manage energy
Winter feeding Q&A Your questions answered by Jane Buchan from Baileys Horse Feeds...
Q:- I am confused about the best way to keep a check on a horse’s weight and condition. Is it best to use a weightape? How accurate are they? Or should I rely on condition scoring? I’d also like to understand the difference between the 1-5 scale and the newer 1-9 scale and which one is more useful.
A:- A combination of weightaping and Body Condition Scoring (BCS) is the best way to monitor a horse’s weight and condition, especially if you are aiming for the horse in question to gain or lose weight. Weighing your horse on a weighbridge is likely to give you a more accurate reading than a weightape but, if you weightape at the same time, you will see how the tape compares to the scales and can continue with regular taping to monitor bodyweight. Body Condition Scoring is useful to assess the amount of body fat a horse is carrying and involves a visual and hands-on evaluation of certain areas, like the neck, over the ribs and the tail-head. The 1 to 5 scale was adapted for horses from those used to assess livestock, while the 1 to 9 system was developed specifically for horses and gives scope for a greater degree of accuracy. Whichever scale you use, you can score each area of the horse separately (neck, middle, quarters) then calculate an average BCS for the whole horse. It is also possible to evaluate a horse’s muscle development in a similar way and it is
important to distinguish between muscle and fat when assessing whether the horse is in suitable condition for its workload.
Q:- How do I decide which feed balancer is the best choice for our two ponies? Both are Welsh crosses and geldings; one is 13.2hh and aged 10, the other is 14.2hh and a 7-year old. They both do all the Pony Club rallies and enjoy unaffiliated showjumping. In the winter, they are worked four or five days a week – I ride and lead through the week, the boys ride at the weekends and sometime do a midweek evening rally.
A:- All feed balancers follow the same principles of supplying essential nutrients, which are likely to be lacking in the forage element of the diet, without the calories associated with a ‘traditional’ mix or cube. This makes them ideal for good-doers, whose calorie requirements are met by forage alone, or for those horses who don’t quite need the calories from the full amount of a compound feed but can still be fed a balanced diet by topping up with a balancer. For your two ponies, I would choose one that is designed to support up to moderate levels of work and feed it according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Depending on the ponies’ calorie requirements, you can feed the balancer with a little low calorie chaff or with alfalfa chaff or soaked unmolassed beet pulp, if a few more
calories are deemed necessary. A good quality balancer will supply quality protein with the necessary amino acids to build and maintain muscle and healthy hooves and other tissues. A full balance of vitamins and minerals will then support health, well- being, performance and recovery. Most also contain a yeast and/or other digestive enhancers to promote gut health and digestive efficiency, while some balancers contain “nutraceuticals”, like ingredients to support joint health.
Q:- What are the practical differences between feeding hay and haylage? Is haylage likely to make my 15.2hh Connemara cross mare fizzy as I’ve always fed hay before, but we didn’t manage to make any this year because of the weather? What else will she need in her diet? She’s ridden maybe four times a week and competes once or twice a month in unaffiliated dressage and show jumping. We hack out at the weekends, weather permitting and she’s out in the field every day, stabled overnight.
A:- Haylage has a higher moisture content so, weight for weight, you need to feed more haylage to meet minimum fibre requirements but the nutritional value of hay and haylage can vary greatly between each individual crop so it is not always true that haylage is, for example, more calorific. Some of the more commercially-produced, often small-baled haylage, will have
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a declared nutritional analysis which will give you an idea of its potential feed value. Otherwise, as a guide, stalkier, coarser forages (hay or haylage) tend to be later cut and lower in both calories and other nutrients as well as less digestible. This makes them ideal for good-doers who still need to maintain fibre consumption, while controlling calorie intake. For poorer- doers and those needing to maintain or gain condition, softer, leafier, earlier-cut forages are more nutritious and digestible. If your mare is a good-doer, it is likely that good quality hay or haylage will provide sufficient calories to meet her requirements and that a low calorie balancer could then be fed alongside to provide essential nutrients for a balanced diet. If she needs additional calories alongside forage, to maintain condition and fuel her work, choose a mix or cube formulated to support up to moderate work and feed it according to the guidelines on the bag. If your mare tends to be fizzy, consider feeding a cube over a mix, as this will be lower in starch, which supplies readily available energy. Also, look for feeds with high levels of fibre and oil, for slow release energy, rather than cereals, which supply quick release energy and are more suited to the laid back type.
For more information and feeding advice, visit www.
baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk - email
info@baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk or telephone 01371 850247
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