June 2007

Feeding Vinegar to Your Horse

The only reason for giving a horse vinegar is to mask the taste of bad water—or because your horse just likes it.

If you put vinegar in your horse’s feed or water because your horse likes the taste, or to hide some unpleasant water quality, that’s fine. Some horse owners also feed vinegar to slow enterolith growth (stone-like balls that appear in the intestine)

It’s no cure-all, but some horses enjoy the taste.

because the vinegar acidifies the gut and prevents minerals from precipitating out. It’s not clear how much to feed or if it’s truly effective, but it’s an acceptable management practice that won’t hurt your horse.

Beyond these uses, though, the wide variety of health claims made for vinegar make little-to-no sense: …