Feeding the Hard Keeper
- Feed high quality hay, hay replacer or add some alfalfa hay to the diet. ...
- Select a senior horse feed for older horses
- Switch to a high-fat feed or add a high-fat supplement. Fat contains 2.25 times more calories than the same amount of carbohydrate or protein. ...
- Feed according to body weight and activity level. ...
- Make dietary changes gradually. ...
Which feed is right for my horse?
The 10 Best Horse Feeds – Reviews 2021
- Buckeye Nutrition Gro ‘N Win Pelleted Horse Feed – Best Overall. ...
- Tribute Equine Nutrition Kalm N’ EZ Pellet Horse Feed – Best Value. Horses eat a massive amount of food. ...
- Crypto Aero Wholefood Horse Feed – Premium Choice. ...
- Buckeye Nutrition Ultimate Finish. ...
- Cavalor Fiberforce Horse Feed. ...
- Tribute Equine Nutrition Essential K Horse Feed. ...
What is the best feed for senior horse?
- If the horse cannot eat hay (leaves wads of hay by feeder): Feed complete feed with highly digestible fiber. ...
- Assure high quality sources of protein, vitamins and minerals.
- If the horse cannot chew well, one can make a slurry of complete (and/or) extruded feed.
- Feed at least 3 times a day.
What does everyone feed their hard keepers?
When feeding hard keepers, it is important to have a high quality forage source. This can be pasture grass, a good high quality first crop hay, second crop hay, an alfalfa hay mix, or straight alfalfa. Alfalfa is extremely good for horses, it is not only great for putting on weight but can also help with ulcers.
Do horses like sweet feed or pellet feed?
Horses usually prefer to eat sweet feed over pellets. Most horses find a sweet feed to be more palatable, as it is made up of a mix of rolled and pressed oats, along with some corn. Pellets on the other hand are made of a variety of pressed grains. The grains are round up into a very fine powder-like form then pressed into a small pellet form.
How do you fatten up a hard keeper?
You can add fat to the diet by top-dressing vegetable oil or soy oil (gradually working up to 1 ½ cups per day), or providing a high-fat supplement, such as rice bran or even sunflower seeds, which most horses relish.
What do you feed a highly strung horse?
Fibrous feeds that are fermented in the hindgut to release energy are the most natural and also the 'coolest' sources of energy for horses. Using forages like pasture, hay, and chaff to provide the majority of the energy in your horse's diet will help to keep your horse calm and responsive.
What do you feed a hyper horse?
An increase in 2% protein in the concentrate increased protein intake by 55 grams per day. For context, feeding 20 lb per day of a moderate quality grass hay with 13% crude protein will provide 1,180 grams of protein to the horse's diet.
What to give a horse to calm them down?
If the horse needs a mild calming effect, I'll typically recommend a magnesium or herbal product with tryptophan, such as Quietex or Quiessence. There are lots of combinations of other ingredients including valerian root or Thiamine/Vitamin B1. An alternative is Mare's Magic- made of raspberry leaf extract.
What is a hard keeper horse?
However, there are many horses out there , that struggle to gain or maintain a healthy weight, these horses are referred to as “hard keepers.”.
What is the best fat supplement for horses?
These supplements are great for adding to your horse’s grain. However one thing to keep in mind when feeding a fat supplement is omega 3’s and omega 6’s. Omega 3’s are anti-inflamatory, and Omega 6’s are pro-inflamatory, and they need to be kept at the ratio of omega-3:omega-6 1:3.
What happens if you feed a horse too much grain?
Horses fed more than .5% of their body weight per feeding are at a higher risk for hindgut acidosis, colic and ulcers. Horses have fairly large stomachs, and can easily get overloaded being fed too much grain. Too much grain can also provide large quantities of carbohydrates which can provide too much energy and make horses misbehave ...
What is the importance of nutrition for horses?
Nutrition: Feeding the Hard Keeper. Nutrition and a balanced diet are just as important for horses as they are for people. Horses are herbivores that are designed to graze for the majority of the day. Unfortunately, most barns and equine facilities do not enable us to allow our horses access to pasture for that amount of time.
Is alfalfa good for horses?
