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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Hi Robyn, I've owned my stationbred gelding now for a couple of years and was wondering what to feed him to help get rid of his huge 'hay belly". He has had this since I bought him from the North Island where he was run out on the hill and had only trekked. I thought with time and work this would disappear but not so you would notice. My other horse who shares his paddock and is fed the same does not have this problem. He is ridden regularly (mainly schooling and hacking) except now during the winter whereby he is only ridden spasmodically. Because of the belly, I am unsure whether to feed more or less fibre - do you have any suggestions? Thanks, Joyce
Hi Joyce
This is a tricky one as sometimes it is not just a feed issue! Horses come in all makes and models a lot like people do, and as some of us struggle to maintain or even achieve a svelte outlook, some of our equine friends are equally challenged!!!
First please don’t be tempted by the idea of feeding less fibre especially in the winter, as fibre is essential to correct gut function and works as an internal heater to keep your horse warm. The harder the gut works to process the long fibre the better it heats the body. I do suggest that you have the horses teeth checked. I prefer to use a trained equine dentist if I can as teeth should not be floated flat as that can make it problematic for the horse to correctly chew it’s food before swallowing. It doesn’t hurt also to double check your worming programme in case a resistance has occurred causing a problem there.
If all else is fine there I might want to use an equine pre-biotic such as Equi-Yeast to ensure healthy gut function so that the fibre is well processed. Exercise and plenty of it is a huge help and there are some equine Pilates exercises you can use on your horse that might help. You can look them up on www.thehorse.com.
The easiest one though is just to draw your finger in a straight line from the girth to mid-belly with a little pressure on the stomach of your horse this causes him to pull his stomach up. Kind of like a sit-up for us. Please ensure that you are standing in a safe place as some horses may cow kick if they are unaccustomed to the feeling. Hope this helps.
Cheers, Robyn
We have on lease a young pony (thought to be about four). Recently after the dentist visited she was aged at 2.5yrs, now confirmed by a surprised owner who had no idea she was so young. My question is - what does a pony of this age need to ensure she grows up strong? She isn’t getting anything other than grass and hay at the moment but I am going to start feeding my other ponies soon and want to know that I am giving her what she needs. The ponies will get : AllYouNeed, MeadowHay Chaff, and additives as needed (things like garlic echinacea, etc) and hay twice a day. Thank, Lesley
Hi Lesley,
That must have been a bit of a surprise for you to find out the pony was only rising three, I hope it hasn’t put your plans back too much. Young ponies are great in that they do fairly well on the bare basics and because of a propensity to equine metabolic disorders they are best not overfed. I am not sure what Allyouneed is as I haven’t heard of that before but the hay (twice a day, at least one to two slabs depending on her bodyweight) and chaff sound fine. As an optimum you will want to feed her about 2% of her bodyweight a day, don’t forget that this includes grass.
If you want to keep her feed fairly basic then I suggest you might like to use something like the Fibre-Pro products as a carrier for your supplements, they have a quality fibre content and supply more energy for growth then a normal dried chaff will with the bonus of being moist enough that supplements stick to them. For supplements you can still use garlic and Echinacea but I would also want to be using a quality mineral vitamin supplement and a calcium- phosphorus supplement to ensure adequate bone growth and that she is getting everything she requires for her daily metabolic functions. I use Selamin Gold and Dancaphos as my supplements because I’ve been growing my foals and young horses out on them for years and I trust the consistent results I get with them. I would only add grain sparingly into a pony diet as they often don’t need it unless they are a more refined English Riding Pony type or they are getting plenty of work. If you have any more queries or would like to discuss the diet further please feel free to call me on 0800 REMEDY (736 339)
Cheers, Robyn
Hi Robyn,
I have got a gelding TB 15.1hh and i have been feeding him chaff and horse and pony pellets for about 6 months now and he just suddenly lost alot of condition. I have to keep a rug on him because he’s that bad. I don't know what to do and he won't eat copra. Please help me. Thanks, Anna
Hi Anna,
I would love to help but you haven’t given me a lot of information to go on. I need to know the weight of the feed that you are giving your horse i.e. how many kilograms of chaff and how many kilograms of horse and pony pellets are you feeding a day? How much pasture does he get and what kind of quality is it? Are you feeding hay or silage and how much of it are you feeding – again by weight please? What type of hay and silage are you feeding and how good is the quality? How much work is your horse doing? Is your horse old or young? Do you have a regular worming programme, has he had an annual dental check?
There are any number of reasons for a horse to lose weight suddenly, not all are dietary related but the onset of winter usually points up inadequacies in the diet really quickly in weight loss and logically that is a good place to start. A 15.1hh TB usually weighs in the vicinity of 450-500kg’s minimum and as a rough rule of thumb at this time of year I like to be feeding at the least 2% of the bodyweight per day just to make sure they can not only do the work I require of them but also so that they keep warm and have active immune systems that are fighting off disease. Therefore your horse should be getting 9.5 to 10kg of food per day (don’t forget that this includes pasture, but if you don’t have any then you will need to be making up for what the grain portion of the feed doesn’t account for with some form of quality fibre, usually hay or silage).
I hope this helps but please feel free to contact me with the answers to the above questions and I will help you tailor a more individualised programme for your horse. If you are at all concerned about the weight loss being attributed to something other than diet you shouldn’t hesitate to contact your vet immediately.
Cheers, Robyn
Hi Robyn, my daughter has recently got her own horse after many years of riding. She has a 15.2 TB Mare which is an absolute honey. So quiet and easy to ride. She has been with us 3 weeks now and lives with 5 other horses.
