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:

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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.

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Article brought to you by KER.

Letting Horses Do the Work: In addition to being ridden or driven for pleasure, many horses still work for a living. Some of these equines have jobs that do not immediately come to mind when considering horse-powered chores. A number of relatively ingenious methods have been created to convert the considerable strength of horses to augment human exertion.

Generating Power:

Some working horses can generate power by walking in circles to turn machinery. For example, orghum and sugar cane mills, where plants are fed into a set of gears that crush the stalks. Olive presses, water pumps, and sawmills have been operated with this simple arrangement using direct power. There’s a disadvantage to having the horses or other animals moving constantly in a circle. Fatigue, which happens from using muscles to turn in only one direction.

Horses can also be put on a small treadmill that is connected to belts and pulleys. Arrange the belts in various combinations. The power of one or two horse can be multiplied many times to run machines for splitting firewood, working with wood or metal, threshing and cleaning grain, or shelling corn. There are even designs for horse-powered washing machines. With a treadmill, the disadvantage of constant turning can be eliminated.

Walking in a straight line over the ground rather than in a circle or on a treadmill, horses can haul logs, heavy sleds, or wagons loaded with a variety of materials.

Mechanical Devices:

Many mechanical devices have been invented to save human energy by allowing horses to power agricultural work. One example from 150 years ago was illustrated in Scientific American. It utilized a team of horses for harvesting hay. The horses pulled a wagon that included a scoop-shaped blade running along the ground to pick up a line of raked hay. A wheel behind the scoop rotated as it was pulled along the ground. Then, as this wheel rotated, it moved a conveyer belt that raised the hay and dumped it onto a platform above the wagon. A man standing on the platform then forked the hay off the platform onto the wagon bed. Therefore, a much easier task than lifting each forkful of hay from the ground to the increasingly higher pile on the wagon!

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Feed Management Should Mimic Nature: By understanding the horse’s instinctive feeding behavior, today’s feeding strategies can be shaped to mimic natural tendencies. Certain feeding behaviors in horses are triggered by physiological changes and signals. Hormones, nerve signals, and homeostatic mechanisms lead to feelings of hunger. That hunger urges the horse to move around and look for something to eat. In a natural setting, the horse would wander about, lower its head, and graze while smelling and tasting various forages.

Chemistry:

Chemicals such as ghrelin, an appetite stimulant, and neuropeptin Y, which encourages grazing and feeding behavior, are produced in response to digestive physiology factors such as level of gut fill. Also, dopamine receptors and other reward mechanisms in the brain become habituated to patterns of behavior like grazing in the company of other horses. This is why owners may notice restlessness in equines that are accustomed to turnout and are then brought into stalls for long periods of time.

Environmental Effects:

Free-ranging horses rarely go more than two to three hours between feeding bouts. They spend an average of 10 to 14 hours per day in grazing behavior. Chewing is nearly continuous while horses are eating grass and other forage. In contrast, stalled horses often gobble their grain meals. In addition, they finish hay rations quickly, and spend many hours with nothing to chew. Mixing chopped forage into grain meals gives horses more opportunity to chew. However, it may also lead to overfilling of the stomach because of a larger amount of material being eaten in a short time.

Behaviors such as stall walking, weaving, cribbing, and eating manure or bedding are directly related to horses attempting to express natural behavior. There is some evidence that horses self-supplement. For example, by eating bedding or manure in order to bring their eating/chewing time up to around ten hours a day.

Hay:

Pasture turnout with other horses most closely mimics natural conditions. If this management is not possible, horses should be kept within sight of other equines. They should be fed small, frequent grain meals instead of one large grain portion. Allow them to nibble hay more or less continuously. For many horses, low-carbohydrate hay may be more suitable than very rich hay. That way, horses don’t consume too many calories.

Hay fed to horses should always be clean and free of mold. Water should be provided free-choice.

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Restricting Forage Intake in Stubbornly Obese Horses: A medley of contributing factors can lead to obesity in horses. For example, overfeeding, sedentary lifestyle, genetics, and hormonal imbalances. Management of obesity involves evaluating every component of the diet and removing superfluous calories.

Once concentrated sources of calories, such as traditional feeds, are eliminated from the diet, forage sources must be scrutinized. “Not all forages are nutritionally identical. So, caloric density becomes important when choosing hay for certain horses, including those that are too heavy,” said Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutrition advisor at Kentucky Equine Research.

Late-maturity hay should take the place of leafy, early-maturity hay. For example, as it generally has a lower energy content. In the same vein, for stubbornly obese horses, pasture intake must be strictly controlled or eliminated entirely. “Turnout is still important. It can be achieved through the use of a drylot or grazing muzzle, which slows consumption considerably,” Whitehouse said.

How much forage should be fed to a horse?

For healthy horses in moderate body condition on an all-forage diet, feeding 2% of body weight will generally maintain weight. Using this as a guideline, a 1,200-lb (550-kg) horse would be fed about 24 lb (11 kg) of forage per day. For obese horses resisting weight loss, however, this amount of forage might be too much, according to Whitehouse.

