Equestrian Life April 2018 Issue

feed and veterinary
Feeding at Grass
Evie Atterby. BSc(Hons) Nutritional Advisor at NAF
Many of us are
fortunate enough
to keep our horses
at grass, for the
majority of the time, stabling
as we need to. Perhaps we give
them hay or some chaff too, but
is this actually enough for them?
In the wild, pastures are hugely
more varied than the typical
monoculture paddocks that we
have today, with herbage and
different grasses providing a
broad spectrum of vitamins
and minerals. Our hay
or haylage comes from
the same, single grass
pastures and the drying
or ensiling process can
rapidly degrade the
nutritional value of the
product. The temptation
to top up the diet with
concentrate feeding is
common, however is
this the best option for
you and your horse?
Workload is an important factor
in considering the dietary
requirements of any horse, as
calorie excess will result in
weight gain, fairly rapidly. Is
my horse in hard work? Do they
sweat a lot? Are they a happy
hacker? These are the sorts
of questions we need to ask
ourselves, and be honest about.
If your horse is in light work,
hacking out at a leisurely pace
twice weekly, that’s great for you
both, but they won’t have the
maintenance requirements of a
point to pointer in training, so
we need to assess the individual
first. Horses and ponies who are
being asked to work regularly
at a medium level may well
benefit from a supplement which
offers value added condition,
with a focus on high quality gut
support, backed up by vitamins
and minerals. Gut support
enables the horse to maximise
on the nutritional content of a
high fibre diet, without adding
excess bulk. Look for low sugar
and starch content, as these
are major contributing factors
to weight gain, if unbalanced
with workload, but they can also
produce unwanted fizzing or
heating which can cause reduced
performance.
Furthermore the method
of feeding relatively large,
concentrated meals is not
particularly compatible with
the design of the equine gut.
Horses have small stomachs in
comparison to their body size,
the stomach being roughly the
same as a rugby ball. This allows
them to trickle graze efficiently,
small amounts of food very often
for up to 18 hours a day, however
by providing larger meals this
can challenge the digestive
tract leading to problems. The
hindgut microflora are in a
delicate balance and highly
digestible starch can cause
chaos, increasing colic risk, if we
aren’t careful. The old golden
rule of feeding, make changes
slowly, is golden for a reason.
Gradual change is key to the
health of the gut.
Signs that the hindgut may
be unsettled include loose
droppings, a dull coat and a
change in attitude. To support
the beneficial microflora
population feed a dietary
digestibility enhancer. Within
the EU the only legally approved
probiotic for horses is the
live yeast, Saccharyomyces
cerevisiae, so look for that on
the label. Prebiotics are often
fed alongside probiotics, as
they support the action of the
live yeast whilst suppressing
the growth of harmful or
pathogenic bacteria. Prebiotics
are listed on the label as
‘Fructooligosaccharides’
or sometimes
‘Mannanoligosaccharides’. To
ensure good daily gut health in
field kept horses, particularly
through the periods of changing
or rapid grass growth, consider
supplementing with a probiotic
and prebiotic blend for gut
support.
Oil is a great addition to the diet
of many horses, providing slow
release energy in a calorie dense
form. If feeding oil for energy it
may be fed up to around half a
pint a day, however remember to
build up to that level gradually,
supplementing with additional
vitamin E to balance the high
oil diet. Long used for numerous
nutritional purposes, oil is also
beneficial in the ridden horse
as it helps to protect from acid
splashing the sensitive stomach
wall. If you have a horse who
struggles to keep condition at
grass, but perhaps isn’t one for
eating big buckets of feed, oil
can help.
A fresh supply of water is a must,
no matter the season or weather.
When your horse sweats he loses
valuable salts called electrolytes
from his system, particularly
sodium, potassium, calcium
and magnesium, which need to
be replaced in order to avoid
fatigue. Electrolyte replacements
are generally available in salt
or liquid form and can be added
to the water or feed to get to
work rapidly. Electrolytes are
commonly associated with the
top level performance horses,
but all horses can benefit from
a natural, unflavoured salt lick
as this enables them to selfsupplement,
as required.
www.equestrianlifemagazine.co.uk 31