She was an occasional windsucker before we got her and seemed to do it after her hard feed. Anyway she has now decided windsucking is her thing and does it alot more than before. Have read so many articles on this subject but one thing that caught my attention was the possibility of excess acid or ulcers. We are giving her half fibre pro and half coolade at each daily feed.
I was wondering if there was a more suitable feed combination we could use in relation to her maybe having excess acid etc. She does not appear to be stressed at all and is a very friendly quiet horse, and my daughter has alot of fun riding her. She is easy handle with everything you do with her. The only thing she has is a small patch of mud fever on one foot which we are trying to get on top of. So to cut a long story short can you offer some advice with regard feed or nutrition. Thanks, Mike.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for your query.
Windsuckers can be very frustrating for their owners. I have one who does it occasionally myself, usually when he is stressed about something in his environment that is beyond his control. Your mare is probably experiencing a very similar reaction to the simple fact that you have completely changed her environment, something beyond her control, by shifting her to a new home when you brought her. Frequently windsuckers will appear to windsuck more around meal times as we are there observing them and they are anticipating food and it helps keep them occupied. Although she doesn’t appear to be stressed you can liken it to your own experiences by comparing it to changing jobs going from an environment that you know and the same people you interact with everyday to a new job in a new building with a bunch of strangers even if you are acting pretty cool on the outside you’re not always feeling that way on the inside. Your mare is probably still feeling a bit that way!
Your concerns about diet are good ones to address as stressors in the environment can mean a horse might well end up with an ulcer and being a TB if she raced in the past more than likely she has had them before. Minimising ulcer risk means that you need to keep plenty of fibre in the diet. You haven’t said what your half of Fibre Pro or Coolade weigh. Fibre Pro is awesome to use as it is a quality fibre source, but if you suspect your mare is having an ulcer problem you may be better off replacing the Coolade with a non grain diet or minimising the impact of the grain by adding oil. Make sure that your mare has access to some type of food other than her feed 24/7 be it pasture or hay as ulcers have the most impact on the animal when their stomach is empty as they don’t have the same mucosal layer that we do to protect them from the stomach acids.
There are veterinary products such as Omperazol that may be used for treating ulcers or over the shelf products such as Seabuck that also seem to have good results. You may find however that even if you do resolve any ulcers that might be present that you don’t affect her windsucking as she may have a well in-grained habit that you can’t break. Although we humans don’t find it a particularly nice habit to watch other horses don’t seem to be too bothered by it and don’t mimic it unless they too are very stressed. Unless she is performing at very high levels it is unlikely to be detrimental to her performance. If you are at all concerned that it is affecting her health it would be best to seek further advice from your vet who can assess her when s/he calls in.
Cheers, Robyn
Hi Robyn
I have just bought a weanling (never owned a horse so young before) any suggestions on how I can stop this little lady from kicking with her back legs and how much and what would you feed her please? I am currently feeding her lucerne chaff twice daily with the hanley feed mix 500gm of yearling mix and 300gm of Rapid gain ( Christmas Pudding Bowl ) twice a day and oaten hay as a filler. Fran
Hi Fran,
Hi I have a six yr old Clydie X who is being competed every weekend in 1.10m classes and showhunter and is being ridden six days a week. He is a very good doer and I was wondering what I should feed him as he needs big feeds twice a day as he is strenuous work to keep energy levels up. He is on little or no grass and is only getting little amounts of hay because he refuses to eat it unless at a show. He is currently on 2-3kg of Mitavite Prosport a day 500g of Mitavite Power On. With lots of Oaten Chaff and a little bit of Bran. But I am not sure if he should be on the bran or not because of his age but instructors have informed me that a little bit is good for horses but I’m not sure if this is causing him to be fat. He is not anywhere near Founder condition but is a bit too large for how much work he is in and how much travel he is doing. What do u suggest? Rebecca Kerr
Hi Robyn
I have two miniature horses that are yearlings. One is so big he keeps escaping the little pen that we have him in. and he can only waddle. he only gets 1/4 cup of chaff. He used to get 1 cup asset and one cup lucine chaff but I cut it down to just 1/4 cup of chaff so that I could still give his garlic meal. He gets 1/2 a scoop garlic meal as well. He gets walked everyday for 1/2 an hour. Is there anything we can do to get him to lose weight? We are getting desperate now! from Miranda Smith
Hi Miranda
These poor ponies get in a bit of a vicious cycle with their weight don’t they! You have to keep them locked up but locking them up restricts the exercise and so they escape and gorge themselves and even more weight piles on. Ponies like that with weight issues tend to be very prone to Equine Metabolic Syndrome which makes their systems very sluggish to lose weight as well.
I think you need to seriously look at getting some more exercise into this pony as that helps to speed up the metabolism as well. I know he’s only a yearling but is it possible for you to teach him to lunge so he can get a little more vigorous exercise than walking or can you perhaps step up his exercise to 30 minutes twice a day?
Are you feeding any hay? Ponies are designed to eat 18 hours a day and not having food passing through the gut can lead to digestive upsets and ulcers. If he feels a little fuller he might not be so inclined to escape as well. I prefer to use a clean but very low nutrition hay so that they can eat but aren’t really getting many calories, you can soak it for at least 30 minutes and that will help reduce any sugar that may be in it.
I would still use some chaff and I would suggest that you use it as a carrier for some Equi-Shield which may be used as a nutritional aid for these type of ponies and because you have really restricted his diet I would suggest that you also think about putting your ponies on a good quality mineral vitamin supplement to ensure that they are getting everything they need for daily metabolic function and to help support them as young growing stock. I have found these type of products in conjunction with exercise and a controlled diet can be very helpful with getting rid of some of that excess weight.
