Strategies for Increasing Appetite and Tempting Picky Eaters: Many factors and situations may reduce a horse’s appetite. It’s important to find and correct whatever it is—illness, pain, discomfort, environment—that keeps a horse from diving eagerly into his feed. As the situation is being corrected, owners can try some of the following strategies to encourage a more healthy appetite.

Picky eaters are very sensitive to feed quality. Be sure that premixed feeds and straight grains are within their printed expiration date. In addition, store feeds correctly to avoid mold or oxidation from exposure to air and moisture. In very hot weather, buy only enough feed to last a week or so. Prevent fermentation of grains and molasses in storage. Be a discerning customer when buying hay and chaff, and accept only clean, fresh-smelling forages that are free from weeds, dust, mold, and evidence of rodent infestation.

Forage:

In cases where horses are being fed a lot of grain, adding more forage to the diet can help to avoid problems such as gastric ulcers and hindgut acidity that may reduce appetite. Add forage as long-stem forage (hay or pasture) rather than chaff or other fiber sources. Offering at least 1% of body weight in forage per day is the best way to avoid digestive problems that may dull appetite.

The high glycemic index of grain feeds and the corresponding high blood sugar and insulin levels following grain meals can suppress appetite. As hard feed rations are increased, overall appetite is suppressed.

Horses find best-quality forage most palatable. The hay does not have to be prime lucerne (alfalfa) or clover hay; any clean hay that is free of dust and mold with plenty of leaf and not too much rough, woody stem that has been cured and stored correctly is preferred. Rough, stalky hay is retained in the digestive tract  longer than good-quality, leafy hay. This can affect appetite and intake of forage. Although this type of hay is unsuitable for picky eaters, it can be useful for overweight animals.

In horses that must consume concentrated energy, lucerne (alfalfa) or clover are good choices but are often better in combination with non-legume hays (grass, and cereal hays) than fed alone, where they can sometimes be too rich and cause scouring and further digestive upset.

B Vitamins:

In some cases, a deficiency of B vitamins can be the reason for suppressed appetite. Feeding plenty of forage ensures correct hindgut digestion, allowing adequate production of essential B vitamins in most cases. However, in horses that are working very hard, or those that are under stress or are scouring, B-vitamin production may fall short of requirements.

Supplementing B vitamins to horses with reduced appetite can stimulate appetite. Supplementation is best in an oral form rather than injectibles. For horses that refuse feed, mix powders with water, Give orally via a dosing syringe. Supplements should contain the full complex of B group vitamins at appropriate levels.

A course of daily supplementation for 14 to 20 days will help to stimulate appetite in horses that have gone off feed suddenly. Strategic supplementation prior to and at a show and competition can help to maintain appetite at these critical times. In some rare cases, regular supplementation seems to be required, with the horse going off feed as soon as the supplement is taken away, but correct nutritional and work balance can often alleviate inappetence enough that this is not necessary.

Oil and Fat:

In horses where no cause of poor appetite can be established, the owner or manager must come up with clever ways to get enough energy into the horse to do the job that is required in a safe way that will not affect the horse’s behavior or performance. High-fat feeds and fat/oil supplements can be a great way to get extra calories into the feed bucket in a relatively small volume of feed.

Oil and fat contains about three times the amount of energy as oats on a volume to volume basis. One cup of oil has about the same energy as 1 kg (2.2 lb) of oats. Adding oil or a high-fat supplement increases the energy density of the feed, making each mouthful more calorific.

Even if the horse only eats half of the supplemented feed, the calories taken in are significantly more than with grain feed alone. Appropriate oil choices are canola, corn (the most palatable), sunflower, or mixed vegetable oil. Choose only new oil. Avoid any oil claiming to be recycled or anything from the restaurant industry. This has been used for frying and has different properties from fresh oil.

Other high-fat supplements include rice bran, sunflower seeds, and soybean meal. These can be useful for horses with an aversion to oil. It can be used in combination with oil to reduce the overall volume of oil required. A regular amount is 1 to 2 cups of oil per day or a total of 1 to 2 kg (2.2 to 4.4 lb) of high-fat supplements with or without added oil.

Electrolytes and Salt:

Electrolytes and salt are very important in horse diets. Particularly in working horses. However, feeding too much can suppress appetite and reduce feed palatability. Generally, palatability is reduced once salt is included at more than 1% of the feed. With picky eaters, the tolerance level can be much lower than that.

In many cases, it is better to allow free-choice salt separately from the feed. Dose horses daily by syringe to get the right amount of salt and electrolytes into them. When adding or increasing salt in the feed, the best approach is to do it gradually. This will not always work with picky eaters. Yet, it can help to get the horse eating if no drastic changes are noticed in the feed.

In cases where it is imperative that the horse eats. For example, such as if the horse is sick and weak. If refusal of feed over a period of time while away at competition is affecting performance. If a horse is competing in a long-distance endurance event and is not eating well along the way. The smorgasbord approach can be very useful. Providing a range of different feedstuffs in an attempt to find something that the horse will voluntarily eat will help to satisfy the immediate requirement of getting something into the horse.

