What if nutrition and training together are the key to the next step in development and transformation?
Training, body use, muscle development and nutrition are far more closely connected than we sometimes realise. Together with Edwin Bos from Hartog, we explore what a horse truly needs to become stronger, fitter and develop more sustainably; and why an individual approach can make all the difference.
Who are you, what is your role at Hartog, and what gives you the most energy in your work?
What a lovely question! My name is Edwin Bos and I work at Hartog as Account Manager for the Northern and Eastern regions of the Netherlands. In this role, I am the main point of contact for our retailers, stables and partners throughout the region. I make sure they receive the right advice, the best possible service and, of course, our high-quality forage and concentrates.
What gives me the most energy in my work? Without a doubt, it is the combination of personal contact and being able to make a real contribution to the health of horses. When I can work together with a customer, stable or partner; such as Human & Horse Academy, to find the optimal nutrition, and we see the horses becoming visibly fitter, healthier and performing better as a result, that makes my day.
It is incredibly rewarding to translate Hartog’s theoretical knowledge into practical, tailored advice that works in the stable.
Horses are more than just your work. What role do they play in your own life, and what makes them so special to you?
For me, horses have never been ‘just work’; they have been a common thread throughout my entire life. I have been riding for more than 40 years and have had the opportunity to experience the equestrian world from many different perspectives: as a rider, stable manager and through working at an equine clinic.Today, I still train two horses at Prix St. Georges level.
What makes horses so special? They are the ultimate teachers. They ask for 100% focus, complete honesty and discipline. That unique combination of sport, medical care and day-to-day management keeps me sharp, both personally and in my role at Hartog. It is a passion I take with me every day, both to the stable and to my customers.
Can you tell by looking at a horse whether its nutrition is really working? What positive changes or signals do you see when nutrition, training and management are well balanced?
When the foundation; high-quality forage is right, and we complement this with the correct balance of concentrates, you can see the horse begin to thrive.
We are not only looking for a shiny coat, but for a horse that is energetic and feels well. When the gastrointestinal system is balanced, a horse is also able to perform at its best. That is the power of a well-balanced diet.
No two horses are the same. What do you consider when choosing nutrition for the individual horse, its training and its stage of life? And how do you make these choices for your own horses?
The individual horse
Before looking at training, we first establish the horse’s current situation.
- Breed type and metabolism:
An easy-keeping cold-blooded horse and a sensitive Thoroughbred require completely different energy sources. One may gain weight easily and therefore need a low-sugar, high-fibre diet, while another may benefit from slow-release energy and fats. - Health status:
Does the horse have sensitive digestion, a predisposition to laminitis or gastric ulcers? In these cases, our focus is always on high-quality fibre to support the stomach lining and stimulate saliva production.
Stage of life
A horse’s age and stage of life determine which nutrients its body needs.
For young horses and broodmares, nutrition is centred around growth and reproduction, with high-quality proteins and specific minerals playing an essential role in bone and tissue development.
Once a horse reaches adulthood, the focus shifts towards maintenance and performance, with energy requirements changing according to the intensity of training.
Senior horses require additional care. Less efficient digestion or dental problems can mean that older horses need an easily digestible ration to help maintain body weight and support intestinal health.
Training
Energy intake needs to match the actual workload. Nutrition should therefore be adapted to the type of performance.
- Recreational horses / light work:
A high-quality forage ration is often sufficient, supplemented with a balancer containing vitamins and minerals to cover nutritional requirements without unnecessarily adding sugars and starches. - Endurance / intensive training:
This requires energy from fats and fibre to support sustained performance and endurance, combined with additional protein for muscle development and recovery.
How do I make these choices for my own horses?
As an Account Manager, I naturally apply Hartog’s philosophy in my own stable as well. My approach is simple, transparent and always based on the horse’s natural needs.
- Measure to know — forage analysis:
I always start by analysing my forage. Only when I know the nutritional values of my hay — including protein, sugar and energy — do I know what needs to be supplemented. - Fibre as the foundation:
My horses receive a high-quality, fibre-rich addition to their diet every day. This keeps their digestive system active, helps prevent boredom in the stable and supports a healthy stomach. - Targeted supplementation:
I feed according to the individual needs of each horse. I look at the vitamins and minerals they require, as well as their individual energy needs based on the horse and its level of work.