Robyn
Hi Robyn
My 11 year old mares coat is still shedding along her upper back and the hair over her wither looks 'fluffy' - if that’s makes sense? Previous to my buying her she was covered winter and summer but I've not covered her this summer. Her coat is quite a bit thicker than this time last year when I bought her. She's fed 1x daily-with lucerne/oat chaff, 1 cup soaked copra, 1/2 cup gr. linseed, magnesium, toxin binder, kelp, celery seed,1/4 cup rice bran oil & sometimes a splash of molasses. In light trekking work, on pasture and hay. Her teeth probably need attending too also as it's been almost a year. Otherwise healthy and rest of coat (flanks, neck ) shiny not shedding. Could it be a mineral imbalance? Look forward to your suggestions. Dallas
Hi Dallas,
Thanks for your question. Your mare is sounding reasonably healthy. Your mare’s coat is just responding to the current climatic conditions and is just adjusting itself to the changing season, I’m finding even my covered horses are doing a mild shed of hair at the moment. The fluffiness is just where the old coat has been exposed to the sun and weather. Looking at what you are feeding her you may well end up with a mineral imbalance further down the track. You haven’t mentioned Selenium and it is very important to supplement it if you have a deficiency in the pastures as a lack of it can lead to impaired muscle performance.
The only adjustment I would make would be to replace the kelp with a good quality mineral vitamin supplement designed for New Zealand pastures (I’m sending you a brochure for Nutrimin Horse). I know kelp has been widely used in the past as a supplement but I wouldn’t recommend the use of it unless it has a guaranteed analysis of the contents on the packaging and even then with the rate of pollution that now occurs in the world’s oceans I would be very cautious. Kelp may be high in oestrogen and mercury from this pollution plus it tends to be very high in iodine and potassium which can make balancing the rest of the diet difficult. I like the rest of what you’re doing however and I’m sure you are adjusting the amount of hay and chaff to the work you are doing to maintain her condition. I would certainly look at getting the teeth done in the next while and I would suggest a bot and tape wormer at the beginning of the autumn just to make sure you have all the bases covered.
Happy trails!
Robyn
Hey Robyn,
I have a young mare who can't have any sugar or grain in her diet. She is on Low GI but I was wondering what other products I can feed my mare? Lyndall
Hi Lyndall,
There are plenty of low GI foods out there it’s just a matter of being creative I assume since you are saying no sugar or grains your horse is having an insulin resistance problem and you are attempting to reverse the condition. Feed plenty of forages such as hay and silage or Fibre-Mix from Fibre Fresh or the Annandale forages would be suitable. Mitavite has Power on which has been formulated as a low GI diet and the Coprice range has suitable products in it as well, Dunstan now does a straight rice pellet, Speedi-Beet, copra meal, rice brans and oils are also useful in this situation. I would also fully endorse using a product such as Equi-Shield which has been designed with Insulin Resistant horses and ponies in mind. Information on this product can be found on the Nutritech website www.nutritech.co.nz under technical information in the equine section. Make sure that if you don’t end up using a proprietary mix with a mineral pre-mix in it that you are still supplying a suitable mineral vitamin mix to help support the immune system and keep the horses’ body functioning correctly.
Robyn
Hi Robyn
I have been using your nutrimun horse vitamins for a few months now mixing it with the daily feed but I’m now starting to lessen the feed as I don’t feed through summer (my horses are pretty good doers) only problem I have is both horses won’t go near the minerals unless it’s in the feed. Is this alright to feed a few (2-3) times a week (in some feed)? I have tried leaving some ad lib in the paddock in their feed buckets (thought I could trick them as they love their food) but they just snort at it. I’m lost for what to do through summer. Janet
Hi Janet,
That will be fine 2-3 times a week for the summer.
Cheers, Robyn
Hi Robyn.
I have a pony who is 14.2 and an Arab and is currently only used for light hacking on weekends. He is a very good doer and during the summer months he is just on grass and looks like an in foal broodmare. The other day while I had him behind tape (Strip grazing) I noticed a little bit of heat and filling in one hind leg and he was a little stiff when trotted out, I took him out for a walk and hosed it and it went down once we had returned back to the yard, so I’m guessing he had been standing and leaning over the tape and gorging himself on what grass he could get to (did notice a bit of clover in the grass on the other side of tape) But since then it hasn’t surfaced again but now My main concern is laminitis. The grass he is on isn’t rank stuff its well looked after, fert etc. What would you recommend giving to him in maybe a simple light feed? Have looked at putting a muzzle on him as the grass is just getting away on us but as he’s not at my place, I kinda worry he could get hooked up and be that way till I get back out there the next day as I can only get out once a day sometimes twice And with limited time after work during the week before darkness arrives, riding everyday is kinda out but could lunge for 10-15 mins if you think that would be of some help to shift a bit of weight?...Help please!! Much appreciated :) Cheyann
Hi Cheyann,
Thank you for your question. This time of year is really difficult for all of those who have the proverbial ‘good doer’. Unfortunately for the most part although there is all that lovely green lush grass growing we are having to restrict access to it so that our horses and ponies quite literally don’t eat themselves to death.
Because a grazing muzzle is unsuitable, exercise is the very next best thing you can do for your horse, exercise is better at lowering insulin resistance than even a controlled diet. If you want to restrict the grass even further make sure that you are feeding plenty of fibre to make up for the lack of grass. Clean, dry poorer quality hays are excellent for this as you are going for gut fill not a high nutritive value. For a light feed I would suggest chaff (a straw/meadow if you can get it) and maybe Speedibeet or a few Gumnuts to mix in with the Equi-Shield I would recommend for your horse which is a targeted product for insulin resistance, founder and laminitis. Please don’t forget that if you are restricting the diet that you must remember to make sure the horse is receiving sufficient minerals and vitamins still. Nutrimin Horse is suitable for this and gives the coat a lovely shine as well.
