November 17, 2021 Sales WVF

Feeding the Winter Horse

Winter throws equestrians its fair share of challenges. Love it or loathe it, the mud, wet and cold weather is on the way. Whether you have a good doer, poor doer, senior or youngster, the best way to tackle this inclement season is to plan ahead. Unpack those winter rugs (or perhaps not if you have a good doer), get your forage in and importantly, assess your horse’s body condition. Remember, for good doers, the winter presents an ideal opportunity to shift a few extra pounds so get ready to take advantage of the colder weather. Having said this, keep in mind that grass can continue to grow for most of the year, particularly if the weather is mild. On the flipside, poor grazing and cold weather make winter a particularly challenging time for poor doers (and their owners!) too. Provided they are otherwise healthy and not laminitic, going into winter at a body condition score (BCS) of 6/9 may help poor-doers buffer excess weight loss.

The importance of Forage

Forage is essential for digestive health and accounts for a significant portion of daily calorie intake. Unfortunately, ad lib forage isn’t always practical for good doers and in order to achieve weight loss, some level of restriction may be necessary. For those that struggle to maintain weight, feed good quality hay or haylage ad lib, ideally in the field as well as the stable. Hay replacers are essential for horses and ponies with poor teeth who are unable to manage hay/ haylage.

Balancers are not conditioning...

Due to the low feeding rate, all balancers (except stud balancers) provide a negligible level of calories. This makes them the ideal choice for horses and ponies on calorie restricted diets as a source of vitamins, minerals and protein without excess calories. They are also a great way of providing a balanced diet if you prefer to feed ‘straights’ such as sugar beet, alfalfa and oil instead of compound feed. However, for the majority of horses, feeding the feeding the recommended amount of an appropriate compound feed, fibre or mash containing added vitamins and minerals is often the most convenient and cost-effective way of providing additional calories and a balanced diet.

Faboulous fibre & oil

Choosing fibre-based feeds that are low in starch and sugar helps to support digestive health and reduce the risk of unwanted excitability. If your horse needs additional calories, consider low starch feeds that are high in fibre and oil such as SPILLERS Digest+ Cubes, SPILLERS Senior-Super Mash and SPILLERS Conditioning Fibre. Oil is approximately 2.5 times higher in energy (calories) compared to cereals but starch (and sugar) free!

Keep it small

Large meals may increase the risk of conditions such as colic and tying up and in some cases, may even contribute to weight loss. Feed no more than 2kg per meal in total (dry weight) for horses and less for ponies. Remember to weigh sugar beet and mashes before soaking – the increase in volume after soaking makes it easy to over-estimate how much you are feeding! Adding a low-calorie chaff/ short fibre to meals helps to bulk out the bucket and extend eating time without compromising your horse’s waistline. A token ration of low-calorie mash can also be a useful way of filling up the bucket whilst limiting calorie intake.