My horses receive a vitamin and mineral complex as their foundation. Only when training becomes more intensive or a horse needs additional support; during moulting or winter, for example, do I add a specific grain-free muesli or a protein-rich fibre source.
At Human & Horse, we focus strongly on body use, fitness and developing horses sustainably. What role does nutrition play in this? And why do you feel Hartog and Human & Horse complement each other so well in their approach to developing and supporting horses?
Nutrition plays an absolutely essential role in developing stronger horses sustainably and keeping them fit. As an Account Manager at Hartog, I see every day that training and nutrition are inseparably connected.
You can train a horse as biomechanically correctly as possible, but without the right building blocks and fuel, the body simply cannot perform optimally, recover properly or build muscle.
Nutrition is the foundation on which your training is built.
The role of nutrition in fitness and sustainable development
- Keeping the engine running:
For the sustainable training approach used at Human & Horse, a horse needs slow, consistent energy. Fibre-rich nutrition provides this steady release of energy without the peaks and drops — and the associated stress or nervousness — caused by sugars and starches. - Building blocks for muscle development:
Gymnastic training places considerable demands on the muscles. To effectively develop and repair muscle tissue, high-quality, easily absorbed proteins and amino acids are essential. - Gastrointestinal health as the foundation:
A horse can only move comfortably through its back and relax into the contact when it also feels comfortable on the inside. Fibre-rich nutrition stimulates chewing and saliva production, which are essential for supporting a healthy gastrointestinal system and helping to prevent excessive acidity.
Why Hartog and Human & Horse complement each other so well
The synergy between Hartog and Human & Horse comes from the fact that we both look at the horse’s natural needs and overall wellbeing. We complement one another where the inside meets the outside.
- The same philosophy, from a different perspective:
Human & Horse focuses on physical and mental balance through training, bodywork and functional body use, while Hartog supports the horse’s biological balance from within. - Fibre meets flowing movement:
You train horses to use their bodies correctly. We provide high-quality forage and fibre-rich feed concepts specifically developed to optimally support gastrointestinal health and muscle development. - An individual approach for every horse:
No two horses are the same. Human & Horse looks at what this specific horse’s body needs in training. Through our nutritional advice, we look at what this specific horse needs in its feed bucket to support that performance sustainably.
Together, we complete the circle:
Human & Horse provides the right ‘software’ ,movement and coordination, while Hartog provides the high-quality ‘hardware’ ; the building blocks and energy.
Together, our approaches reinforce each other with the shared aim of helping horses enjoy long, healthy and fit lives.
If we look five years ahead, what new knowledge or developments in equine nutrition would you like to see that could help us support our horses even better?
As an Account Manager at Hartog, I am particularly interested in how we can make life both easier and healthier for horses and their owners. Looking five years ahead, I hope to see several developments.
- Truly personalised advice for every horse:
No two horses are the same. I hope that in five years’ time, it will be even easier to measure exactly what an individual horse truly needs. This would allow us at Hartog to provide nutritional advice that is even more precisely tailored to the gut health of that specific horse. I also hope innovation in production will allow us to develop products that respond even more specifically to individual horses. - Even greater focus on the power of nature:
Forage is the foundation of everything. I would love to see us learn even more about how healthy soil and different types of grasses and herbs contribute to a horse’s resilience and wellbeing. Back to nature, but with the knowledge we have today. - Nutrition that helps prevent health problems:
Unfortunately, we still see horses experiencing health issues. I hope that over the coming years, our knowledge of nutrition will continue to develop so that we can support these problems even more effectively through appropriate nutrition.
At Hartog, we believe that a horse’s health begins from within. Forage and fibre play an extremely important role in that foundation.
By combining these basics with new and intelligent insights, we can help horse owners even more effectively in the years ahead to keep their horses fit, healthy and happy.
Greetje on our collaboration with Hartog
Transformation doesn’t begin only with what you train, but also with what you support from within.
What I love about our collaboration with Hartog is that it allows me to keep looking at what each individual horse needs. From young to old, from our different breeds and types to horses with completely different training requirements.
A wonderful example is our broodmare Arizona. When she came to us, we gradually began building her strength through Human & Horse Fitness, working only in walk, combined with appropriate nutrition from Hartog.
The transformation her body has undergone beautifully demonstrates to me what can happen when training and nutrition reinforce one another: developing from the outside while supporting from within.
