( ADVICE FROM THE VET )
you have to reduce their forage ration.
Another thing that can contribute
to your horse’s weight loss is to avoid putting a rug on in winter. If your horse is in full work and ridden sweaty several times a week, it is recommended to clip and rug it. However, if your horse only does light hacking or doesn’t do any work at all, letting the hair grow might be the best option. The horse will grow a coat heavy enough to protect it, even in sev- eral minus degrees, and being a bit cold and having to grow a long coat increases their metabolism and helps them to lose weight. Always remember, as with ourselves, weight loss doesn’t occur on a day to day basis. The best way to keep track of your horse’s weight loss is by weighing it on a scale. Most vets have a weigh-bridge and will allow you to come and weigh your horse at the practice. Obviously, this doesn’t work for everyone. A good alternative is to use a weigh tape. They are not as accurate as a weighing scale but they will give you a good estimate. Make sure to
place the tape in the same position every time you weigh your horse. To ensure this you can clip a small mark in the coat. Weekly weight checks will give you a good idea if your horse is losing weight.
The Poor Doer For the underweight horse or “poor doer”, forage is the corner stone of the diet. The horse should have access to ad lib forage of a good quality. If your horse is already on ad lib forage and you don’t think it’s putting on enough weight, it can be a good idea to get an analysis of your hay or haylage to know how good the quality is and how many nutrients it contains. Several feed companies offer forage analysis. In some cases, a forage-based diet is not enough and adding a complementary feed is necessary. This is especially with horses that are in high work. Many feed companies have ready mixed complementary feed. These are the easiest option as the mix already has balanced vitamins and minerals in them. Choose one that has a high calorie content. Remember to
feed according to the instructions. Use a weigh tape to accurately estimate your horse’s weight. If you feed below the manufacturer’s recommendation, please note that additional vitamins and minerals supplementation is required. If you are struggling for your horse to gain weight despite being adequately fed good quality forage and complementary feed, there might be an underlying problem. We recommend getting your horse’s teeth checked and to perform a worm egg count to see if there are any problems or a parasitic burden that is causing the horse not to gain weight. Horses should always have unlimited access to clean, fresh drinking water. Winter is the prime time for impaction colics due to horses staying inside, eating roughage but not getting enough water. This is oſten because the water is too cold or frozen solid. If it’s very cold there are a few ways to prevent the water troughs from freezing. You can place a tennis ball in the water bucket, the ball bopping around in the water will prevent an ice layer from forming. Changing the size of your bucket to a bigger one can help, as a larger amount of water will take longer to be cold enough to freeze. Alternatively, you can top up the water with warm water. Most important is to check your horse’s water morning and evening and removing the ice formed rather than just breaking it.
Another thing that is important to remember when feeding your horse, not just in winter, is that the horse has a very sensitive gastro intestinal system. If you change your horse’s feed, always do it gradually over a period of 7-10 days. Horses can take up to 3 to 4 weeks to adjust to new feeding regimes and by gradually intro- ducing new feed, you will lower the risk of colic.
About the author: Line Kjær graduated from Copenhagen University in 2015. Aſter graduating she went to South Africa where she completed a rotating internship. Line has since travelled the world working with equine reproduction before settling in the Midlands where she works for Avonvale Equine Practice.
Please mention Central Horse News What’s On when responding to advertisements JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 17
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