Filling Your Horse Up With Forage This Winter

With temperatures dropping and the frost setting in, your horses pasture may now start to look rather sparse and those patches of grass that haven’t already been turned into a wallow of mud, are likely to finally stop growing. Many of you will start to worry therefore, that your horses and ponies are no longer getting what they need from their pasture.

Second to water, forage is the most important part of any horses and ponies diet, as fibre from forage provides a valuable source of calories to help maintain the horse’s weight and is essential for maintaining gut health and the absorption of nutrients. It is important to ensure then, that they are receiving a sufficient amount, below are some useful tips to help you do this.

5 Fabulous Truths about Feeding Forage

 

·       Ad-Lib access to forage is ideal for any horse or pony unless they start to gain too much weight

·       All horses and ponies (including good doers) need a minimum of 1.5% dry matter of their bodyweight in forage per day (7.5kg for a 500kg horse)

·       If continuing to turn horses/ponies out to pasture, as a guide, if stabling for approx.12hours, provide no less than a minimum of half their forage ration in their boxes as hay/haylage/hay replacer, as we cannot be sure how much is being received as grass.

·       If providing a forage only diet, provide a balancer to ensure the correct levels of vitamins, minerals and quality proteins.

·       Try to avoid long periods of time where your horse or pony has no access to forage which could increase the risk of conditions such as colic/ulcers.

 

2 Top Tips When Feeding Forage to Poor Doers

·       In winter months, grass intake may need to be virtually ignored, meaning a greater amount will need to be supplemented, especially for poor doers. Additional forage may also need to be provided in the field if possible – you might even find this encourages them to stand away from the gate!

·       Although many often think haylage is richer/more nutritious, therefore less is needed in comparison to hay, in fact due to the additional water content of haylage, you need to offer 25-50% more than you would as hay (10-11kg of haylage in place of 7.5kg of hay.)

 

3 Ways To Manage A Good Doers Forage Intake

 

·  If your horse or pony has a tendency to greedily consume their hay or haylage all at once, consider putting one hay net inside the other, to help slow them down. Placing these nets in several stations around the stable can also help encourage them to take their time.

·   For especially good doers, or laminitics, soaking hay for 12-16hours is highly recommended to achieve maximum leaching of water soluble carbohydrates (sugar + fructan – stored sugar in grass)

 

·       Good quality oat or barley straw is a low energy option, making it ideal for good doers, although it is best used as a partial rather than sole forage source.

Does Your Horse Need A Hay Replacer To Stay Happy & Healthy?

·     Horses and ponies that can no longer manage long fibre such as hay or haylage will require a hay replacer. From the SPILLERS® range consider SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF®, SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF® Molasses Free or SPILLERS® High Fibre Cubes (cubes can be soaked to form a mash) and un-molassed sugar beet is also a great option.

·     If providing a hay replacer, ideally this should be provided in as many small servings as possible, and divided between several buckets to help encourage ‘trickle feeding’. If providing a hard feed, offer this first, followed by the hay replacer, so that they do not necessarily see it as another ‘feed’.  

 

There are many ways to ensure then that you horse or pony has sufficient forage this winter, even when struggling with poor pasture. Should you have a more specific query however please contact the SPILLERS® Care-Line of 01908 22 66 26.

Bran benefits

Bran, often in the form of bran mash, has long been fed to horses as a source of fibre or laxative to help prevent colic, as a warm and palatable feed for sick horses or those with poor teeth and after a hard days hunting. However, should these feeding practices be considered as words from the wise or an outdated tradition?

One of the biggest problems associated with feeding bran is its very high phosphorus content. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the horse’s diet should be ideally maintained at 1.5-2:1 (1.5-2 times more calcium than phosphorus) but in comparison, bran contains 10-12 times more phosphorous than calcium. High levels of phosphorus decrease calcium absorption, resulting in deficiency. Consequently, calcium is drawn from bones (where 99% of calcium is stored) which in serious cases, causes them to weaken. Although far less common now, feeding large amounts of bran and consequently high levels of phosphorus, can result in ‘Millers Disease’ (Nutritional Secondary Hyperparathyroidism); a condition which eventually results thickening and distortion of bones caused  by lost minerals being replaced with fibrous tissue.

Feeding small amounts of bran on an infrequent basis will not cause major mineral imbalances, but as we all seem to appreciate that new feeds should be introduced gradually, why make an exception for bran? In fact, some researchers believe that this could have a negative effect on the hindgut microbes responsible for fibre digestion. Research has also shown than bran does not act as laxative, regardless of whether it is fed wet or dry. Instead, any ‘laxative effect’ is likely to be the caused by the mild disturbance or irritation resulting from the sudden introduction of a new feed.

For people, fibre (including bran) can increase the bulk of stools by helping them to retain more water and consequently make them easier to pass. However, fibre requirements in horses are much higher and whilst bran does contain fibre, the content is much lower (10-12%) than in sugar beet (20% - unmolassed) and hay.  In fact even as a source of water, the benefits of a bran mash may be questionable when you consider the small amount of water actually consumed in comparison to the horse’s daily requirements.

Many of us reach for a mug of hot chocolate or soup in colder weather and whilst a feeding a warm bran mash may be a comforting thought, it will not continue to keep your horse warm after he has eaten it.  As a result of fermentation in the large intestine, the digestion of hay and other forages produces heat (regardless of the weather) and therefore nutritionally, feeding additional hay is more likely to help keep your horse warm.

Whilst feeding bran will not always result in serious harm, particularly if properly balanced and fed in small amounts to adult horses; reported benefits are based largely on tradition. Consider whether adding bran to your horse’s diet is really necessary as unfortunately, it is one feeding tradition that may potentially cause more harm than good.