In these instances, use the supervision of a veterinarian and nutritionist. A revised ration should be employed, with hay or hay substitute fed at 1.5% of current body weight. “When forage is restricted to this extent, it is important to have a fairly accurate body weight of the horse. In addition, a reliable method to weigh the ration. This ensures consistent feeding from day to day,” Whitehouse said.

After eight weeks or so on this diet, if the needle has not moved on the scale or has moved minimally, the feeding rate can be dropped further, to 1.25% of body weight. Under most circumstances, horses should not be fed less than this daily.

Supplemental Benefits:

Horses maintained on all-forage rations should be supplemented with a well-formulated vitamin and mineral supplement. This will ensure horses receive all of the nutrients necessary for optimal health.

Dropping forage intake can induce problems in certain horses. Therefore, care should be taken to protect the gastrointestinal tract as well as possible. Proven gastrointestinal support should be offered in the form of stomach and hindgut buffers.

“Weight loss can be achieved, too, through a combination of diet modification and increased exercise, if the horse is sound enough to withstand exercise,” recommended Whitehouse. “Working up to 30 or 40 minutes of exercise five or six days a week can really make a difference in a horse’s weight, and some research indicates that the exercise will keep metabolic problems from occurring in vulnerable horses, even those that carry extra pounds.”

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Feeding Horses Before Exercise: What to Feed and When? Three experiments were conducted to evaluate if feeding hay with and without grain affects glycemic response and hematological responses in Thoroughbred horses at rest and during a simulated competition exercise test on a high-speed treadmill. The first experiment evaluated how feeding forage along with grain influences plasma variables and water intake. The second experiment was conducted to determine whether these changes affect exercise performance. The third experiment was conducted to determine how forage alone affects exercise response.

Results showed that time of hay feeding affects glycemic response, plasma protein, and water intake post grain feeding. Free-choice hay feeding resulted in a 9% reduction in plasma volume. Fasted horses had lower blood lactate after exercise compared to the grain fed treatments. Heart rate was significantly different between treatments. Feeding only forage before exercise had a much smaller effect on glycemic and insulin response to exercise than a grain meal. Forage did not affect free fatty acid availability.

This study showed that grain should not be fed before exercise. Small amounts of hay or grazing do not adversely affect performance and will stimulate saliva production which may help preserve gastrointestinal integrity.

Resources: 

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This report of KER’s 1994 research was published in Advances in Equine Nutrition II.

Read the entire research paper, titled Timing and Amount of Forage and Grain Affects Exercise Response in Thoroughbred Horses.

 

 

Considerations When Moving Horses to a Different Climate: Do you travel a lot? Then you know that you need to pack shorts for a Florida vacation. Mayne throw in an extra jacket for a winter visit to those New England cousins? Of course, stock up on antacid before you spend a few weeks with your great-aunt, an enthusiastic chef in Europe. In today’s equestrian world horses routinely move south for the winter training months. They fly to Germany for a dressage lesson. O Or possible, shuttle to the opposite hemisphere for a second breeding season. Therefore, owners need to think about ways to minimize stress. Here are tips to help equines make a smooth transition to another climate, a modified diet, and a different exercise routine.

Managing Stress:

Any change is likely to produce a bit of stress in horses, though older and more experienced horses react to changes more calmly than young, green equines. For any horses, however, owners should try to keep to familiar routines as much as possible during travel. This is especially true in regard to feed management.

Hay and Nutrients:

Take the horse’s regular hay along for the ride in the trailer or plane, plus enough hay and grain to last during a stay of a few days. For longer relocations, take along enough to mix with local supplies, adding a bit of the new feed and hay into the horse’s familiar ration the first day and gradually increasing the amount until the old material has been replaced by what the horse will eat at the new facility.

If the horse is being moved a considerable distance, check to see if hay and pasture in the new location contain the same mineral levels as the old forage, and add a mineral supplement if selenium or another nutrient is not naturally available.

Additional Preparations:

Moving a horse from a cooler area to a warmer climate requires some planning and preparation. The horse might need to be clipped. In addition, he may need electrolytes because of increased sweating. Also, flies, mosquitoes, and sunburn will be more of a problem in warmer regions.

If the purpose of the move is to be close to a trainer or training facilities, be sure the horse is in good condition before the trip so he can move right into intensive exercise without any problems. Remember to allow several days of rest or light exercise after a long flight or trailer ride.

Regardless of where your horse goes or how long the trip takes, monitor his water intake, manure production, and interest in hay and grain for several days after you arrive. Watch for any change in behavior or attitude that may signal the beginning of a respiratory infection or gastrointestinal upset. The stress of travel can challenge the horse’s immune system, and any health problems will clear up more quickly if they are diagnosed and treated promptly.

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

 

Long-Stem vs. Short-Stem Forages: Nutritionists recommend horses consume at least one to two pounds (0.5 to 1 kilograms) of long-stem forage each day. Long-stem forage is best defined as hay or pasture. This recommendation respects the natural desire of horses to graze. After all, they are hardwired to spend more than half of their day eating. Forage products that include extremely short pieces of fiber such as cubes, pellets, or chaff are often fed in lieu of long-stem forage. A spate of inquiries regarding the necessity of long-stem forage has landed in the electronic mailboxes of Kentucky Equine Research nutritionists. The overwhelming inquiry:

Can short-stem forage products completely satisfy a horse’s forage requirement?

