FeedXL Equine Nutrition Team

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Entries by FeedXL Equine Nutrition Team

Oil for Horses: Good or Bad?

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Hard working horses have enormous requirements for energy that are traditionally filled using high grain rations fed together with chaff and hay. However, feeding large amounts of grain does come with its own set of issues which can include colic, hindgut acidosis, nervous or fiery behaviour, tying up and loss of appetite. Oil has gained popularity in recent years as a substitute source of energy for working horses, but is it effective, how much can be fed, are all oils equal in the benefits they can provide and do they cause any health issues of their own?

Feeding the Weanling

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Weanling stage is a critical stage in the growth and development of a horse and nutrition plays a pivotal role. Weanling nutrition influences the horse’s final size and perhaps more importantly plays a large role in determining the horse’s long term structural soundness.

As for all horses, a weanling’s energy, protein, mineral and vitamin requirements must be met. This article discusses each of these dietary components in some detail and 3 potential diets for weanlings in different circumstances are given.

Does Your Horse Need Electrolytes?

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As a horse exercises its muscles generate heat. To prevent its body from dangerously overheating, the horse sweats to allow evaporative cooling to dissipate the heat being produced. As a horse sweats, water and electrolytes, including sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium are lost from the body.

For effective sweating to occur, the horse must be well hydrated and have an ample supply of electrolytes in its body. The electrolytes and water lost through sweating must be replaced during exercise to prevent electrolyte depletion and dehydration. This newsletter will look at what electrolytes are and why they are important, how much ‘electrolyte’ a horse needs, where horses get electrolytes from in the diet and when to use an electrolyte supplement.

Feeding the ‘Pony Club’ Mount

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A good pony club mount is a precious commodity and they often require special care to keep them fit, healthy and active for as many years as possible. Sound nutrition should form the basis of this care. Pony Club mounts are also carrying an even more precious load, your children; and in this respect, temperament is everything. The following article gives you some tips on how to keep your Pony Club mounts healthy and calm without costing yourself a fortune.

The Importance of Fibre for Horses

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Several different forms of carbohydrates form what we call ‘fibre’. These carbohydrates include cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Fibre cannot be digested in a horse’s small intestine. Instead, they rely on the billions of bacteria that live in their hindgut to digest it via fermentation for them. Fibre, which is also called ‘structural carbohydrate’, is essentially provided by the pasture, hay, chaff, haylage and high fibre feeds like sugarbeet and legume hulls in your horse’s diet. Fibre is the single most important component of a horse’s diet (after water) as without it, their digestive tract can’t function as it should. So why is it so important and what will happen if your horse doesn’t get enough?

Protein: Can You Feed Too Much?

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Protein is a very important component of all horse diets and as discussed in our FeedXL Newsletter #30, ‘Understanding Protein Quality’, the quality of protein used in diets will largely determine how well that diet can support functions that rely on protein including growth, reproduction, athletic performance and muscle building.

But can we get carried away with protein in a horse’s diet? Can too much protein be fed? And are the very high protein pastures that are so common nowadays a problem for horses? The answer to those questions is ‘yes and no’, it all depends on the circumstances your horse find itself in. Let’s look in more detail at when high protein diets may be a problem.

Magnesium for Horses: Which Form is Best?

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With much focus at present on magnesium in equine diets the question of which form of magnesium is best arises. There are many ‘forms’ of magnesium available and suitable to be fed as magnesium supplements. Unfortunately, there are currently no extensive studies that look at the comparative bioavailability of these various forms of magnesium in horses. In fact, there are very few studies in any monogastric animal species, including humans, on the bioavailability of different types of this nutrient. To help us understand which forms of magnesium are best for horses, let’s first look at where and how magnesium is absorbed.

Feeding on the Move

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Horses in modern day society travel a lot. In fact it is amusing to think that throughout history, a horse’s most basic function was to transport humans from point A to B, and yet now we spend so much time and money transporting them. Transport for horses can be stressful, both physically and mentally. But as with all things, having a well prepared horse at the start of a journey means you have a far better chance of having a healthy horse at the end of the journey. Feeding and nutrition have a big role to play, both in preparing horses for a journey and keeping them healthy and content during the journey. The following article provides help with feeding before and during travel with horses.

Spring & Autumn Pastures

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As temperatures warm up heading into spring or cool down heading into autumn you will start to notice your pastures changing as temperature and moisture conditions change. In spring you will usually see a rapid growth of lush pasture while in autumn, depending on the climate you may see a flush of growth similar to that of spring in warmer climates, or you may simply get a slower growth of lush pasture in cooler areas with possible early frosting. While this new growth is usually a welcome site and means horses are able to return to or remain out on pasture, this new growth pasture can present some unique problems for horses.

Pasture: Is it Affecting Behaviour?

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During times of the year when pasture is young, lush, very green and growing quickly it is common to find horse owners having problems with their horse and particularly their behaviour. Normally quiet, calm horses can become ‘spooky’, behave erratically and become excited easily, show signs of incoordination, muscle tenseness, soreness or twitching and in severe cases may become dangerously aggressive and exhibit unusual herding behaviour.

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