Equestrian Life May 2018 Issue

feed and veterinary
What to Feed
THE GOOD-DOER
Horses and ponies have
evolved to make the
most of poor quality
grass whilst frequently
moving over long distances
in search of better grazing
areas. This environment can
be difficult to mimic in modern
management regimes and it
is common to find horses and
ponies that maintain weight
easily, or even too well. The
breed or type is also hugely
influential.
The solution to keeping your
good-doer in a slim, healthy
condition lies in what you feed
him, as well as his exercise
regime.
Luckily, there are products on
the market that enable you to
provide your good-doer with all
of the vital nutrients he needs
without the excess calories
which lead to weight gain. It is
important that this weight gain
is avoided as there are health
The ideal way of controlling
grass intake is to graze poor
quality hill land with lessproductive
grass species
concerns associated with being
overweight, such as laminitis,
metabolic conditions and
arthritis.
GRAZING
For many good-doers grazing
will need to be restricted. The
ideal way of controlling grass
intake is to graze poor quality
hill land with less-productive
grass species. This provides
a larger area to graze which
will help to burn off calories.
However, this is not a luxury
available to most.
Access to grazing usually needs
to be restricted in other ways;
by co-grazing with other species
(e.g. sheep), using a grazing
muzzle, reducing paddock size
with electric fencing (e.g. strip
grazing) or turning out in a
‘sacrifice paddock’ with a safely
hung net of soaked hay or straw
chop.
Restricting the time spent on
good grass can be of limited
benefit compared to other
options, as ponies increase their
intake in the turnout time given.
However, it may be the only
practical solution.
CONSERVED FORAGE (HAY)
Care should be taken to avoid
reducing fibre intake excessively.
Therefore, when grazing is
restricted and time is spent off
the grass, forage should still
be provided to help maintain a
healthy digestive system. It is
important never to starve a horse
or pony, as this can have fatal
consequences.
A high-fibre, late-cut meadow
hay is usually the most suitable
conserved forage to use, although
a late-cut, high-fibre haylage
may be appropriate for some.
One manufacturer has
introduced an extremely lowcalorie
and low sugar/starch
chopped oat straw which can be
used to partially replace hay or
haylage, to help avoid horses and
ponies standing for too long (> 6
hours) without forage available.
Rather than reducing the amount
of hay fed to an overweight horse
or pony, hay can be soaked in
ample cool, fresh, water for
32 May 2018 Equestrian Life