment if you’ve seen a behavior or performance shift after a diet change or gut support—let’s talk real results!

05/04/2025

🤔 Feeding grain and tossing in an acid buffer? Let’s rethink that🐴

It’s a common plan: add grain for energy or weight gain, then buffer the acid to “protect the stomach.” But here’s the truth—neutralizing stomach acid doesn’t mean digestion is working better. In fact, it might be setting your horse up for more problems. Let’s break it down 👇

🔸 Stomach acid isn’t the villain—it’s essential.
Your horse needs that acid to start breaking down feed, especially protein and minerals. When you feed 2–5 lbs of grain (a big starch load!) and try to “calm” the acid with a buffer, you're actually making it harder for their gut to process the meal properly. Digestion gets delayed, and undigested starch spills into the hindgut—where it doesn't belong.

🔸 Calcuim Carbonate other buffers? Short-term fix.
They can soothe the stomach lining temporarily, but they don’t change how the horse processes starch or how the hindgut reacts to overload. It’s like putting a bandage on a blister while still walking in tight shoes. 😬

🔸 Commercial feed fiber ≠ forage fiber.
Yes, many grain mixes say “added fiber,” but it’s often beet pulp or soy hulls—not long-stem forage. That kind of fiber doesn’t promote the same saliva production or gut motility as hay. It won’t slow down starch absorption enough to prevent digestive upset.

🔸 The result? A stressed gut, not a nourished one.
Too much grain, not enough real fiber, and neutralized stomach acid… it’s a recipe for ulcers, hindgut acidosis, behavior changes, and metabolic strain.

🌿 What actually helps?
👉 More forage, smaller meals
👉 Balanced nutrition without starch overload
👉 Supporting the whole digestive tract—not just buffering the belly

💥 Want a healthier gut for your horse?
Check out our EEHP Victory Protocol—designed to support digestive function the right way: from the inside out.

Because in the end, fiber fuels the horse—grain just fuels the fire. 🔥

Send a message to learn more