Alfalfa is extremely good for horses, it is not only great for putting on weight but can also help with ulcers. However, since alfalfa is so rich it is important not to overfeed, and introduce it to your horse slowly so as not to upset their stomachs.
Do Thoroughbreds need extra calories?
Thoroughbreds have a reputation for being hard keepers, as well as performance horses that are in intense work. Any horse that was under fed or rates poorly on the body condition scale may need extra calories . The first thought many people have is to feed hard keepers more grain, however; this isn’t necessarily correct.
Can horses have unlimited pasture?
Unfortunately, most barns and equine facilities do not enable us to allow our horses access to pasture for that amount of time. For many horses, a lack of unlimited pasture is a good thing, as the term “easy keeper” applies. These horses tend to maintain their body condition very easily and can be sustained on minimum grain and standard hay amounts.
What to feed a horse with poor dentition?
If it’s a horse with poor dentition then you must introduce forage replacements that can be made into a mash. A complete senior feed will work well. Beet pulp is also a favorite of mine. Average protein, high fiber, low NSC is the prescription for a healthy hindgut and that’s beet pulp.
What is the best source of fat for horses?
The biggest byproduct of this process are volatile fatty acids. VFAs are the best source of fat and subsequent weight gain for a horse because that’s how it works in their natural environment.
Why can't horses grind forage?
In order to maintain weight horses must process forage which can’t be processed if it hasn’t been properly chewed. Without healthy bearing surfaces the horse is unable to grind forage finely enough to be processed by the 120 feet of equine digestive system behind them.
Why is starch bad for horses?
This is the reason the worst thing for an underweight horse is to load it up with large, high calorie, high starch meals . Doing this sets up a cascade of events that end in disaster and in some extreme cases death.
How many calories should a horse eat a day?
There are no “hard keepers”. The NRC puts the daily caloric requirement for an average 1,100 pound horse in little or no work at around 14,000 per day. If that horse is eating 20 pounds of quality grass hay at 800 calories per pound they should easily maintain their weight providing everything is working properly.
How does the digestive system work on a horse?
The horse’s digestive system works on a 36 to 48 hour cycle in order to extract the maximum amount of nutrients from forage. Like a factory assembly line there’s only so much room on the conveyor belt so if we overload the filler chute the conveyor must move faster. We call this rate of passage and increasing the rate of passage decreases the amount of time food has available for processing.
How to put weight on a horse?
The traditional way of putting weight on a horse was to add fat to it’s diet. Sometimes it actually worked but there are consequences.
What to feed an elderly horse?
A mash or complete pelleted feed (preferably sourced from whole grains) may be required for the elderly horse whose cheek teeth do not meet to grind, or who is missing most of his teeth. This is where the importance of semi-annual dental evaluations comes in! The mash can be made with rice bran and flaxseed, as mentioned above. You can also try a warm oatmeal mixture, which can include other whole ingredients such as barley, squash, pumpkin and fruits. Apples, carrots, peaches, eggplants and tomatoes can also be added to a mash, and a few sprinkles of cinnamon can add flavor and help stimulate appetite and digestion.
How to feed a horse in winter?
A great starting point is to use two cups of rice bran, two tablespoons of flaxseed powder and two cups of beet pulp at each meal. For some horses, this is enough to maintain good body weight through the winter. For others, the amount of beet pulp will need to be gradually increased. Keep in mind that beet pulp should be soaked for 30 minutes before feeding. Ideally, flaxseeds should be freshly ground to take advantage of the Omega fatty acids they contain.
What does it mean when a horse is reactive?
Reactive means the horse pulls away or “flinches” when the points are evaluated. If the horse is only reactive at ST-7, or on only one side, it suggests a possible Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) issue and indicates a good reason to consult an equine dentist. But if the horse is also reactive on CV-12, ulcers might be the culprit.
What is the best treatment for ulcers in horses?
Methods for addressing ulcers range from conventional treatment with omeprazole, to alternative treatment with aloe, marshmallow root, slippery elm and Chinese herbal formulas such as Happy Earth. Some horses do best with ongoing herbal support to prevent recurrence.
What is a hard keeper horse?