If you are interested I will be giving a talk at an evening in New Plymouth that will be hosted by the Tack Shack in February sometime. The date is not confirmed yet but if you keep in touch with those guys they will let you know when it will be and I’m more than happy to answer any more questions.
Cheers, Robyn
Hi Robyn,
A few questions. number 1, have they changed the formula on the equisheild as my horses are spitting it out now. Number 2. My old girl that's scouring badly that is managing to eat the equisheild after a lot of persuasion is now starting to eat hot horse manure. She cannot eat hay. I have had the dentist out twice recently so all is ok there. She is having speedibeet, lucerne and savanagh meadow chaff and veteran morning and night. I have given her three times the probitotic you suggested.. She has been wormed regularly and the vet said shes fine in that regard. If I give her too much grass of course she scours even more. Do you have any suggestions and what else can I feed when she cant eat hay? I have had her for over 20 years and this has been happening over the last 12 months. Your help would be appreciated. Kind Regards Maree
Hi Maree,
Thanks for your e-mail. The Equi-Shield formulation hasn’t changed but every now and again the peppermint essence wears off in an older batch of product and your horse may notice the difference. We are more than happy to exchange the product if you take it back to where you bought it and ask them to get in touch with me.
Have you had the old girls teeth checked I assume you are not giving her hay as she no longer has the teeth to chew it and unfortunately they are yet to come up with false teeth for horses. It sounds as though your old girl is really starting to struggle digestively and she is going after the fibre in the manure and is also trying to repopulate her stomach bacteria, as a very high percentage of manure is composed of gut bacteria cells. At the moment the grass has a very high moisture content and low fibre which is probably why she scours worse when she gets more and if she is unable to chew hay then it is difficult for her to access the fibre she requires. You can use a live yeast product like Equi-Yeast that helps with fibre digestion and sets up a good internal environment for gut bacteria to flourish in and when the gut bacteria is healthy they are able to extract more nutrients from the food available. Ensiled products such as the Fibre Fresh range may also be helpful as they are high nutritional fibre feeds and there is some very interesting research on it that was published in Horse and Pony this month. Something like soaked copra is also high in fibre and requires little chewing.
I hope that these suggestions can help give you more time with your girl but I know from my own past experience with an elderly pony that sometimes these elderly horses end up with digestive systems that just can’t cope anymore and that is does get to the point where we can do nothing more My vet was really good at talking me through the issues so that I could make the best and most informed choices for my pony and I’m sure that yours will be just as helpful so please make sure you keep getting her checked on a regular basis.
Robyn
Hi there, I am wondering if you can give me some advise on feeding my 14 year old SB mare. She has lost a lot of weight over winter and have been told to stick her on some hard feed to gain some condition. Can you please advise me which hard feed you would recommend? Regards, Katherine Belcher
Hi Katherine,
If your mare has lost lots of condition, you need to check a couple of other things as well as adjusting the feed. Have you had her teeth checked recently and does she need worming? If her teeth need doing then it can be difficult for her to eat and adding extra hard feed can cause a problem because of the way grain causes the teeth to wear and then rub against the inside of the check, worms will also cause a horse to lose condition rapidly. If you haven’t been using hard feed up until now please don’t forget to introduce it slowly and build the amount up over a couple of weeks. I prefer to use straight grains either oats or barley mixed with chaff and copra meal or sugar beet depending on what you have access to plus minerals and vitamins (Nutrimin Horse would be fine for your mare). If you prefer to use a commercial feed then I like the Coprice, Mitavite and Dunstan ranges. All the bags have instructions on them and the staff at most feed stores can be very helpful advising how much to feed. As you are trying to put weight on your horse you will need to check that she is getting at least 1.5-2% of her body weight in feed each day, but don’t forget that includes, grass, hay, chaff and hard feed.
Robyn
Hi, I have a big 14.2 6 year old mare who is overweight. She jumps courses of 1m at shows and loves it but I just want her a normal weight so she can go higher and look more respectable. She is on minimal grass and a small feed after every ride which is about 3-4 times a week. I'm wondering if you know any tips for getting her weight down especially around the rump area where she actually has a groove down the middle of her rump. I live 30min away from her so I cant get to her very often. Also her rump is MUCH higher then her wither I know it’s because she’s a baby but i wonder what is going to happen with it because it doesn’t seem to be evening out anytime soon. One last question, her tail is very thick at the top and very thin and straggly at the bottom! Do you have any feeding tips or supplements that can replenish the shine in her tail and her whole coat actually because she looks very dull and run down, especially in winter. Thanks for the help! Scarlett
Hi Scarlett,
Sounds as though you might have a horse that is slightly insulin resistant. If you can get your hands on the NZ Equine magazine for this month and next month when it comes out you can read the articles in there that I wrote about EMD (Equine Metabolic Disorder) which explains the condition more fully. You may find that after a month on Equi-Shield which I use for these types of horses it may help with giving her a more toned look and help you get a better control over her weight. If it is possible for you to check her every day it will make it easier for you to restrict her grass over the next few months while it is doing its biggest growth surge of the year by strip grazing or confining her to a smaller area as you don’t want to run the risk of laminitis.
With any luck she should even out in the next little bit it sounds as though there could be a growth surge happening but you haven’t mentioned her breed and you do have to allow for the fact that the odd horse doesn’t come up in front. Have you been using minerals and vitamins with the small feed that you give her when you ride her? There is a possibility she isn’t quite getting enough of these to support her growth and health especially if you have to restrict weight. A good quality mix like Selamin Gold is ideal for adding a gloss to the coat and will support the last bit of growth to even her out.