New Feedstuffs:

Do not offer new and strange feedstuffs to horses. However, in cases where the horse must eat something, this rule takes a back seat. Smorgasbord meals are usually small (around 0.5 to 1 kg or 1.1 to 2.2 lb per feed type). Once the horse has chosen a particular feed, the others are generally removed. Feedstuffs offered may include a variety of hay types. The preferred type may surprise owners who imagine that prime lucerne (alfalfa) must be the only hay they should try. Do not underestimate the palatability of fresh grass.

In terms of hard feed, the menu may include pellets. In addition, sweet feeds of different types (micronized, steam-flaked, and so on), and straight grains such as steam-flaked barley or straight oats. Leave additives and supplements out of the feed. However, additions such as carrots, apples, a little molasses, apple cider vinegar, or even fruit juice can sometimes be just the temptation the horse needs. The traditional bran mash can be a powerful tool in trying to tempt the picky eater.

A good helping of wheat bran or pollard with the addition of a handful of grain and perhaps some molasses and some carrots and/or apples soaked with warm water and fed fresh and warm can be to a horse as chicken soup is to a convalescing human patient. Bran mashes are often the first feed of choice in equine veterinary hospitals following surgery. For good reason: their proven palatability and as a great way of getting some vital fluids into a horse.

Dealing with picky eaters can be frustrating. The trick is to work out why the horse is not eating. Then, fix the root cause of the problem.

Resources:

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Article by KER.

Advantages of Haynets and Hay Feeders for Horses: While forage is the most important part of a horse’s diet, circumstances arise when intake should be limited. Obese horses and ponies with metabolic conditions, for example, may need to have calorie intake controlled carefully to avoid overconsumption of energy. Limiting forage intake can mean less time spent chewing, and with this comes a reduction in saliva production and stomach-acid buffering, all of which sets the stage for gastric ulcers and possible colic.

Haynets:

Haynets help prolong the time it takes a horse to consume forage by providing a physical barrier that prevents fast consumption. They are manufactured with holes of varying sizes, and differences in this design feature can affect how fast a horse consumes hay.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that horses took longer to consume hay from haynets with small holes (3.2 cm) or medium (4.4 cm) holes compared to large holes (15.2 cm) or the control group fed without haynets*. The researchers even found a difference in consumption rates between haynets with small and medium holes.

Aside from slowing consumption, there is another benefit to using barriers to extend consumption of forage. Researchers concluded that the use of haynets decreased overall stress in horses on restricted diets, while simultaneously achieving weight loss**.

Hay Management:

Depending on the management situation, owners sometimes find that a lot of hay is wasted when not fed in a haynet or feeder. Hay wastage can be minimized with proper use of a square-bale feeder. A study on feeder design (basket, slat, or rack) found that feeders reduced the amount of hay wasted when fed outside compared to hay fed without a feeder+. With less waste, feeders reduced the overall cost of providing hay.

Further, while many horses can maintain their weight on all-forage diets, forage does not provide all of the nutrients horses need for top-notch nutrition. Mature horses should be fed a vitamin/mineral supplement to make up for any nutritional shortfalls.

Whether the goal is to carefully control forage intake or simply to minimize waste, haynets and hay feeders offer practical solutions.

Resources:

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*Glunk, E.C., M.R. Hathaway, W.J. Weber, C.C. Sheaffer, and K.L. Martinson. 2014. The effect of hay net design on rate of forage consumption when feeding adult horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 34(8):986-991.

**Glunk, E.C. 2014. Methods of restricting forage intake in horses. Dissertation abstract, accessed online.

+Grev, A., A. Glunk, M. Hathaway, W. Lazarus, and K. Martinson. The effect of small square-bale feeder design on hay waste, hay intake and economics during outdoor feeding of adult horses. University of Minnesota Equine Extension. 

 

Feeding and Caring for Horses During Cold Weather: Healthy horses usually get along fine in moderately cold weather. A little more care may be necessary for very young or very old equines. In addition, those that are ill or have any sort of chronic health challenge. In extremely cold, wet, or windy weather, almost all horses will benefit from a few adjustments to management.

Shelter:

Shelter is important! Athough horses don’t necessarily have to be kept in stalls. Horses that are left outside, but with free access to shelter, will use a shed or building if they need it. Just getting out of a cold breeze is helpful in maintaining body warmth. The lee side of a hill, group of trees, or steep bank can be almost as good as a run-in shed or barn in breaking the force of a moderate wind. Owners should be sure that all horses have access to some type of sheltered area extensive enough so that dominant horses can completely exclude submissive members of the herd.

Staying Dry:

Staying dry is a big part of staying warm. The horse’s coat will shed some rain unless it lasts a long time or is driven by a strong wind. In severe weather, outdoor horses may benefit from waterproof blankets. However, blanketed horses should be checked several times a day to be sure the blanket fits well and doesn’t rub the horse’s coat.