According to Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., a KER nutritionist, the answer is yes, but there is a caveat. “If a horse does not have enough forage to chew on to fill the time, it might develop abnormal behaviors. For example,  cribbing, weaving, manure- eating, and mane and tail chewing. Many horses without access to long-stem forage seek chewing satisfaction through destruction of wooden surfaces within reach,” said Crandell.

Hay pellets and cubes are typically made from good-quality forage. They can therefore help satisfy a horse’s nutritional requirements. This is especially true if alfalfa products are used for horses with elevated nutrient needs such as youngsters or those exercised frequently.

Forage Requirements:

On the flip side, the quality of chaff or chopped forage is less reliable. High-quality chaff originates from hay, not straw. Though chaff made from straw is popular in some regions of the world, straw offers few nutrients to horses, and it is high in indigestible fiber, which increases the risk of impaction colic. Therefore, straw chaff should be fed in small amounts, primarily as a way to slow consumption of a grain meal, and should not be used as the sole forage. Chaffs made from high-quality hay, however, can be the principal forage source.

In sum, horses can survive without long-stem forage in their diets. That is, provided the forage requirement is met (at least 1-1.5% of body weight per day) through alternative forages. To maximize “chew time,” though, it is best to give horses some long-stem forage daily.

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

 

Dealing with Horses That Don’t Like What You’re Serving: Virtually all horses love to eat fresh green grass. Aside from that, each equine has its own dietary preferences. These vary from the chubby pony (happily gobbles anything and everything that’s offered) to the discerning older Thoroughbred mare who sniffs the expensive new nutritional supplement, turns away, and looks at you with a disdainful “this isn’t exactly what I had in mind” expression.

Illness, dental problems, extreme fatigue, or the discomfort of gastric ulcers might keep some horses from eating. A veterinarian can find and treat these problems, after which the horse may be more interested in eating. However, if no health issues are found, how can an owner tempt a picky equine to clean up its daily ration? Here are a few tips to try.

Increase Turnout:

First, increase turnout if this is possible. Grass, the most natural food for horses, provides a significant amount of nutrition. Horses that eat plenty of grass may not need any supplementary feed. That is, unless they are performing a moderate or high level of exercise.

Quality Hay:

Feed the best-quality hay you can find. Alfalfa (lucerne) or an alfalfa/grass mix will be appealing to most horses. On the other hand, horses might refuse to eat hay that is moldy, old, coarse and stemmy, or full of weeds. Not every horse needs the abundant nutrients in alfalfa (lucerne). However, a flake or two of alfalfa blended into a pile of clean grass hay will often enhance the taste of this offering. As with a grass diet, horses that eat plenty of good-quality hay may not need grain or nutritional supplements.

Feed Trial:

If your horse refuses a concentrate feed, he may be objecting to its smell, taste, or texture. There are a variety of feeds available. So, changing the texture might be worth a try. Textured, pelleted, cubed, and extruded feeds vary in consistency. Feeds may include whole, cracked, crimped, rolled, steamed, or flaked grains; more or less molasses may be used. You don’t want to have to buy bag after bag of feed. You might ask several friends to give you a cup of their horse’s feed for a trial.

Horses are very sensitive to the odor of a feed or supplement. They easily detect an “off” scent that humans can’t smell. If your horse has been eating a particular feed and suddenly refuses it, it’s possible that the feed is slightly moldy or rancid. If he readily accepts a scoop from a fresh bag, throw the old feed away and clean the container thoroughly before storing more feed in it.

Feed Containers:

More on the subject of containers: how long has it been since you checked the horse’s feed trough? Is it clean and smooth? Is it covered with barn dust, feed residues, bird droppings, and rough spots? The horse could be backing away from sharp edges or the musty smell of old feed particles caught under the edge of the feed bowl. Simply cleaning up the old feeder or buying a new one might help to restore your horse’s interest in his meal.

Added Flavors:

There are many things to try if you want to change or enhance the taste of a feed. Stir in some honey, add a little applesauce or molasses, or top-dress with chopped apples or carrots. Some horses like sliced or mashed bananas. Meanwhile others can’t resist flavorings like cherry, rosemary, peppermint, oregano, or cumin. You can start with a small quantity of the chosen flavor mixed with a small amount of feed to see what might win your horse’s favor.

Slowly make any change in feed. Usually over a period of seven to ten days. A handful of a new or flavored feed won’t hurt your horse. When you find something he likes, start with a small portion and build up gradually to a full ration. The same principle goes for using a new supplement. Begin with a tiny bit mixed into his regular feed. Gradually increase a little each day until the suggested amount is given. Adding a scoop or two of anything new all at once is almost guaranteed to put some horses off their feed. Therefore, go slowly! Give the horse a chance to get used to the new taste, smell, or texture.

Resources:

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research