About HorseNutritionGuide.com

Who built this, why, what the content standards are, and how the feed label data was verified.

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Who We Are

HorseNutritionGuide.com is a project of Western Media Group, the digital division of Bridle & Bit Magazine — Arizona's premier equestrian publication, established 1978. The team behind this site has deep roots in the western equestrian and Arizona rodeo community, with hands-on experience across reining, team roping, ranch riding, cutting, and the broader western performance horse world.

This is not a feed company site. We are not affiliated with any feed manufacturer, retailer, or supplement brand. No feed brand pays for placement or favorable treatment in our decoder, matchmaker, or library. Assessments are based solely on what the label says and what the nutritional science shows.

HorseNutritionGuide.com is part of a network of equestrian knowledge sites that includes HorseTrainer.ai, TeamRoping.ai, ReiningHorses.ai, and BridleAndBit.com — all built on the same principles: verified content, no fabrication, direct answers.

Why We Built This

Horse owners stand in feed stores every day holding bags they can't fully read. The ingredient list is opaque, the guaranteed analysis is full of abbreviations, and the marketing on the front of the bag bears little relationship to what's actually inside. Vets are expensive and often not available for routine feeding questions. Online information is scattered, inconsistent, and frequently wrong.

The average horse owner is not a nutritionist — but they don't need to be one to make better feeding decisions. They need a plain-English translation of what the label actually says, matched against what their specific horse actually needs. That's what this tool does.

We also believe that horse owners who can't afford a $300 vet call for a feeding question still deserve accurate information. This tool is free, has no login, and never will have a paywall on core functionality.

Content Standards

We apply the same editorial standards to this site that Bridle & Bit Magazine has applied to equestrian journalism since 1978:

No fabrication. Every factual claim — feed ingredient descriptions, nutritional values, condition definitions, NRC standards — is sourced from verified data. We do not guess, extrapolate, or invent. If we don't know something, we say so.
Feed label data is verified from primary sources. Every feed in our library was researched from manufacturer websites, physical feed bag labels, or established nutrition databases. We note the source and verification date. We do not accept manufacturer marketing claims as nutritional fact — we use their guaranteed analysis and ingredient lists, which are legal commitments.
Nutritional standards from NRC 2007. Daily nutrient requirements in our matchmaker and gap analysis come from the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th revised edition (2007) — the authoritative reference for equine nutrition in North America. Where more recent research has refined NRC values, we note it.
We give opinions, not diagnoses. We describe what a feed contains and what those ingredients are known to do nutritionally. We say directly when a feed is a poor fit for a horse with specific health conditions — that is label literacy, not medical advice. We do not diagnose individual horses or prescribe treatments.
Condition definitions are nutritional, not medical. When we define EMS, PSSM, laminitis, or PPID, we explain what those conditions mean nutritionally — what dietary factors affect them and what feeds are appropriate. We do not tell owners their horse has a condition.
We name specific alternatives. When a feed is not a good fit for a horse's profile, we name the specific feeds in our library that are better fits — with their NSC values, key characteristics, and why they match. We don't hedge with "consult a professional" when the feeding answer is knowable.

How the Feed Library Was Built

Our verified feed label library contains guaranteed analysis values and full ingredient lists for feeds we have directly confirmed from primary sources. The library is built and maintained according to the following process:

Verification process
  • Manufacturer websites — ingredient lists and guaranteed analysis panels
  • Physical feed bag labels — photographed and transcribed directly
  • Authorized retailer product pages where they display the full label
  • Mad Barn Feed Bank and similar established nutrition databases for cross-reference
  • Manufacturer technical staff confirmation for NSC, starch, and sugar values not shown on labels

Feeds are only added to the library when we have confirmed the ingredient list and at minimum: crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, selenium, and Vitamin E. NSC (or starch + sugar) is required for any feed likely to be evaluated for metabolic horses.

Feed formulas change. We note verification dates and flag feeds where formulas may have been updated since our last verification. If you notice a discrepancy between our library data and a current feed bag, the bag is authoritative — manufacturer formulas change and our library reflects data at time of verification.

What This Tool Is Not

HorseNutritionGuide.com is an educational feed literacy tool. It is not:

For horses with diagnosed metabolic conditions, active laminitis, PPID, PSSM, or other health conditions requiring dietary management, a complete diet evaluation by a qualified equine nutritionist working from hay analysis, current health status, and body condition scoring is the appropriate standard of care. This tool helps you understand what you're feeding — it does not replace that evaluation.

Ready to use the tool?

Photograph any feed label and get a plain-English breakdown in seconds.