Putting a blanket on a wet horse prevents the coat from drying. Therefore horses should be brought into a stall and allowed to dry completely before blankets are put on. In a pinch, a blanket can be put on a wet horse and fastened loosely. Use large handfuls of straw or hay placed at frequent intervals between the horse’s skin and the inside of the blanket so that air can circulate to help the coat dry. This is a temporary solution. The horse will need to have this blanket removed and a completely dry one put on before he is either left in the stall or turned out.

Providing Hay:

The horse generates a great deal of heat through the process of fermenting roughage in the hindgut. For this reason, providing more hay is the first step in keeping horses warm during cold weather. For moderate winter conditions with air temperatures down to the teens or single digits, the horse needs to have an amount of hay equal to about 1.5 to 2% of his body weight every day. As the temperature falls, another 2 to 3 lb (1 to 1.5 kg) of hay should be provided for every additional five degrees below zero (Fahrenheit). Young horses, older horses, and pregnant or lactating broodmares may need grain in addition to their forage ration. Increasing forage should be done before the grain ration is increased.

Clean Water:

Access to clean water that is not too cold is extremely important for horses during the winter season. Horses will drink water that is just above freezing. However, they will drink more if the water is somewhat warmer. Don’t count on horses eating snow to quench their thirst! This practice doesn’t supply much liquid and can seriously decrease the horse’s body temperature. Horses that don’t drink enough are at increased risk for impaction and choke, conditions that often require veterinary intervention. Be sure water supplies are not frozen and are adequate for all horses.

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

 

Avoiding Colic as Horses Transition from Pasture to Hay: It happens every year. Horses that have been turned out in pastures all summer must transition to a diet that contains far less fresh grass and far more hay. This means that the important fiber portion of the diet will have a lower moisture content along with a significant increase in the percentage of dry matter. Read further to learn how to avoid colic as horses transition from pasture to hay.

Throughout the fall and winter months, owners should continue to allow as much turnout as possible. Any change to a horse’s diet should be made as gradually as possible in order to avoid colic and other digestive tract upsets. Fortunately for horse owners, the move from grass to hay naturally follows this pattern as pasture growth declines and plants enter a dormant stage. Horses that have access to pasture will continue to graze, but the forage they ingest will slowly drop in moisture and lose its fresh characteristics.

Water is Essential:

Providing plenty of fresh, clean water is essential in every season, but it is particularly important when hay is being fed and horses are not getting much moisture from their forage intake. Extremely cold water is less appealing than water that has been warmed to around 50° F. Water at this temperature still feels very cold on human skin, but it is readily consumed by horses.

Access to salt, either loose or in a block, is also important. Sprinkling a bit of salt on grain or dampened hay will stimulate the horse to drink more water.

Exercise and Consumption:

Throughout the fall and winter months, owners should continue to allow as much turnout as possible. According to Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., senior equine nutritionist at Kentucky Equine Research, “Exercise helps to keep ingested material moving through the horse’s digestive tract. Pastured horses cover a lot more ground than stalled horses. Especially if they are turned out with a buddy or two.” If outdoor exercise isn’t available, be sure that all horses get at least a few hours of riding, driving, longeing, or free exercise in a covered arena each day.

Monitor hay consumption while horses are in their stalls. If one horse is not consuming much hay, or if you find wads of partially chewed hay lying on the floor in this horse’s stall, he may need to have his teeth checked. Dental exams should be scheduled for all horses once or twice a year. Some horses, especially older equine, can develop problems between checkups.

Hay and Supplements:

When a new batch of hay is delivered, introduce it by feeding a small amount of the new hay mixed into the old. Increase the percentage of new hay gradually over five to seven days. This allows the microbes in the horse’s gut to adjust to the change and prevents upsets.

Inspect each bale of hay as it is opened. Discard any hay that smells musty or shows signs of mold. Most horses will refuse to eat hay that is moldy. Even if the mold is so slight that humans can’t detect it. However, extremely hungry horses may eat tainted hay. It should never be fed and should be disposed of in an area where horses can’t reach it.

Research-proven digestive supplements can help horses that are prone to colic during feed transitions. EquiShure, a supplement developed by Kentucky Equine Research, stabilizes the pH of the hindgut. Changes in feed sometimes cause the pH to fluctuate wildly, which can set the stage for colic or laminitis.

Would you like more information about hay diets and how to avoid colic as horses transition from pasture to hay? Contact us at J & J Farms by clicking here!

Article brought to you by KER.

Keep an Eye on Calcium Balance: It is common knowledge that calcium is an essential mineral for strong and healthy bones and teeth in horses. Its importance in the nutrition of late-pregnant mares, weanlings, and growing horses. Especially young racehorses. Most horse people are aware of the increased requirements for calcium in these types of horses.