Hard keepers are horses that have difficulty putting on weight and are prone to losing it quickly. They are heavily affected by cold weather and experience the greatest weight loss in the winter. Not only is it crucial to know how to maintain the hard keeper’s body mass as best you can, it’s important to start the season off right! The following suggestions will help you get off on the right foot.
Do horses have parasites?
Most horses are on some kind of regimen to prevent parasite buildup, but many on a “preventative” program are still infested with intestinal parasites. In fact, some horses on daily prevention programs will actually develop parasite infections that are resistant to the de-wormers. Similarly, horses on a routine de-worming regimen, regardless of whether it’s the same de-wormer or a rotational program, can also have parasite loads. It’s much more common than you might think.
What do horses eat?
If you want your horse to eat, be sure to offer something “yummy.”. Most horses prefer lush, green, high-quality hay over options that are stemmy or dry. (And, as an added benefit, those high-quality hays typically offer more calories per bite.)
Why does my horse refuse to eat?
Even something as simple as chronic musculoskeletal pain can cause a horse to refuse his food. Here are just a few of the potential causes of your horse’s poor appetite. Organic disease. Your horse is experiencing illness related to a major body organ such as his liver or kidneys.
How to get a picky eater to eat?
Set up an environment where your picky eater can view a horse stabled next door at feeding time and see if that stimulates his instincts to eat. If that’s not possible, consider installing a non-breakable mirror next to the feeding area in his stall—his own reflection might prompt him to grab some grub.
What happens if you leave old feed in stall?
Plus, if you leave that old feed in his stall or bucket long enough for it to get damp, moldy, and stinky, it’s likely to make your picky horse even pickier. This is the most common feeding mistake I see—and one of the easiest to solve.
Why does my horse turn his nose up?
If you top-dress with a supplement or medication that tastes bad, he may turn up his nose at the entire meal. Even administering a bad-tasting medication (such as bute) an hour or more before feeding time can cause your picky horse to refuse his food.
How to diagnose a horse's dental problems?
To accurately diagnose a dental problem, your vet will sedate your horse and use a full-mouth speculum—a large metal device that holds his mouth open for access to all areas. Many dental problems can be solved reasonably easily, putting an end to your horse’s picky eating once and for all.
Why does my horse's stomach hurt when he eats?
Gastric ulcers. Your horse has inflammation and erosion of the tissues lining his stomach , and these conditions cause pain when he eats. Many symptoms—ranging from girthiness and poor performance to chronic colic, poor appetite, and weight loss—are blamed on gastric ulcers.
What to feed an older horse?
Try hay cubes or soaked beet pulp, which is low in sugars and highly digestible. This is especially important for older horses whose teeth may be worn down so that they can no longer grind long-stemmed hay. Grain is calorie-dense, but horses can't easily digest large grain meals.
What is the best fat to feed a horse?
There are also many commercial feeds with high fat levels; if your horse is a fussy eater, these are the best choice as the fat is camouflaged within the mix.
Why is my horse's cecum so poor?
A poor balance of fiber-digesting microflora (helpful bacteria) in the cecum, often the result of illness and/or antibiotic treatment. For a number of reasons, older horses may have a difficult time in maintaining a healthy weight. Most often, problems are associated with dental problems and changes in the herd social order.
How do horses gain weight?
In order for your horse to gain weight, he must take in more calories than he burns – but you must be careful not to deliver a diet so energy-dense that his system overloads and triggers colic or founder.
What causes a horse to not eat enough feed?
Gastric ulcers, which compromise the appetite as well as the absorption of nutrients from feed. Lameness, which may compromise a horse's mobility and make it difficult for him to consume enough feed. In horses 20 years and older, a decreased ability to digest feed and absorb nutrients across the gut wall.
How to keep skinny horses from stealing?
If you feed your horses outside, remember that if your skinny horse is not one of the "alpha" personalities, his more dominant herdmates may be stealing his dinner. Try separating him from the herd at mealtimes, either in a stall or in a separate paddock.
How to increase grain intake in horses?
If you want to increase your horse's grain intake, choose processed grains that are more digestible, such as crimped oats or a pelleted or extruded complete feed, and feed them in small quantities several times a day.
