Ep. 3: Feeding Off-Track Thoroughbreds

Scoop & Scale: An Equine Podcast (Mostly) About Nutrition

It's Kentucky Derby time and the beginning of Triple Crown season, a five-week stretch when horse-related searches online surge and the general public's interest in horses peaks. In honor of the horses, we took this episode as an opportunity to talk about feeding Thoroughbreds as they transition from life on the track to their second careers and beyond.
You'll learn about:

• How racehorses are fed and how that might differ from other horses.
• Why horses newly off the track still need a lot more calories than you might imagine.
• Why people in general consider Thoroughbreds "hard keepers" when it comes to feeding them.
• Getting off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTB) to eat forage-first diets.
• And the role gut health plays in the OTTB diet.

About Us

Clair Thunes, PhD, is an equine nutritionist, busy Pony Club mom, and a dressage and eventing enthusiast. She also owns Clarity Equine Nutrition, an independent consulting company based in Gilbert, Arizona. She works with owners and veterinarians to create diets for individual horses, ranging from retired pasture pets to Olympic athletes. Her services also include formulating feeds and supplements for companies, and there's a good chance you've scooped something she helped develop into your horse's bucket. Clair taught equine nutrition and physiology as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Davis, is a highly sought after speaker.
Michelle Anderson is a lifelong horsewoman who spent two decades writing for and editing equine magazines and websites. In 2022, she started Cadence Marketing + Media, in Bend, Oregon, to support equine-related brands and delivery quality educational content to horse owners. Her clients include equine veterinary hospitals, trainers, boarding stables, and businesses offering professional services for the industry. Her own herd lives at home and includes an aspiring FEI dressage mare, a fiery Arabian-cross trail horse, and a retired Quarter Horse gelding Michelle bred, raised, and (her husband points out) has been feeding for the past 20-plus years. Michelle's goal is to educate owners so they can best care for the horses they love.

Do you have questions about feeding your horse? Contact us at [email protected]

Thanks for riding along with us!