Most people also know that you need the correct calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of 2:1 for good health and balanced nutrition. Generally, if questioned, the average horse person couldn’t explain why this ratio is important. Furthermore, it is not enough to make sure that calcium and phosphorus levels are correct in the diet if availability of these minerals is compromised.

There are naturally occurring chemicals that may be available to the horse in everyday feeding regimes that can bind calcium and phosphorus and prevent them from being absorbed by the horse.

calcium and phosphorus:

Why Can’t I Get My Horse Fat? Do you know of a hard keeper that has gained or maintained weight consistently on a feeding program until one day he just doesn’t? The needle hovers near a body condition of 5, lulling you into a sense of accomplishment. Then it begins to shift left, ever so slowly. As time goes on, your hard work melts away. The metabolic middle ground known as moderate body condition seems more distant than ever. The ribs peek out from his barrel; the vertebral chain juts above his topline musculature; and the neck no longer carries even a single globule of fat.

You panic and rush to buy a weight-gain supplement. Before hitting up your favorite supplement retailer, consider your horse’s diet, health, and lifestyle.  According to Chelsea Kaelin, a nutrition advisor who has been with Kentucky Equine Research for over a decade, horse owners should review these five important areas before implementing a new weight-gain plan.

Realistically assess forage quality and quantity:

If you’ve been around horses long enough, you know what a high-quality stand of pasture looks like.For example, an abundance of nutritious plants with few weeds, usually the product of a sound maintenance program that includes mowing, fertilization, reseeding, and weed control. Depending on locale, pasture may be available year-round. For many horse owners, though, pasture is a seasonal benefit. They must rely on hay to provide forage at different times of the year.

Appropriate hay for horses comes in many packages: it might be grass, legume, or mixed; it could be soft and pillowy or stemmy and scratchy; perhaps bright green or dull yellow; it could be free of weeds or full of unidentifiable plants. A reliable source of nutritional information for all forages—pasture and hay—is laboratory testing, which is inexpensive and readily available through several mail-in services.

The amount of forage depends on other ration components. A general guideline for an underweight horse may include free-access to pasture during the growing season (assuming the horse has no metabolic conditions) or free-choice access to hay when pasture is unavailable. When pasture is not available and free-choice hay is not possible, start with 1.5-2% of body weight of hay or hay products (pellets, cubes, chopped). If he cleans up this, you may consider offering more.

“When feeding to achieve weight gain, be sure to offer hay your horse will eat willingly,” Kaelin recommended. “Although you may provide free-choice round-baled hay during turnout, it is important to know if your horse is actually eating it so you can make the necessary adjustments to make sure his forage requirements are met.”

Consider all aspects of the chosen concentrate:

When faced with a hard keeper, choosing a high-energy concentrate is often appropriate. How that energy is delivered depends on the product, though. In traditional formulas, starch provides the most energy because these feeds typically contain significant quantities of cereal grains, such as oats, corn, and barley. Grains usually contain about 50% more energy than good-quality hay. This makes them ideal feedstuffs for horses with elevated energy requirements.

More modern formulas may contain some starch as well as alternative energy sources, namely fat and fiber. Fat is usually included in the form of vegetable oil or stabilized rice bran, whereas fiber is typically incorporated through the use of beet pulp, soy hulls and alfalfa meal. Be sure you are feeding the appropriate concentrate for your hard keeper.

“In deciding how much of a concentrate to feed, consult the manufacturer’s recommendation. It will be included on the feed bag or on an attached tag,” Kaelin explained. In order for horses to receive the fortification guaranteed on the label, they must consume at least the minimum recommended by the manufacturer. It is usually about 6 lb (2.7 kg) for most feeds. When considering what is necessary for a hard keeper, the owner is likely going to feed at the top range of the recommendation.

In general, concentrate meal size should not exceed 5 lb (2.3 kg) at each feeding, Kaelin said, so multiple meals each day may be necessary. Horses fed over 10 lb (4.5 kg) of concentrate daily would likely benefit from three or four small meals a day.

Targeted supplementation to support the digestive tract:

  When careful attention is given to meal size, horses usually have no trouble digesting concentrates. Large concentrate meals that meet or exceed the 5 lb (2.3 kg) limit may predispose horses to gastric ulcers and hindgut acidosis. Pairing this increased risk with the stress of training or travel can create a perfect scenario for digestive disturbances. In these instances, targeted supplementation can prevent disturbances which, in turn, allows the digestive tract to work optimally.

While free-choice access to forage can significantly reduce the likelihood of ulceration in many horses, it is not the case for all horses. When faced with a hard keeper, consider an endoscopic examination to determine definitively if the horse has gastric ulcers.

“Identifying where the ulcers are located (glandular or squamous portion) will help your vet determine the most effective treatment plan,” Kaelin explained. “A course of omeprazole can clear the ulcers, but digestive support does not end when omeprazole treatment ends. Continue preventive care with a research-proven digestive supplement designed to deter the recurrence of gastric ulcers.”

