Horses are individuals. This means that the amount and type of feed that they require to maintain their bodyweight, condition and energy levels for riding will depend upon many factors. Some of these include
· their age, health and temperament
· the amount and type of work they are asked to carry out
· environmental conditions
· the body condition required
· the type of ride preferred
· their metabolic efficiencies
Amount and type of work
A definition of amount and type of work is always difficult to achieve. A guide to work levels can be seen in the table below, but remember that overall energy requirements will vary depending on other factors in individual horses.
|
MAINTENANCE |
Horses and ponies not working, or those being ridden very infrequently. |
|
LIGHT WORK |
Hacking or leisure riding, 1 hr a day or 2-3 times a week. |
|
Light competition |
|
Early fittening |
|
MEDIUM WORK |
Regular competition, dressage, showjumping or eventing. |
|
HARD WORK |
Advanced level competition including eventing and endurance |
|
Hunting regularly twice a week |
|
Racing |
How do I feed my ‘good doer’ or overweight horse?
In most cases the reason a horse is overweight is because they have stored excess energy/calories as fat i.e. they have been overfed relative to their activity level.
Many horses who are ridden occasionally may not require any more than maintenance energy intake, and yet many are fed much more than this. Similarly horses turned out to pasture at certain times of the year might be getting several times their energy/calorie requirement.
Firstly look at the overall diet – if a horse is in too good a condition but is still being fed a compound feed with plenty of hay consider the following feeding strategies. The preferred option will depend on the current and desired body weight and the individual circumstances:
- Check the analysis of the current forage and if necessary move to lower energy forage such as late seed cut hay (avoiding forages such as alfalfa or high energy haylage). A low calorie hay replacer may be useful but remember never restrict the total amount of forage to less than 1% of bodyweight per day which for a 15.2 hh would be around 5kg per day
- Check the energy level of your compound feed; if appropriate consider changing to one which is lower in energy/calories whilst providing a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals such as SPILLERS® Cool Concentrate.
- Consider your horses pasture, even in the winter on good grass your horse could consume more than 3 times his appetite if out all day
Other factors to consider
Importance of exercise: Ideally a combination of one or more of the above measures along with an increase in exercise or activity is recommended.
The increase may be via an increase in the number of exercise occasions, their length , intensity or a change in the type of formal activity (riding/lunging etc) as well prolonging free activity in the paddock.
Appetite and chewing time : Wherever appropriate the diet can be made up to near appetite levels by adding in low energy forages. Consider the use of meal extenders and techniques such as small holed haynets/double haynets to ensure that the horse takes as long as possible to eat the feed provided.
In summary
- Do not attempt to make rapid changes in the horse’s weight or diet
- Set realistic targets and monitor the horse’s weight and condition on a regular basis
- Check the basic diet and make alterations as appropriate
- Be realistic over the amount and type of work the horse does when putting together a ration
- Know how much is being fed- make sure scoops and haynets are weighed. Analysing the forage may also be useful to enable a thorough understanding of what is being fed to the horse.
If you would like any help on putting together a ration to help your horse or pony loose weight, contact the SPILLERS® Care-line on 01908 226626 or care-line@spillers-feeds.com