How to Apply Diatomaceous Earth to Horse Feeds
Diatomaceous earth is the remains of small one-celled organisms called diatoms. These diatoms are harvested and refined and used for many purposes, including as a natural pest control in animals, including horses. The substance has sharp edges that cut and then dry out parasites. Diatomaceous earth also reduces the number of flies present in manure and even lowers the smell by drying out the manure quickly. Feed only food-grade diatomaceous earth to your horses.
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Instructions
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Measure out one or two tsp. of food-grade diatomaceous earth into a bucket. Add a cup of sweet feed and a cup of molasses to the bucket and mix well. The molasses makes everything sticky and reduces the amount of dust the diatomaceous earth creates. Place the mixture on top of the horse's regular feed two times a day.
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Monitor the horse's stool for the next 30 days. Look for signs of worm infestation in the stool. Increase the amount of diatomaceous earth in the mixture if worms are still present in the stool.
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Offer diatomaceous earth in free-choice buckets. Some horses crave the mineral and eat it freely. You can place diatomaceous earth into cakes made for free-choice options for horses not interested in plain diatomaceous earth.
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Tips & Warnings
You can simply add diatomaceous earth to the regular feed of horses. Use water to make the feed sticky and reduce the dust created by the diatomaceous earth.
Do not feed diatomaceous earth meant for filtering pools to your horses. This was treated with chemicals and can poison a horse.
Keep the dust created by the diatomaceous earth out of both your and the horse's eyes. The small particles can create irritation.
References
- Photo Credit horses image by nutech21 from Fotolia.com
