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Practical Application
From a client:
"Suffice it to say that my two dogs have now made the change to ‘real’ food and seem to be enjoying it. B----’s crusty nose is looking blacker and shinier than it ever has, if that is anything to go by. L--- is slowly beginning to look a bit less spherical, so it’s worth the effort."
When planning a diet for an animal, the simple rationale to follow is to look at a wild equivalent species and study its diet. Broadly speaking, such a diet or similar is likely to be healthy for our domestic species. This clearly cuts out animal or fish products from a herbivore’s diet, despite the fact that many commercial feeds and supplements fly in the face of this simple wisdom. Added sugar, commonly in the form of molasses, also has an adverse effect on the bowel flora of horses, hence on digestion and metabolism and thereby on behaviour, immune capability and physical health (horses are primarily fibre digesters). Grazing should be on traditional pasture, not adulterated with agro-chemicals. The same applies to grass-based products (e.g. hay, haylage, dried grass, grass nuts), which should not have been fertilised with artificial nitrogen. It also implies that the chewing of large chunks of raw meat and gnawing on bones is healthiest for dogs, in addition to their other fresh dietary components e.g. vegetables (dogs have no nutritional requirement for grain starch).

Wholesome fresh vegetables in a supermarket
Tooth health of all species is critically affected by diet. Manufactured foods for dogs and cats permit or encourage plaque and tartar formation, resulting in gingivitis, gum recession and eventual tooth loss. Sugars in horse diets lead to enamel weakness and concentrate feeding can lead to tartar and to incorrect tooth wear - Teeth (Horses & Ponies) : Teeth & Teething (Dogs & Cats).
Whether
feeding dogs, feeding cats,
feeding horses or feeding ponies, the principles are the same. Only the special needs,
susceptibilities and capabilities of each species have to be considered. Feeding animals is not difficult, until it comes to
production animals, who have increased demand for certain critical nutrients.
Particularly in the case of dairy cows, dairy sheep or dairy goats, production
animals can live on a knife-edge. For this reason, I have studied the nutrition of farm species, allowing a full
dietary appraisal for health, as a crucial part of health management on the
farm. I studied the Agricultural Sciences Tripos, at Cambridge. In the 70’s and 80’s, when I ran a very busy farm practice, in
addition to treating other species, I was personally examining 600 cows per week on
routine visits. The health of these cows was mostly achieved through diet, with
homeopathic medication for fertility and such-like problems, on an individual basis
when needed. Good nutrition work would, however, mostly remove the need for
medication.
Some common disease conditions whose causes are likely to have a large, major or sole dietary component are: temperament problems, poor appetite, poor condition, poor doers, poor coat condition, poor body condition, poor hoof quality, laminitis, arthritis, behavioural problems, tooth eruption, dental health, oral hygiene, plaque, tartar, gum health, gingivitis, stomach ulcer (gastric ulcer), bloat, hyperexcitability, nervousness, aggression, chronic diarrhoea, malabsorption, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), bone development problems, skeletal problems, rickets, skeletal development, exercise tolerance, development problems, tying up, myoglobinuria, setfast, azoturia, pregnancy toxaemia, milk fever, eclampsia, dystochia, birth problems, stamina, heart condition and allergy.
The AVMC's service for farm clients includes the option of in-depth nutrition and diet input, as part of an integrated programme. There is a discount for Soil Association members (organic).
Other Pages of related interest:
Pasture Management
Artificial Nitrogen Fertiliser
Products
Feeds
Supplements
Diets
Poisonous Plants
Food Poisoning
Positive Health
Teeth (Horses & Ponies)
Teeth & Teething (Dogs & Cats)
Organics
Farm Management & Nutrition
Dietary Issues
Recipes
Obesity
Nutraceuticals
Natural Feeding (article)
Feeding Dogs (article) (& see picture) - the
holistic vet view.

Books by Christopher Day:
Christopher Day has written a book(let), 'Feeding Dogs the Natural Way' - Chinham Publications, available from the AVMC (see address etc. below).
He has also written a book(let), 'Feeding Horses the Natural Way' - Chinham Publications, which can be ordered from the AVMC (see address etc. below) [Not yet in print].
Other books:
Books by Tom Lonsdale 'Raw Meaty Bones' and Ian Billingshurst 'The BARF Diet' (bones and raw food) have been recommended to us and have a great following but we have not yet read them (so cannot comment).
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Page refers to: holistic feeding - holistic diet - holistic diets - natural feeding - natural diet - natural diets - organic feeding - organic diet - organic diets - fresh food - fresh feeding - fresh diet - fresh diets - natural food - organic food - holistic food - raw - meat - bones - bone
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