Good Luck!
Robyn
Hi Robyn
We have an 8yr TB mare(first time horse owners) who has lost a bit of weight over the winter. I have had a vet check and upon recommendation have done a 5 day worming plan even though she is wormed every 6-8 weeks. We currently feed her hard feed daily plus hay. She has plenty of grazing and has two paddock mates. My question is what is what would you recommend as a hard feed diet. She currently gets 2 scoops of pony pellets half a scoop of equi jewel 1 large scoop of easybeet 2 scoops of lucerne chaff 1 cup of soya oil equiguard daily Thanks. Nancy
Hi Nancy,
Congratulations on getting your first horse! The vet’s recommendation for worming is a fair one but I would be using fecal egg samples as well to help with the decision of when to worm so that I can be sure that I’m only worming when I need to and that my wormer is working effectively.
As far as the feed goes it’s really difficult to tell how much you are feeding at the moment as you have only told me a scoop, but haven’t told me how much your scoop weighs when it’s full of food! It’s really important when you feed your horse that you know by actual weight how much you are feeding. Horses in work may require anywhere from 1-2% of their bodyweight in food every day to maintain themselves and find the energy to do the work you require of them. This means that if your mare weighs 500kg then she will require somewhere between 5-10kg of dry matter per day for her energy requirements (this includes grass).
I also need to know whether you are working her or not and if so how much work, as this will also make quite a difference to the type and amount of feed I can recommend for her. I can’t even begin to guess because you haven’t told me how tall she is and although I know she is TB she could be a 500kg polo pony type or a 17hh ex-chaser both of which would need substantially different diets so although I would love to be able to help you it wouldn’t be fair to either you or her to make any feed recommendations on the little information that you have given me.
If you want to resubmit your question with more detail that would be awesome otherwise I’m more than happy to be contacted on the Nutritech number 0800 736 339 so we can go through your diet in more detail.
Cheers
Robyn
Hi my name is AJ, I have just brought myself a three year old standard bred gelding and his name is Goofy. At the moment he stands at 16.3hh and has another four inches to grow, I have only had him for a week. When i first went to have a look at him I thought it's just the baby look coming out and he still needs to grow and fill out. But now, at home I think he is at least 150kg lighter than what I would like to see on him especially with winter. I have brought him a 220 gram fill Orican Original Combo with an underlay blanket with a Satin anti rub vest to stop the rubbing on the wither.
The underlay was too hot for him as i am on the West coast of the South Island. I have put the underlay back into it's packet, I know Goofy needs his Orican cover on as well but it is too hot for him so I have also put that in my shed for cold nights but cold nights only. In the morning when I take Goofy's cover off he is generally sweating underneath.
Is the sweating bad for him? At the moment I am giving Goofy a good 2kgs of Silage, three huge handfulls of Lucerne Chaff with Molasses (Watered down). Would you be able to give me any advise on any types of feed I could give him to help him in the finishing stages of his growth, his bones, vitamins, and also on putting the wait on? I am not very familiar with computers, I hope you get to see my photos. I have tried to put different types of photos on for you to see him in different light, moment, and different angles. Thank you very much for your time. Yours Sincerely AJ
Hi AJ,
Sorry your photo’s didn’t come through so I can’t actually see what he looks like and you haven’t mention what kind of work you’re giving him either. As a three year old he has a couple of more years maturing to do and you will want to support that with proper nutrition. Spring grass coming through will help add some extra condition and gleam to his coat but in the meantime you need to increase his diet somewhat especially if you are concerned that he is very skinny.
As a growing baby though it is important that you don’t get him overweight as it places to much stress on growing joints. Most feed companies have very good proprietary mixes for growing horses and the instructions on the bag are easy to follow.
If however you want to do it yourself there are a range of feedstuffs you can use. For a start I would suggest you give him ad lib silage. Don’t forget that silage can be very moist and you need to think on a dry matter basis. So if you can’t ad lib him I’d probably be happier to see closer to 4kgs morning and night. You can keep feeding the lucerne chaff but I would make it equal in weight to whatever grain you end up feeding. Crushed or boiled barley is good and can be quite fattening for now I’d feed a 1kg of that plus your chaff plus a good quality mineral vitamin supplement.
I usually recommend Selamin Gold for growing horses plus the calcium supplement Dancaphos. You will need to change the diet up or down according to the work you’re doing and how quickly he puts on weight. I don’t recommend molasses these days unless you have a really finicky eater as it can end up leading to insulin resistance and other health issues.
The reason he is sweating so much is that he isn’t used to synthetic rugs and even though they are breathable they are a lot warmer than the horse is used to and it can take a full season for them to adapt under them. Make sure you take it off during the day when the sun is out as it is worse for a horse to be too hot than too cold. An in between seasons rug can be a good introduction or back to a canvas rug which although expensive don’t seem to produce the same sweating reaction.
Cheers
Robyn
I have a 6yr old station-bred gelding who I have only owned for about four months. He came from a farm which was predominantly in Kikuyu grass onto our dairy farm which is mainly rye grass. After about a week he had all the signs of staggers which I treated. When I rode him on trial before I brought him he was very level headed, sensible and not at all spooky. Ever since I have owned him he is very spooky and easily distracted, definitely not the horse I brought! He is much better when riding in the company of other horses which makes me wonder whether it is behaviour rather than diet. Your advice would be much appreciated as I am slowly losing my confidence on him with all the spooking. I have no option but to graze him on the dairy farm, so removing him from the rye grass is not an option.