Once the foregut has been addressed, consider the hindgut. When the small intestine becomes overwhelmed, it funnels incompletely digested feed into the hindgut. This can upset the pH of the hindgut and interfere with the work of the resident microbes. To keep pH steady, a hindgut buffer, such as EquiShure, should be fed.

Evaluate other management and environmental factors:

Outside influences may hinder weight gain. One common problem involves group feeding. In a herd situation, horses usually construct a well-defined social hierarchy that dictates which horses consume the choicest meals. When a hard keeper is placed in a group of horses and does not tease out as dominant in the pecking order, he may be chased away from feeders by multiple horses, adding to any stress he is already enduring. Giving a hard keeper a safe place to eat will allow him to relax.

Adverse weather can also be problematic for hard keepers. In the summer, flying insects may annoy to the point of running; in the winter, cold temperatures and precipitation can divert calories from weight gain to body heat. A watchful eye on behavior during weather extremes can help hard keepers. Relieve horses from the torment of flies by stalling and using other effective pest-control strategies. Keep them warm by blanketing and providing plenty of good-quality forage.

Gather a team of healthcare professionals:

Modern horses benefit from an unprecedented font of knowledge available to their owners. Advances in feeds and nutritional supplements, preventive dentistry, lameness detection and resolution, alternative therapies, and core vaccinations provide multilayered healthcare options to owners.

When it comes to a hard keeper, three core professionals include a veterinarian, dental specialist, and nutritionist. As mentioned previously, a vet will likely investigate digestive issues but may also look for pain elsewhere. Even low-level chronic pain can keep some horses from gaining weight. A dentist will correct any dental problems and then maintain teeth on a semiannual or annual schedule. A nutritionist will carefully review the ration and devise a weight-gain strategy as well as lay out a realistic timeline for increases in body condition. (Bummer alert: it doesn’t happen as quickly as most people wish!)

“In most instances, hard keepers will come around if owners pay careful attention to their nutrition and health needs,” Kaelin concluded.

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Pasture Adequacy: Are Your Fields Doing Their Job? As herbivores, horses require large volumes of forages for optimal well-being. Just how much forage do horses require, though?

To calculate accurately how forage contributes to the overall feeding program of horses, know forage intake as well as composition. Determine hay intake simply by recording the total weight of hay offered minus any hay wasted or refused. This record does not take into account the differences in composition between hay that is eaten and not eaten. However it is accurate enough to do an adequate field evaluation.

Pasture intake is significantly more difficult to estimate. This measure varies depending on the season, species, and quality of pasture grazed, and the total amount of time horses are allowed to graze. Horses will generally eat about 1-1.4 lb (0.45-0.64 kg) of pasture grasses and legumes per hour on a dry matter basis if they have enough pasture available. With all-day access to good-quality pasture, a horse grazing 17 hours each day can consume up to 25 lb (11 kg) of forage. It’s more than enough to satisfy forage requirement.

Make distinctions between absolute minimum, recommended minimum, typical, and maximal forage intake.

Absolute minimum forage requirement is 1% of body weight (10 lb or 4.5 kg dry forage for a 1000-lb or 450-kg horse).

Recommended minimum forage intake requirement is 1.5% of body weight.

Typical forage intake is 1.8 to 2.2% of body weight.

Maximal forage intake for most horses is 3 to 3.5% of body weight, though lactating mares and other horses with extreme energy needs might consume as much as 5% of body weight daily.

Does My Pasture Offer My Horse Enough to Eat?

Pastures offer horses the most natural of feedstuffs, a variety of plants to derive nutrients. Well-maintained pasture provides the most economical of all feedstuffs, but it must be of sufficient quality to nourish a given horse appropriately. Take a peek into the lives of these five horses and determine if the pasture suits its occupant. When you’re through, think about your own situation, and decide if you’re using your pastures to their utmost.

Overweight pony

Description of horse: A 14-hand, 750-lb (340-kg) overweight Welsh pony gelding.

Scenario: The only exercise he indulges in is whatever it takes to grab the next bite of grass or saunter to the water trough. He is on a five-acre lot with one small pony. Year-round the pasture is maintained meticulously. How much forage is this pony likely consuming each day? Using the aforementioned estimates, he is likely eating at least 17 lb, which is approximately 2.2% of his body weight. Considering his current body condition, he is probably taking in too many calories.

Risk: Many ponies are predisposed to laminitis. A debilitating condition that could render the pony useless as a riding or driving partner. Laminitis is life-threatening in many instances. If the pony manages to sidestep laminitis, the constant state of obesity is likely setting him up for metabolic conditions later in life.

Action: Reduce the forage intake by confining the pony to a stall or drylot for part of the day or by using a grazing muzzle. He should be fed no concentrates at all. In fact, a low-calorie vitamin and mineral supplement is a wise addition to his diet. Placing the water source as far away as possible from the most desired grazing areas is one strategy for getting him to move more. Forced exercise such as riding, driving, longeing, or hand-walking will help him lose weight. It will stave off the development of metabolic issues.

