CHOOSING THE RIGHT FEED BAG

Question 1. What is the age of your horse?

The age of your horse will help determine its nutrient requirements. If the horse is young (birth to 2years) its nutritional needs are driven by growth. The nutritional demands of growth are high, most commercial growth and development feeds have protein contents between 14% and 16%. The requirements   for   other   nutrients   including   minerals   and vitamins are also increased in a young horse to support growth. The other type of horse that has nutrient requirements that are sensitive to age are old horses.  However, a senior horse does not become “senior” based solely on age. A horse is considered “nutritionally senior” when it can no longer eat its same diet and maintain body condition.   These horses require a special diet that provides readily available minerals and vitamins. Commercial   senior   feeds   are   easy   to   chew   and   highly digestible, along with having a high fiber content (to replace the fiber they can no longer effectively chew from hay or pasture). These feeds are typically pelleted and in severe cases can be soaked and made into a mash to facilitate easier consumption by the horse.  If your horse is either young or old select an appropriate product.

Question 2. What is the physiological stage or use of the horse?

There are several different physiological stages the horse could be in for example; stallion (non-breeding or breeding), pregnancy (early, mid, or late gestation), lactation, or growing (foal, weanling or yearling). These are easily characterized and have specific nutritional requirements. The use of the horse or activity level is more difficult to discern. The categories of activity used are maintenance or working (light, moderate, heavy, or very heavy exercise). When evaluating activity level we must look at the amount of work. Most horses that are ridden between 0 and 4 days a week for ½ to 1 hr per ride undergoing walk, trot and some canter would be considered maintenance to light exercise in terms of feeding requirements. Overestimating or underestimating your horse’s activity level results in either fat or thin horses. This practice compromises that amount of necessary nutrients that your horse is receiving. Pick a feed that is intended for the physiologic state of your horse   and   feed   appropriate   amounts   according   to   label directions.

Question 3. Has your horse been diagnosed with any relevant medical issues?

Relevant  medical  conditions  can  include  anything  from gastric   ulcers,   allergies,   kidney   problems   to   metabolic diseases  such  as  tying-up,  obesity,  insulin  resistance, laminitis, and Cushing’s. Avoid self diagnoses and ensure experts in the field have diagnosed the horses issue correctly. It is recommended that you work with an equine nutritionist to design a diet specific to your horses needs.

Question 4. What is your horses body weight and condition?

Most people do not have access to livestock scales and therefore need to find more accessible methods of estimating weight. A weight tape is very useful for this and can usually be found in most feed stores. If you do not have a weight tape you can also use a simple measuring tape. Measure the heart girth, then measure the length of the horse from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock. Use the following equation to estimate body weight: Heart girth (in) x Heart girth (in) x Length (in) divided by 330 = Weight (lbs)

Body Condition Scoring (BCS) is also a useful tool when managing horses and in particular deciding on the right feed choice. Body condition scoring involves the palpation and visual assessment of the degree of fatness of various areas of the horse, such as: over the ribs, tail head area, neck and withers, and behind the shoulders (Henneke et al., 1983). The scoring system uses a numeric scale of 1 to 9 where 1 is emaciated and 9 is obese. Regular condition scoring of your horse will help in deciding if your horse needs to gain, lose of just maintain weight.

Question 5. What forage do you have available?

Forage,  which  includes  hay  and  pasture,  should  be  the foundation  for  all  equine  feeding  programs.  The  feed  you select should complement the forage that you have available for your horse. If you have ready access to pasture and good quality hay you will generally have to feed less concentrate to reach the horse’s nutritional requirements (also depends on activity level). Low intake ration balancer products are a good choice under these conditions. Depending on the type of hay you have available, this will also influence your concentrate choice. Alfalfa hay has higher protein and energy than some grass hays and makes a good addition to a feeding program that  needs  some  additional  calories,  e.g  moderate  to  very heavy exercising horses, broodmares, and growing animals. Using these five criteria you should be better equipped in selecting  the  right  feed  for  your  horse.  Remember  always following the feeding guidelines outlined on each bag of feed. If these recommendations do not suit your horse then select a feed  that  you  can  follow  the  feeding  recommendations  to achieve the desired outcome.