Unfortunately your horse has all the signs of a classic mycotoxin problem. Your dairy pasture will be a higher endophyte ryegrass and will be causing most if not all of your problems. Although he hasn’t had a return to the full blown staggers symptoms that he got in the first week on the farm he is still giving you all the signs that he is struggling under his current grazing. Spookiness, difficult to handle, touchy, irritability, unable to maintain focus on the work at hand, shying etc are all fairly classic symptoms. Normally I would suggest you change your grazing but as this is not an option then we need to look at other solutions. The easiest by far is by starting him on a supplement such as Equi-Guard + which is a nutritional aid that helps in the control and prevention of staggers and other mycotoxin related problems. Equi-Guard + also contains an organic magnesium that also helps with the spookiness. Directions for use are on the label but the company doesn’t mind you ringing them for further advice and their 0800 number is on the label. If you can restrict his grazing at peak mycotoxin times (i.e. whenever the pasture has been under stress from seasonal changes, harvesting, over grazing etc) and feed hay or silage that can help, be aware that if your supplements come from your own grazing then they might be quite high in mycotoxins as well. Make sure you have him on a good quality mineral vitamin supplement as well as his immune system is under a lot of pressure while he is trying to expel the mycotoxins and it needs all the support it can get. A suitable de-toxification product can also be helpful to lower the number of mycotoxins in the body and there are some good herbal ones in the market place at the moment.
Robyn
Hi, I have a 2yr pinto filly rising 3 on the 15th August, people are telling me that I should be feeding her and giving her nutrients to make her mature faster, but then others are saying just to leave her and let her mature on her own, what should I do?
When we give food and nutrients to a young horse it is not necessarily to get them to mature faster but to give them the building blocks to fulfil their genetic potential. We also want to create a healthy immune system and prevent future health problems by giving the young horse the best possible start. The early growth years set your horse up for the rest of its life and although we are lucky enough here in New Zealand to have grass all year round it can also be quite deficient in some of the essential minerals and vitamins that are required for growing our babies into healthy adults and at certain times of the year grass alone cannot provide enough energy for a young horse to be able to keep itself warm and support the growth surges that it’s body is going through. So yes it is important to supplement young horses and it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to create a balanced diet that will allow your pinto to develop into a healthy, sound riding horse. Most feed stores have an in house expert that can point you in right direction or you can contact the equine team at Nutritech who are also happy to help. There are also several good books available such as John Khonke’s “Feeding and Nutrition of Horses” that can be really helpful and easy to understand.
These questions below were answered by Jo Wrigley
Hi I own a tb and have just bought my first mini. I’m not sure as to what feed I should be giving them. at the moment my tb gets 2scoops of lite brew and 1 big handful of fibrepro chaff. Also he is on fortavite extra. My mini I will pick up in two weeks time. But as they are prone to foundering what should I give him he is 1yr where my tb is 8yrs old. I give my tb also a slab of meadow hay. Kind regards miranda Smith
My first question to the owner would be – ‘what work is the tb in? i.e. what are is energy requirements? Also, does he hold his weight well? Hay is good to give your horse, especially in the evening as it will help keep him warm through the night. Lamenshield or products high in magnesium are good for horses prone to founder – also keeping them off lush/ rich pasture is a must.
HI THERE, I HAVE A WEE MINI PONY THAT DOSNT HAVE A STRONG IMUNE SYSTEM, JUST WONDERING WHAT IS THE BEST FEED THAT MAY HELP HER IMUNE SYSTEM THROUGH THE WINTER AS HER PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE WORST. THO SHE HAS BEEN GETTING BETTER EACH YEAR I JUST DONT WONT HER TO CRASH AGAIN,SHE HAS WHAT A VET SAID REALLY BAD DEMERTIS THAT SEEMS TO COVER HER BODY BUT EACH YEAR SHE GETS LESS AND LESS (YAY) I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT ITS HER IMUNE SYSTEM. I HAVE BEEN FEEDING GARLIC AND ALOVA IN HER FEED WHICH WORKED WONDERS BUT WOULD LOVE TO HELP HER MORE OR DO YOU THINK THIS IS ENOUGH?
Something like protexin would be good to add to the feed as it will help her best utilize the food she is getting. Livamol is another good additive as it’s got all your oils, vitamins and is great for skin and coat. As for her feed, depending on her age, how she holds her condition, and the pasture she’s on, a pellet/grain mixed with some chaffhage would probably be sufficient.
We recently purchased a 9yr old warmblood horse for showjumping and hunting. He is jumping 1.2m and is in work. He was hardfed, now he lives at pony club grazing. His previous owners fed him twice per day on; 0.5 scoop bran 1 scoop NRM low gi sport mixed feed plus 1 tsp glucosamine 1 tsp calcium carbonate and 1 dsp magnesium. The last two have been stopped for the moment until we have sought further nutritional advice. 1) Is this a good mix? 2) Our coach hates bran, and said that we should introduce meadow chaff instead of bran as an appropriate energy source. Is she right?
Hi there… This is a big question… and here’s a suitably big answer….
The question is in 2 parts:
1) 0.5 scoop bran 1 scoop NRM low gi sport mixed feed plus 1 tsp glucosamine. Is this a good mix?
Generally, bran has some positives in horse diets, but opinions differ on whether it’s a laxative or not – generally most agree that a small amount of bran in a horse diet isn’t a laxative. Its generally accepted that its good for hiding medication (in a bran mash). Probably the biggest pitfall of bran is that it contains a high level of phosphorus and almost no calcium, which isn’t really that good for horses (for a number of reasons – calcium and mineral absorption).
It is not advisable to feed a great weight of bran to any horse, particularly those in work or growing, as calcium is vital for bone growth and muscle function.