Off-the-track Thoroughbred

Description of horse:

A 16.2-hand Thoroughbred gelding that was recently retired from the racetrack. His ribs are clearly visible. His withers are peaked and camel-like. The hip bones jut out prominently.

Scenario:

He has been introduced into a herd of five other horses, all of which run on about four acres of pasture. The late-summer pasture has suffered from a lack of rainfall. The pasture grass is not completely dormant, thanks to the occasional rain shower, but growth is slow, and there are obvious lawns and roughs (areas in which horses graze consistently and areas in which horse refuse to graze; this pasture profile is a sign of infrequent mowing or spotty pasture management).

Risk:

The primary risk for this horse is insufficient forage, as the stocking rate for this pasture is high, with less than one acre per horse. A more realistic stocking rate is one to two acres per horse. This recommendation varies depending on numerous factors such as pasture care and weather. There might be much for this horse to nibble on throughout the day. However the quality of the grass at his disposal is mediocre. Therefore, he is probably not satisfying his forage requirements on pasture alone.

Action:

Separate this horse from the herd when fed. This ensures that he receives all of the feed intended for him. In addition it allows the horse to eat peacefully without anxiety caused by horses that might be more dominant than him. A diet of concentrate and good-quality hay is in order. The concentrate should provide energy from a variety of sources such as starch, fat, and fermentable fiber. Feed him as much hay as he will eat when he is separated from the other horses. A large horse such as this will take months to gain sufficient weight to cover his bony protuberances, so patience is paramount.

Lactating mare

Description of horse:

A 15-hand, 1000-lb (450-kg) Paint mare in moderate body condition with a two-month-old colt at her side.

Scenario:

This pair shares a 10-acre field with two other mares and their month-old foals. The pasture is adequate. It has not been seeded or fertilized in several years. Adequate rainfall has ensured that there is plenty of forage. The manager keeps the pasture mowed so that it is never more than a foot and a half tall. Mares are fed the lowest recommended daily amount of a concentrate specifically formulated for broodmares once each day in shallow rubber pans spread about 50 feet apart. Mares show mild antagonism toward each other during feeding time, and this Paint mare is the meekest and most submissive in the group.

Risk:

There seems to be very little risk of this mare not consuming adequate forage under these conditions, despite consuming at least 30-35 lb (14 to 16 kg) of forage daily and perhaps more. The stocking rate is adequate for this field and its inhabitants at just over three acres for each mare/foal pair. There may be concern if the pasture was in some way stressed, such as during a drought. As it stands, these broodmares and foals are likely receiving adequate nutrition from their current diets, including sufficient forage.

Action:

Keep a close eye on the condition of the mare. Peak milk production occurs two to three months following birth, so this mare is probably nearing her maximal milk output. Lactation is extremely hard on a mare from an energy-output perspective. If her weight begins to drop off, consider increasing her concentrate intake. This will likely mean that she will have to be fed two meals a day. No single meal should be more than 5 lb (2.2 kg).

Aged, sedentary gelding

Description of horse:

A 26-year-old Morgan gelding with several missing teeth (a couple incisors and a few molars). His body condition seems to be slipping over the past several months despite carte blanche access to pasture.

Scenario:

He whiles away the hours with another pensioner on mediocre pasture. Though the three-acre field is weedy, there seems to be sufficient grass for the pair of geldings. In addition to all-day grazing, he is fed a few pounds of oats once each day.

Risks:

The pasture quality is probably adequate for these two horses. This gelding might have issues nipping sufficient grass because of the lost incisors. The severity of this situation will depend on which incisors are missing. Similarly, he might not be able to properly grind the oats. Especially if certain molars have fallen out or if there are other dental anomalies.

Action:

Examine the gelding’s teeth using a veterinarian. The state of his teeth will dictate the course of action. This warrants a change in dietary management likely. Offer him early-maturity, soft hay that is easy for him to grasp with his lips and chew with his remaining cheek teeth if the incisors are found to be incompatible with efficient grazing. An example would be leafy alfalfa (lucerne).

He may leave some of the stems in favor of the tender leaves. However the leaves contain the most nutrients. Revisit the concentrate portion of the diet as well. Without a reliably strong dental surface on which to chew textured concentrates, it might be wise to switch to a pelleted senior feed or concoct a wet mash. If alfalfa is also too difficult for the horse to chew, hay cubes or hay pellets may be fed as a mash with a concentrate designed for senior horses.

Low-level athlete

Description of horse:

A 12-year-old Andalusian gelding. He rides four or five times weekly. This is as a lower-level dressage horse. He is overweight but not grossly so.

Grazing scenario:

He spends about two-thirds of his time in a two-acre lot that he shares with a similar-sized gelding. The pasture offers little in the way of lush grass. However there is plenty to snack on when he is out. He is given just enough textured feed to mix in a pelleted vitamin and mineral supplement when stalled. In addition, a few flakes of mid-quality grass hay.

