Shaking Out the Rugs: Getting Your Horse Ready for Autumn

Can you feel it? The mornings are suddenly feeling that little bit fresher, and the evenings are drawing in noticeably quicker. After a particularly hot and dry summer, we’re finally reaching for long sleeves.  

As seasoned horse owners, we know the British weather can change by the hour, let alone day. Before we know it, we’ll be digging out the winter rugs from the depths of the tack room, keeping our fingers firmly crossed that the mice haven’t damaged them. 

As the seasons change, our horses' routines inevitably do too. Grass is replaced by hay - we might be well ahead of the curve on this one after zero grazing already - and our horses may start spending more time stabled. Those with year-round turnout or all-weather turnout spaces – we envy you! 

Change is in the air, but with a little forethought the transition can be smooth and stress-free. To help you navigate this seasonal shift, we’ve put together our favourite practical tips and tricks to keep your horse happy, healthy, and thriving this autumn

Preparing Your Horse's Diet for Autumn

With grass likely to change particularly fast this autumn, the nights drawing in giving us less time to ride after work, and yard routines likely to change as the clocks fall back, don’t forget to consider how this impacts your horse’s digestive system. Planning ahead reduces likelihood of digestive setbacks and keeps them happy.

1. Introduce Dietary Changes Slowly

Whether you are opening a new batch of hay, changing paddocks, or starting a new bucket feed, the golden rule is make changes gradually. Try to introduce any new feed or forage over a period of 7 to 14 days. Your horse’s gut microbiome is a delicate ecosystem of trillions of microbes that cope better when given time to adapt to new fibre sources and feed ingredients. Making changes slowly is the best way to reduce the risk of digestive upsets.

2. Support Gut Health from the Inside Out

Choosing feeds with added prebiotics and probiotics can help maintain a more stable hindgut environment. Here is how you can support your horse's unique digestive needs:

3. Tailor Your Weight Management Strategy

Good doers and poor doers should ideally be managed differently regardless of time of year. Here’s our suggestions on how you can tailor your approach:

5. Smart Forage for Good Doers

We know how tough it can be to manage a horse who seems to live on fresh air, especially when they’re not exercising. Keeping them occupied without overfeeding can be a real balancing act. One useful tip is to feed clean, good-quality straw to replace up to 50% of their daily forage ration. Straw is more fibrous than hay, so takes longer to eat, which is particularly beneficial for good doers on limited rations. Increased chewing provides more saliva to naturally support digestive health. Straw is also lower in calories and sugars so helps reduce their overall intake too.