NRM feeds are excellent feeds – the one you are feeding has the following feed recommendations (according to their webite):
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Bodyweight (mature)
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400kg
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500kg
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600kg
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Light Work
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1.5 kg/day
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2.0 kg/day
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2.5 kg/day
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Moderate Work
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2.5 kg/day
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3.0 kg/day
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3.5 kg/day
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Hard Work
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3.5 kg/day
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4.0 kg/day
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4.5 kg/day
|
Glucosamine is very good for joints, but a tsp is roughly 5g, so for maintenance you would probably want to double that.
This diet, with a pasture base could be lacking in calcium because of the bran component, but without more info about the pasture I couldn’t be certain – A good idea would be to consult your local equine vet for their opinion, or your coach – local knowledge would be really useful if you are unsure about the pasture. Or consult NRM.
2) Our coach hates bran, and said that we should introduce meadow chaff instead of bran as an appropriate energy source. Is she right?
As an energy source, meadow chaff is not very high – typical analysis would be around 7-8MJ of energy/kg (depending on what the pasture species in it are – high clover contents can increase the energy level). So its not very high in energy, whereas Bran does tend to have an energy value above 10 (but check the specs on what you are feeding as suppliers can differ). What the meadow chaffe is very good for is providing a better source of fibre.
Ultimately its up to you as to what you choose to feed and how you feed it. If you are definitely staying with the NRM feed, I would first of all consult them as to what they would consider the best complement with their feed – they designed it and they know all the ins and outs of their product. They will also have experience with whether your current regime is in fact calcium deficient, and mineral deficient from feeding the bran.
Hi there. I have a young TB mare who has a tendency to drastically lose weight over the winter. she is kept in regular work (5-7 days a week) with shows every couple of weekends. I don't keep her on my own property, so can't get to her to feed twice a day as has been suggested. No matter how much we feed her, she still seems to lose the weight and be hungry. She has a reasonably large paddock and is wormed regularly. I have heard so much different and controversial advice and am just confused and worried about how to help her keep weight on. Thanks!!! xxConfusedxx
There are a multitude of reasons that a horse would lose weight over the winter… but here are a couple of ideas that may be helpful…
Sometimes winter can be stressful for horses, causing them to become nervous and pace – and sometimes this can cause calories to burn more easily. A product you could try would be a probiotic – Protexin has 7 strains (the only one in NZ that is a 7 strain) of helpful bacteria. Two of the things that these do are optimize digestion of feed and stimulate apetite. So, it could be worth a look.
One of the really big problems that horses suffer from are Gastric Ulcers – around 90% of race horses and 60% of show horses are affected according to an article by Pagan and Huntington published in March 09 in the Equine Veterinary Practitioner Journal – I can send you a copy of this paper if you want to read up on it. One of the effects of gastric ulcers is weight loss – so maybe you need to talk to your local vet as to whether your horse could be affected – GNF is the product to use if your horse does have an issue with gastric ulcers.
Winter is colder, and energy is used to keep warm – check the energy levels of your horses diet, but remember that carb loading of the diet will make your horse “hot” and is not recommended. Your horse needs a balanced and high quality diet, but not a bulky diet – try not to be feeding loads of bulk without much substance – so avoid feeding high levels of a low quality hay (for example). You could try adding in some oils to your horses diet – what you choose depends on what you are already feeding, but if you want to feed a ready made blend, try Manderson’s mix – its currently used primarily in cattle and sheep, but it’s a animal tonic, and its readily available from vets and rural supplies stores and is a ready to use blend of 4 different oils, and there is no ingredient in it that is toxic to horses. Its also pretty low in cost.
I hope that helps!
I have a question regarding haylage, the hay that is wrapped after it has been cut. Is it ok to feed it instead of hay, and how much do you feed when first starting a horse on it and how much should you feed during winter?
Balage (baled silage if you like) is an excellent stock feed, and a good choice for horses too. It typically has a higher energy value than hay, and is more easily digested as well. Good quality silage should not be dripping with water, mouldy or sour smelling. The rule of thumb is that if the silage does not look and smell fresh, do not feed it out. Horses can get botulism from silage that is too old, or that has been poorly made. But don’t be too scared – you have a far less risk of ill health from baled silage as opposed to pit silage, and the risk of botulism in NZ is extremely low.
The other thing to remember is that once you open a bale, it does not keep for very long – you generally need to use it within a few days, unless you have some very cold temps which could extend that out to a week or so.
When changing the diet, it’s always good practice to make changes slowly – my thoughts are to make a change of no greater than ¼ of the feed per every 5-7 days – meaning, make a change and then stay with that for about a week before making another change.
How much you need to feed depends on activity level and climate, how big your horse is, and what else you are feeding. Might pay to talk to someone local who can guide you there.
Cheers, Jo
Okay my question is twofold. I have recently switched from feeding Alleviate C to another Magnesium brand - flexwell chelated Magnesium (It is meant to be very similar to aleviate). Now this Magnesium does not contain Calcium like alleviate does- Should I be suplimenting her with calcium as well (Just as a note she is fed lucern chaff) (http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Equestrian/Care-grooming/Other/auction-205877389.htm) - link to the flexwell chelated stuff) Second question - What does magnesium do - why does it affect horses so much?
First of all – why is magnesium important? – its incredibly important for muscle function. There was a really good article on horsetalk back in 2007. It tells you all about it, and I couldn’t write it better myself! So the link is http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/health/magnesium-121.shtml
The type of magnesium that you are feeding will affect at what rate you need to feed it – the horsetalk article that I have referenced above has some recommended rates for various forms of magnesium available on the NZ market. However, it doesn’t mention magnesium chelate – chelated magnesium is magnesium that is “formed” with amino acids, which makes it readily digestible and available. Magnesium chelate is a good choice for supplementation of magnesium.