Risks:

Few risks are readily apparent. The horse is overweight. Take appropriate measures keep excessive weight off of him (very little concentrate, and middle-of-the-road hay and pasture). Still supply him with macro- and microminerals. The near-daily exercise will help ward off potential metabolic problems if he is genetically prone to them. As a member of a notoriously easy-keeping breed, he might be.

Action:

In his present management situation, no alterations are necessary. If a drastic change is made in his day-to-day life, such as cessation of exercise or assignment to a flourishing pasture with lush grass, re-evaluation of his nutritional management would most definitely be in order.

Resources:

In conclusion, do you have questions about Pasture Adequacy: Are Your Fields Doing Their Job? Contact us at J & J Hay Farms by clicking here!

Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Feedstuffs for Horses: All About Beet Pulp.  Fifty years ago, many knowledgeable horsemen would find it difficult to identify beet pulp or its potential value as a feedstuff for horses. Though its usefulness is now cemented among horse owners, beet pulp can still cause some confusion. Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., a nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research, answers eight questions about beet pulp and its role in equine nutrition.

In what types of feeds was beet pulp first used?

Sugar beet pulp first found a use in commercial horse feeds in the racehorse products as a low-dust feedstuff. It was mixed with lots of molasses and felt moist. This proved beneficial for the respiratory tract and was thought to be somehow beneficial in preventing bleeding. However, this notion was quickly abandoned.

Beet pulp was also integrated into senior feeds because of the need for a high-fiber feedstuff that could be ground and incorporated into a pellet. The new generation of high-fiber, low-starch feeds that emerged in the late 1990s was an obvious end-use for such an excellent fiber source. Now, beet pulp is prevalent in feeds designed for all classes of horses.

What are the differences between beet pulp and cereal grains as energy sources?

Horses derive the majority of the energy (calories) in cereal grains from the enzymatic digestion of starch that is absorbed in the bloodstream in the form of glucose. On the other hand, horses derive the majority of the energy in beet pulp from the microbial fermentation of the fiber content. It is absorbed as volatile fatty acids, also known as short-chain fatty acids.

What are the advantages of feeding beet pulp as part of a diet?

Compared to other fiber sources like hay, beet pulp has much more digestible fiber. For example, the digestible fiber in hay is around 40%. Meanwhile beet pulp has closer to 80% digestible fiber. The more digestible the fiber, the more calories that feedstuff provides the horse.

Further, beet pulp mixes well into a textured feed and can be pelleted easily. Plus, soaking beet pulp is a way to get more water into the horse.

How does beet pulp stack up to hay as a source of fiber?

The type of fiber found in beet pulp, considered “rapidly fermentable fiber,” is much more readily fermented by the microbes in the hindgut than the fiber in hay or typical forage sources. Hay consists mostly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Lignin is completely indigestible. On the other hand, cellulose and hemicellulose vary in digestibility depending on the maturity of the plant.

Beet pulp provides energy, but does it add appreciable amounts of other nutrients?

Beet pulp has higher amounts of calcium than grains, about the level found in typical commercial concentrates. In addition, beet pulp is comparatively high in iron.

Should beet pulp be fed soaked or unsoaked when fed by itself or as part of home-mixed concentrate?

If feeding beet pulp shreds, they can be fed dry, especially if mixed with other feedstuffs. Free-choice water availability is important if feeding dry beet pulp. Pelleted beet pulp, however, should not be fed dry because it may increase the likelihood of choke. Horses prefer to consume beet pulp shreds soaked rather than dry shreds, probably because it softens their texture. My preference is to feed beet pulp soaked.

Further, one of the advantages of feeding soaked beet pulp is that it is a way to sneak a bit of water into the diet. This is especially useful in the winter when water consumption may be down. The Europeans have come up with a method of micronizing and then flaking the pulp so that it soaks quickly, in less than 10 minutes.

Are there any special uses for beet pulp?

Soaked beet pulp is a useful vehicle for holding larger amounts of oil, which is often recommended as a way to get more calories in the horse.

It was thought for a while that soaked beet pulp could help to push sand out of the digestive tract, but research found it ineffective in prevention of sand colic.

Is beet pulp use in the U.S. different than in other areas of the world?

Beet pulp has worked its way into quite a number of commercial feeds in the U.S. Many horse owners feed soaked beet pulp in addition their regular feed.

As the history of beet pulp would suggest, its use is more longstanding in areas such as England, Northern Europe, and Russia, where much sugar beet is cultivated. Because of the climate needed for sugar beet cultivation, South America had very limited sugar beet production. Likewise, this is the case in Australia and Africa. However, cultivation is expanding to newer areas. A variety can be grown in the warmer climates as a winter crop, instead of a summer crop as it is in more temperate climates. Where beet pulp is not grown, it may be imported and therefore rather expensive.

Would you like more information about Feedstuffs for Horses and Beet Pulp? Contact us at J & J Farms by clicking here!

