Warm weather feeding

After the coldest spring in 50 years, the recent warmer weather has been a welcome change, but how might this change in temperature affect your horse’s diet? Here are a few tips for ‘hot weather feeding’.

Water

Water is the most important, yet often the most overlooked nutrient in the horse’s diet. Daily intake varies between individuals but on average, is approximately 50ml/kg BW for ‘idle’ horses (25l per day for a 500kg horse). However increased heat, humidity and exercise results in increased demand, so ensure ample supply is maintained. If you are concerned that your horse is not drinking enough, buckets rather than automatic drinkers can help to monitor intake. Flavouring water with apple juice may help to encourage drinking and if possible, taking your own water to shows may be useful for those to reluctant to drink ‘strange’ water.

Electrolytes

When horses sweat they lose electrolytes (mineral salts), the main ones being sodium, potassium and chloride. For most leisure horses and those in light work, free access to a salt lick, water and plenty of forage is more than sufficient for replacing these losses. For horses sweating heavily and on a regular basis, table salt and in harder work a combination of table salt and Lo-salt, is a cheap and effective replacement (ask a nutritionist for more advice on this). In addition, pre-prepared electrolyte solutions combining minerals salts and sugars can help to support hydration and glycogen recovery following exercise.

Hay soaking

Whilst studies have shown that soaking hay for 12-16 hours in tepid water is the most effective method for reducing sugars, soaking for long periods in hot weather is not recommended. This considered, reduce your soaking time to 3-6 hours and remember that soaking for any length of time cannot guarantee safety for laminitics – speak to a nutritionist for more advice.

Grass

It is easy to assume that short, sparse or drought damaged grass has little nutritional value but in truth, levels of non-structural carbohydrate (NSC=starch, sugars and fructan) may be higher than in longer, greener pasture. Stress caused by overgrazing, drought, poor management and lack of nutrients can result in higher levels of NSC, posing a potential increased risk for laminitics. Fructan (storage sugar) may be higher in the stem than the leaf, so avoid grazing laminitics on hay stubble.

Safe feed storage

This is important at any time of year, but soaring temperatures may increase the risk of mould and grain mite. Feed should be stored in cool (12 degrees Celsius or below), dry and preferably dark conditions. Un-opened feed should be raised off of the floor i.e. on a pallet to allow air to circulate, have all shrink wrapped removed to prevent sweating and be kept away from walls (allow a gap of 0.5m). Try to avoid leaving your feed in a hot car for long periods and if feeding small amounts, avoid buying in large volumes to help maintain freshness.

Summer will sadly soon be over so enjoy the hot weather while it lasts; but spare a moment to think about how this may affect your horse’s feeding regime.

A Late Laminitis Season?

This certainly has been an unusual year when it comes to the weather: firstly a delayed spring which saw some of the coldest temperatures for over 50 years and now in July a mini heat wave with temperatures around 30 degrees. As grass growth was delayed and owners are becoming more aware of the dangers of obesity, cases of spring laminitis have been low; but summer still holds its risks. The following is a guide to managing the risks in order to help keep your horse or pony safe.

For very susceptible animals, zero grazing will be the safest and in some cases, the only option. For those with access to grazing, consider the following recommendations:

·         It is impossible to predict fructan levels (the storage form of sugar in grass) at any one time but levels are likely to lower at night – consider turning out late until and until early morning (or mid-morning at the latest).

·         Avoid grazing on hay stubble- stems can be higher in fructans than the leaf.

·         Consider using a grazing muzzle – studies have shown that they can reduce grass intake by up to 80%. Take care to ensure that your horse/ pony’s muzzle fits correctly and he is happy to eat and drink before leaving him unsupervised. Introduce the muzzle gradually and do not leave it for 24 hours per day

·         If turning out for only a few hours, still consider using a muzzle – in recent studies, horse’s on restricted forage quickly learnt to eat almost two thirds of their daily allowance in only 3-5 hours at grass

·         As an alternative to grazing muzzles, consider strip grazing (taking care to ‘back fence’) or making use bark paddocks or ménages

·         Feed soaked hay, although in hot weather it is not advisable to soak for more than 3-6 hours due to the increased risk of bacterial growth or a hay replacer approved by The Laminitis Trust during periods of no grazing. Alternatively consider having your forage analysed

·         Do not over-feed – if you horse or pony is able to maintain weight on forage alone, a balancer is the ideal way to provide vitamins, minerals and amino acids without excess calories. If additional feed is required, avoid all mixes and choose fibre and oil based feed that are low in starch and sugar

·         Keep your horse’s waistline in check – a body condition score of 5 out of 9 is ideal

·         Where possible maintain a regular exercise programme

Laminitis can affect any horse or pony at any time so remember be vigilant as prevention is always better than cure!