|
Nutrition.
Good nutrition is essential in helping to maintain optimum health and well being of your horse or pony. Feeding can also have an influence on the way your horse or pony behaves. Following are a few simple rules of feeding that will help you avoid some of the common pitfalls:
• Allow access to fresh clean water at all times in clean troughs or buckets. The amount of water your horse needs will depend on a number of factors including their diet, workload and sweating rate as well as the environmental temperature. It is therefore essential that clean water is always available. Take special care in the winter to break ice on troughs. If using automatic watering devices take care to monitor water intake (metering devices are available). On average the daily water requirement of a typical 500kg horse is 20-40 litres.
• Feed at least half of the total diet as good quality long fibre. Horses have evolved as grazing herbivores, which naturally graze and browse on fibre containing feeds for approx. 16-18 hours per day. If we significantly reduce this eating time the risk of gastric ulceration and the development of stereotypes increases. Feeding adequate fibre helps maintain healthy gut function, reduces the risk of digestive disorders as well as abnormal behaviours or stereotypes developing and acts as a source of non-heating energy. Fibre can be found in many forms including forages such as grass, hay, haylage and the commercial short chopped forages as well as high fibre compound feeds. If possible feed forage off a clean floor as this is a more natural grazing position. If necessary soak hay for around 30 minutes in clean water to help reduce exposure of the lungs to dust and other particles.
• Feed little and often. Feed cereal based compound feeds in at least two feeds a day for horses in light to medium work and 3 to 4 times a day for horses in heavier work. Keep concentrate feeds to a maximum of 2-2.5kg for horses over 400kg and less for lighter horses and ponies.
• If a horse appears to require ever increasing amounts of feed in each of its meals in order to maintain condition and energy consider either increasing the number of meals or changing to a feed with higher energy content. The Nutritional Help-line will advise on exact quantities. Seek veterinary advice if a horse loses weight significantly or rapidly.
• Feed by weight not volume. Not all cereals or concentrate feeds weigh the same and for example one scoop of chaff weighs significantly less than a scoop of horse and pony cubes, therefore it is important to weigh scoops of different feedstuffs as a guide to how much you are really feeding.
• Feed good quality feeds. Never feed feeds that are mouldy, past their best before date or haven't been stored correctly. Feeds should be stored off the floor in a cool, clean, dry, well aired but fairly dark place. Bins (preferably pest proof) and buckets should be kept clean and old feed used before new feed is tipped on top. Good quality forage should only be fed as forage high in mould and dust spores increases the risk of respiratory disorders.
• Do not feed poor quality hay; haylages where there has been damage to the packaging; spoiled left over feed; dusty, mouldy or contaminated ingredients.
• Feed according to bodyweight. As a guide feed between 1.5-2.5% of bodyweight depending on the condition of the horse this means around 10kg per day in total for a typical 500kg horse. Each horse or pony is an individual and adjustments must be made for each horse. When feeding manufactured feeds remember that they are formulated to be fed at certain levels. If the amount that is needed to be fed to maintain your horse's condition and for you to have the type of ride you want is less than the manufacturer's recommendation, for that work load, then either add in an appropriate vitamin and mineral supplement or change to a feed with a lower energy content.
• Make all changes gradually. All dietary changes should be made slowly over at least two weeks depending on the amount and type of feed to be changed, this will help reduce to risk of digestive upsets. The horse has a delicate balance of gut microflora and this population needs time to adapt to the new diet. Do not feed items such as lawn clippings, large amounts of rapidly fermentable feeds such as apples, or feeds designed for other types of animals. Do not rapidly reduce feed intake especially of overweight ponies or pregnant animals.
• Keep to a routine. Feed at the same time each day, horses are creatures of habit and like a settled routine.
• Delay exercise after feeding. Allow at least 2 hours after feeding before working your horse or pony and do not feed for at least an hour after heavy work. This will help reduce the risk of digestive upset.
• Increase feed quantity behind an increase in exercise. Do not increase the quantity of feed in anticipation of an increase in work. If your horse or pony has a day off decrease feed from the evening before until the evening after the rest day.
Forage.
Hay/forage is safest fed on swept floor as there is no risk of injury and the head is lowered to the normal grazing position. Racks and nets all have the potential to cause injury. If hay nets are used they should be fixed at head height so that your horse or pony has less risk of getting its legs caught in the net.
Water supply.
Between 50 and 70 per cent of the horse's bodyweight consists of water. Stabled horses need more water because they are eating dry feed. Fresh water should be supplied in clean buckets or via automatic drinking bowls (provided a metering device is available and is cleaned twice a day).
Buckets should be refilled at least twice a day and should be secured to prevent them from falling over. The average daily water requirement of a horse is 20-40 litres or 5-10 gallons.
|