Article brought to you by KER.

Use of Cover Crops in Horse Pastures:

Though it is still only late spring, consider cover crops ahead of time. Many farms plant them in the late summer or early fall. They provide protective ground cover during the winter. The crops are then grazed, harvested, or tilled into the soil in the spring. In addition to erosion control and protection of water quality, cover crops have favorable effects on soil structure, weed suppression, and biodiversity. The use of cover crops on horse operations has not been studied until recently. Researchers in the Midwestern United States evaluated several cover crop forages in pastures specifically intended for horses.^*

Depending on the plant species, cover crops offer various, and oftentimes specific, benefits. Annual ryegrass and winter have many uses. For example, their high germination rates, ease of establishment, and efficiency in covering barren soil, all of which foster weed suppression and forage output. The nitrogen fixation properties of legumes, like berseem clover, boost soil fertility. Taproot species, such as purple top turnip and daikon radish, loosen shallow layers of compacted soil. In addition, they scavenge residual nitrogen. Leaching may have taken it. The channels created by the growing taproot, a process called “biodrilling,” allow other pasture plants to more easily access soil nutrients and moisture.

Horse Owner Perks:

In addition to soil and environmental advantages, cover crops offer a particular perk to horse owners. They can prolong the grazing season and reduce the reliance on preserved forages, particularly hay, in the late fall. In years when hay is expensive or in short supply, this may prove advantageous.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate forage mass, forage nutrient composition, and preference of annual ryegrass, winter rye, berseem clover, purple top turnip, and daikon radish by horses. Forage mass is the total dry weight of forage per unit of land.

Four mature mares grazed seeded-singularly-or-as-mixtures-cover-crops for two consecutive fall seasons. Prior to grazing, forages were sampled to determine forage mass, root mass, and nutrient composition. To estimate preference after grazing, forages were visually assessed by researchers for the percentage of removal on a scale of 0 (no grazing activity) to 100% (all available forage grazed).

Berseem clover was the lowest producing forage. Minimal differences existed among the other cover crops. Horses preferred the berseem clover. The preferred turnip and radish least. Winter rye and annual ryegrass in monoculture and when seeded with berseem clover were moderately preferred (20%–68% removal). These species also met the digestible energy and crude protein needs of sedentary mature horses. However, the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio was inverted.

In Conclusion:

According to the researchers, “placing a priority on preference, berseem clover, annual ryegrass, and winter rye appear to be suitable cover crops to extend the grazing season in horse pastures.”

“While grazing pastures may seem the most natural of feeding systems for horses, health concerns can make grazing specific plants dangerous for certain horses,” noted Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research. “When planning any upgrade to a grazing area, consider the horses that will eventually graze it. Select proper forages for horses predisposed to laminitis or other metabolic challenges. Consider their needs and long-term well-being.” Limit grazing to certain times of the day.

Resources:

In conclusion, do you have questions about the Use of Cover Crops in Horse Pastures? Contact us at J & J Hay Farms by clicking here!

Article by: Kentucky Equine Research

^*Prigge, J.L., C.C. Sheaffer, J.M. Jungers, A.L. Jaqueth, H.L. Lochner, and K.L. Martinson. 2021. Forage characteristics and grazing preference of cover crops in equine pasture systems. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 103:103663.

Summer Pasture-Associated Heaves: Most horse owners have heard of heaves. It’s an asthma-like condition caused by irritation of the respiratory system when dust and mold spores are inhaled. Heaves is most often found in horses that spend a lot of time in stalls. They come in contact with fine particles contained in hay.

Combined with irritating ammonia fumes from wet bedding, these particles cause tissues in the respiratory passages to swell, making it more difficult for horses to breathe. The name “heaves” comes from the audible wheeze and contraction of the horse’s flank as it struggles to move air out of its lungs.

Horses with heaves usually have a normal body temperature and may show a thin, clear nasal discharge. Some heavey horses exhibit worse signs in winter when they are confined to the barn, improving when they are turned out in milder weather.

Summer pasture-associated heaves:

Summer pasture-associated heaves, on the other hand, affects turned-out horses that are sensitive to pollens and molds found in pastures. Signs of illness are the same between the two conditions, but the triggering factor is different. These horses may be more comfortable if they are kept indoors during the warmer seasons.

A nutritional supplement that has gained widespread attention in the fight against heaves is omega-3 fatty acids. They have well-known anti-inflammatory properties. Fish oils are direct sources of DHA and EPA. They are the most useful omega-3 fatty acids in terms of conferring health benefits. Other oils may contain ALA, which must then be converted to DHA and EPA, a complicated and inefficient process. For optimal omega-3 supplementation, use a marine-derived source such as EO-3.

Owners should contact a veterinarian for a diagnosis and treatment program if their horses have trouble breathing or become exercise intolerant during any season of the year.

Would you like more information about Summer Pasture-Associated Heaves? Contact us at J & J Farms by clicking here!

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