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!

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Cushing’s Disease in Horses and Importance of Diet: Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, equine Cushing’s disease) is an age-related endocrine disorder that occurs in about 20% of horses, ponies, and donkeys 15 years of age or older. PPID can occur in younger horses, but it is rare in those younger than 10 years of age. At this time, age is the only significant risk factor for PPID; no breed or sex predispositions have been determined.

The pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, has an important role in regulating body hormones. These hormones affect many metabolic and reproductive functions, blood pressure, and electrolyte balance. Horses with PPID develop enlargement and benign tumors in the pars intermedia, or the middle lobe, of the pituitary gland. This condition affects hormone production pathways in the brain, specifically from the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The release of hormones from the pituitary gland is normally controlled through the neurotransmitter dopamine from the hypothalamus. In horses suffering from PPID, degeneration of the neurons that produce dopamine results in oversupply of hormones produced by the pars intermedia, and the subsequent high levels of these hormones can affect various body processes.

Approximately 30% of horses diagnosed with PPID also exhibit abnormal glucose metabolism (insulin dysregulation), in which blood insulin levels are high due to decreased insulin response in tissues. Insulin dysregulation places horses with PPID at higher risk of developing laminitis, which is one of the most serious complications of PPID. Insulin dysregulation is the defining characteristic of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), and PPID and EMS can occur simultaneously in a horse. Horses with EMS may be at higher risk of developing PPID as they age, and at this time it is not known whether EMS and PPID are causatively linked.

Diagnosis:

The most common clinical signs of PPID include an abnormal haircoat (regional patches of long hair such as legs, chin, and belly), failure to shed (hypertrichosis), muscle loss, lethargy, chronic infections, weight loss (profound loss of fat and muscle), potbelly due to lost muscle tone, and abnormal sweating, either increased sweating (hyperhidrosis) or lack of sweating (anhidrosis).

Early diagnosis of PPID can be difficult. Blood tests are often negative in early stages of PPID, and symptoms can be overlooked in the normal aging process. Clinical signs of PPID may lead to a diagnosis based on examination and history. The long haircoat typical of PPID horses is often used as a diagnostic tool, but should not be used as an absolute diagnosis since malnutrition and other conditions can cause haircoat changes. Horses with mild PPID may be at risk of laminitis, so screening tests are important to help identify horses with PPID before overall health declines or laminitis develops.

Measurement of baseline ACTH is often used in diagnosis of PPID. Horses with more advanced PPID often exhibit elevated levels of ACTH. So resting plasma ACTH concentration is typically measured and compared to a reference range. However, ACTH levels can be affected by season, stress, illness, exercise, and sometimes diet. Testing the horse in its home environment when healthy and not stressed will yield the best results. A baseline ACTH test is most helpful for detecting moderate to advanced cases of PPID but may not detect early stage PPID.

Additional Testing:

Additional testing, such as thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test, may provide additional evidence of early stage PPID, or when ACTH testing is inconclusive. In this protocol, after a baseline ACTH sample is collected, TRH is administered intravenously and in 10 minutes an additional ACTH sample is collected. However, there can be substantial variability in the results.

Many PPID horses exhibit insulin dysregulation, and PPID and EMS can coexist. Therefore, testing for insulin dysregulation is also important when PPID is suspected.

Treatment:

PPID is a progressive condition. Unfortunately, there is no cure. Treatment is intended to address and reduce clinical signs of the disease. It must be continued for the life of the horse. The prognosis for horses diagnosed with PPID is variable and somewhat dependent on symptoms. Some horses respond to a low level of medication. Meanwhile others require a much higher level. Some horses respond well to management protocols and may not require medication to maintain quality of life.

The only medication licensed for treatment of PPID in horses is pergolide mesylate. Pergolide is a drug that acts on receptors within the pars intermedia to suppress tissue enlargement and tumor growth. Amount of pergolide that results in improvement of clinical signs can vary. Horses that do not respond to high doses of pergolide may be treated with additional medication as prescribed by the veterinarian. Ongoing monitoring of horses undergoing treatment is important. It is recommended that retesting be performed at least twice a year to determine if changes in medication are needed.

Diet and exercise can help manage some symptoms of PPID but is not a cure. The horse’s body weight and condition, ability to exercise, and presence of insulin dysregulation will influence management recommendations. Further, the horse’s age will affect dietary requirements. PPID is a disease of aged horses. In many cases the horse’s dental condition will determine appropriate dietary changes. Is the horse is suffering from poor dentition (missing teeth, lack of chewing surface for utilization of long-stemmed forages?) A ration that provides forage alternatives such as pelleted forages or a formulated senior feed with adequate fiber to replace hay and pasture may be required to help support the older horse’s needs.

Dietary Management:

There are no specific dietary guidelines for PPID horses because symptoms vary. Not all PPID horses are prone to laminitis. So that must be taken into consideration. Some PPID horses are hard keepers and some are easy keepers. It is important to feed appropriate calories to maintain body weight and condition. If the horse is at risk of laminitis, maintaining appropriate body weight is essential. Ensure that excess weight is not putting strain on compromised hooves.

Further, providing a diet with controlled soluble carbohydrates to avoid blood glucose/insulin response that may increase risk of laminitis is an important part of dietary management. Is the horse is a hard keeper and at risk of laminitis? Ahigher calorie diet is recommended, but soluble carbohydrate levels are still of concern. Higher fat content to replace some soluble carbohydrates in the diet may be helpful in providing calories to support body weight and condition without increasing risk of laminitis.

If the PPID horse is not exhibiting insulin dysregulation, soluble carbohydrate content of the diet is not as much of a concern. As the disease progresses, though, it is important to monitor this and make changes if necessary.

Adequate high-quality protein in the diet of PPID horses may help reduce muscle wasting. In addition, it may support muscle maintenance and repair. Appropriate vitamin and mineral supplementation is also vital to support the aging horse’s nutrient requirements and potentially compromised immune function. Many supplements are marketed to specifically address the needs of PPID horses. However, at this time there is little published data to support specific ingredients or additives to address the symptoms of PPID.

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Article Sources: Kentucky Equine Research

Proceed Carefully: Feeding Neglected Horses. For many horsemen and horsewomen, nothing proves more heartbreaking and maddening than seeing horses in neglectful situations. Especially when there’s little to eat or drink. Those that dedicate their time and resources to rehabilitating these horses know well the need to refeed horses carefully, almost exactingly.