Calcium is necessary for a number of functions too – primarily muscle and bone – Lucerne chaff does have calcium in it but check the bag, or ask the supplier for how much is in there. There is an interaction between calcium and magnesium, so if your horse is getting adequate calcium from the diet, additional calcium could suppress magnesium absorption. If we make an assumption that calcium is absorbed at an efficiency of around 50% then a 500kg horse needs about 20g of calcium – 0.04g Ca/kg BWT. If your horse is in work then an increased feed intake should cover the requirements. However, if she is pregnant or lactating, she may need more. If there is a calcium deficiency, one of the first signs is a weakness of the bones, and that presents as lameness – but the lameness can be inconsistent.
Have a chat with your equine vet if you see any of the signs of deficiency – you may need to do some further investigation as it could be something else altogether, that is presenting like a mineral deficiency.
Hi, I have a 17 year old stationbred mare who was recently diagnosed with high ringbone. We have given her a steroid into the joint and it made her feel better. My question is: Is there anything we can feed to her help maintain mobility and function of her body without loading on the fat (She is a good doer) Jessica
For a problem like high ringbone (which often tends to be a progressive disorder), the first step is to look at the horses conformation – getting the balance and shoeing right will help with halting the condition from getting any worse. Nutritionally, you may find you get results from hyaluronic acid – it is reported to be better than using something like glucosamine. Commercially it is available in NZ as Hydra-flex HA. Make sure you warm up your horse before any strenuous activity – that will also help. Keep your vet in the loop as you may need to continue some medical treatment as well – depending on the severity.
Hi Rebecca,
Looking at the diet you are feeding I would say that you have a slight energy deficiency in the diet as you are not feeding enough Pro Sport for the amount of work your horse is doing when taking into consideration that you are not feeding grass and he won’t eat hay. You appear to be working him quite hard and the recommendations on the label suggest 5.5-6kg of Pro Sport plus 3.5-4kg of hay for a 600kg horse in his level of work. You say that he is a very good doer and you don’t want him to hold anymore condition which suggests that he may have a slow metabolism as well. It might be better to use Formula 3 as you can keep the amount you are feeding down but raise the energy levels more. This feed also has plenty of minerals and oil in it so you probably won’t need the Power On.
I feel you really need to address the hay issue as you do need more fibre going through. Is there a problem with your hay or is he getting more grass than you think at home so that he feels that he doesn’t need the hay? I would try some lucerne if you can get it, it’s higher in protein so can also help with the energy deficiency plus horses find it very palatable. I would seriously look at something like Equi-Shield as well which can be used in conjunction with the feeds that you have now and is a helpful nutritional aid for horses with equine metabolic issues which clyde crosses can be prone to. Don’t forget to that at 6 I would expect that he may well be doing his last bit of growing which can also use up quite a bit of energy.
If you would like to discuss the specific of your horses diet further please feel able to call me at any stage on 0800 736 339.
Cheers, Robyn
How lovely to have a baby floating around the best part is that they tend to be a clean slate and turn into whatever you make of them.
The kicking in the back end is a sensitivity issue and needs to be addressed by de-sensitisation. Kicking becomes a learned behaviour and when she does it your automatic reaction is to pull out of harm’s way and she has achieved the desired result not to have her back legs touched and she now has you trained to what she wants i.e. not touching her hind legs. Do you have a crush or a race you can run her into or maybe a stable where she is more confined and can’t get away from the contact and where both she and you are safe from harm while you teach her how to have her legs handled?
Run her in and have a medium length stick that is padded on the end. Begin by rubbing it up her neck and on her body and down her front legs. She will try to move away but you have to keep persisting until she is standing perfectly still and is content to accept the contact. Once you have achieved that repeat with the back legs, when she starts to kick do not remove the contact. You are safe because she will only kick the stick if she does but in the meantime she is learning that it doesn’t matter how hard you kick the contact will not go away and she will give it up. You made need to do the same thing for several days until you judge it is safe enough for you to put your hand back there. When you do make sure you are standing with your body tucked well forward of her hind legs and up against her start at the top and gradually work your way down.
If you are not confident get somebody who is! This is make or break what she learns at this early stage will stand true for the rest of her life and if she thinks she can intimidate you she will continue to do so for the rest of her life.
As to the feeding, you do not say what type of weanling she is, judging by the amount of food you are currently giving her she is going to be a horse and not a pony. All the yearling weanling preparations have clear instructions on the bag and it is best to follow these. I would prefer to see you not mix two rations but use one and feed that to the optimum directions as these feeds are formulated to supply everything that your weanling requires in that ration. I would prefer to use the Weanling Mix to the Rapid Gain as the Rapid Gain is designed for underweight horses and those undergoing a sales preparation where you need to force the growth along more. Ideally you do not want to do that as it can be very easy to blow the joints out (i.e. cause joint growth plate problems by over feeding) if you are not sure of what you are looking at. In the same respect if you are using a whole feed then you won’t want the Hanley formula in there either because your weanling is already getting everything she requires.
If you like the feel of making up your own feed then I can suggest the following which I use on my own thoroughbred weanlings with good results.
750g Oats
500g Chaff (lucerne or Oaten)
1.5g Equi-Yeast (live yeast supplement to help with optimal growth)
15g Selamin Gold (mineral/vitamins)
120g Dancaphos (calcium/phosphorus supplement)
5g Equi-MOS (to help prevent viral and bacterial nasties)
35ml Oil ( I’m currently using unrefined Rice Bran Oil)
This is my base mix and I just alter the weights of the feed to the growing needs of the weanling. My weanlings are on the very best pasture I can find and are usually fed ad lib hay.
I hope this is helpful, if you require any further help please don’t hesitate to give me a call on 0800 736 339.
Cheers, Robyn