Windy Coulee Canadian Horses in Pincher Creek Alberta since 1998 Heidi Eijgel and David Glass
Almost a decade ago, I asked what I thought was a simple question. What exactly is the breakdown of nutrients required to build a healthy horse? This was followed by, how do I feed my horses solely on native grassland from August till April every winter and put them on a more traditional feeding program for May – July and know they are getting the correct nutrients when all commercial mineral mixes say, “feed mineral with good quality hay”? Amanda Kroeker, owner of ARK Nutrition had the answers and more. I loved the scientific process used assessing each individual horse in the entire herd, analyzing the nutrient content of our pastures, including soil and water analysis and focusing in on the specific workloads of all our horses from competition to developing youngsters, broodmares and stallions. At Windy Coulee we are always striving to build healthy horses, so we can offer the very best of the Canadian breed to our clients whether the horses are for sport, pleasure or patrol service horses. Our horses deserve nothing less than a foundation of healthy food, the right mix of nutrition, hoof and dental care, a superb vet on call, topped off with fair and kind horsemanship.
Put that all together and the best practice of Equine Stewardship is your bottom line; and our clients deserve horses bred, raised and developed like that. We work with nature, and ARK Nutrition to make sure this happens. Over the years we have found success in raising our horses to be fit, healthy and content by keeping their care simple and close to the way horses are meant to live. This is to ensure their mental health as well as physical health is top notch. It is our experience that ground work with people, a herd setting for much of the year, mental stimulation, rest, implementing a training plan, a clean, but as close to natural environment as we can muster is what keeps our horses in top shape as well as mentally challenged with a positive attitude.
Amanda explains equine nutrition clearly, logically and inspires you to do your best to help your horses health. We came up with some simple guidelines at Windy Coulee Canadians: 1. use organic and local, as much as possible (this was to allow me to support farmers who helped the land and the environment), 2. No animal by products or processed feed. 3. Keep it simple. Amanda added keep it affordable, and we have found keeping our whole herd on the program is possible. Windy Coulee Canadian Horses has worked with ARK Nutrition since 2008. Thank you, Amanda, for supporting our ideals and keeping our Canadians healthy