Managing your horse's diet for Winter

Autumn is now well and truly upon us and as the leaves start to fall and the temperature begins to drop; many of us turn our thoughts towards winter feeding. Being proactive is undoubtedly the best strategy but this doesn’t necessarily mean we should be reaching for higher calorie feeds. In fact, results from this year’s National Equine Health Survey show that the incidence of obesity has more than doubled in the last year.

If your horse is a good-doer don’t be tempted to increase his feed just because the weather is changing; particularly if he has come out summer carrying excess weight. Winter provides a natural opportunity to lose weight, particularly for natives and allowing good-doers to slim down as nature intended helps to prevent excess weight gain in the following spring.

Even in winter months, many good-doers will continue to maintain weight well or in some cases too well on forage alone. When this is the case, a balancer is the ideal way to ensure that vitamin, mineral and protein requirements are met, without feeding excess calories.

Where possible, opt for soaked hay rather than haylage. Although haylage is not automatically ‘richer’ as commonly thought, soaking hay helps to reduce the sugar content and of course, less sugar means less calories! Dividing hay between several, double-netted small-holed haylage nets may also help to extend foraging behaviour and make reduced rations last longer. Forage should never be restricted to less than 1.5% of bodyweight per day without veterinary supervision. For a 500kg horse, this equates to 7.5kg per day although if your horse has access to grazing, it will of course be impossible to measure exactly how much he is actually eating. As a guide, feed no less than 50% of your horse’s minimum daily ration if stabled for 12 hours, remembering that this may need to be increased depending on his condition and grazing.

Grazing muzzles have been proven to reduce grass intake by 80% on average, regardless of the season and if necessary, can be used in winter months too. Provided there is sufficient grass covering, good-doers may only need additional hay when it is very cold or if there is snow on the ground, so try to avoid turning overweight horses out with those who need ad-lib hay.

Maintaining a healthy body condition plays a key role in supporting your horse or pony’s general health and well-being. Weekly weigh taping, preferably at the same time of day can help to you to keep track of gradual changes in bodyweight. However weight is just a number, so try to combine this with regular body condition scoring, aiming for a score of 5 on a 1-9 scale. Having said this, allowing good-doers to enter spring at a leaner score of 4.5 is generally acceptable provided that they are otherwise fit and healthy.

Iron: Do you know the facts?

Of all of the minerals, iron seems to be the one at the forefront of many owners mind; perhaps because we have become accustomed to associating a feeling of tiredness and not eating enough green vegetables with iron deficiency and anaemia. However, when it comes to our horses, should iron be a primary concern and is an additional supplement necessary?

Iron is a ‘micro mineral’ or ‘trace element,’ meaning that it is required in smaller amounts by the horse. Its primary function lies in oxygen transport and consequently, approximately 60% of the iron in the horse’s body is in haemoglobin – the protein which carries oxygen and gives blood its red colour.

Despite the fact that iron does not provide any energy, iron rich supplements are often propositioned as aid to improving energy levels, enhancing performance and as a ‘tonic’ or ‘pick–me-up’ for horses in hard work or recovering from illness. In truth, there is no scientific rationale to support this and iron is a great example of the fact that more does not always equal better.  Mature horses need approximately 400-600mg of iron per day, equal to only 0.4-0.6g. Iron deficiency in horses is rare even in hard working horses and tends only to occur as the result of significant blood loss (including internal blood loss). In fact, toxcosis is far more common than deficiency in horses.

The National Research Council (NRC-accepted institute for standardising animal diets) sets the maximum tolerable level for iron at 500mg/ kg of feed, although some nutritionists feel that due to the potentially high levels is some forages, this can be increased to 800mg/ kg (equal to 8-9.6g per day in a 500kg horse). Toxicosis may cause depression, dehydration, diarrhoea, an increased risk of bacterial infections, liver failure and in extreme cases death; particularly as result of over supplementation in foals where absorption is more efficient.

For the most part, iron supplements are unnecessary and should only be considered following a confirmed clinical deficiency. Although the addition of an iron based supplement will not automatically result in toxicosis, they have the potential to do more harm than good; particularly as many owners do not have their forage analysed. If poor performance is a concern and the potential for underlying medical conditions can be ruled out, consider factors such as fitness, condition, hydration, temperament and feeding a balanced diet rather than reaching for an iron supplement.