Feeding Aged Horses
If there are teeth missing or drastically worn,
then it is going to be hard for this horse to deal with hay as it comes from the bale or pasture.
Instead, offer him something easier to deal with, like chaff, pellets or grass pellets.
Tips When Preparing Hard Meals
1.
Feed little and often. If you need to feed large amounts of grain (more then 5kg per day for a 500kg horse),
split the total amount into three meals per day rather then two.
2.
Limit hard feed meals to about 2.5kg per meal of grain/pellets/sweetfeed (for a 500kg horse) plus a similar volume of chaff if desired.
Chaff is light and voluminous, so your 2.5kg grain adds up to 4 litres, an additional 4 litres of chaff is likely to only weigh
about 800g, which makes the total meal around 3.3kg.
3.
For smaller or larger horses, use the rule of 500g hard feed per 100kg body weight at each meal.
4.
Use long cut chaff where possible rather then the fine steam cut chaff. This encourages more chewing and salcation and slows
the rate of intake.
5.
For horses that bolt their feed, consider any of the following methods to slow them down a bit:
6.
Add large, smooth rocks to the feed bin for them to eat around.
7.
Design a grille that fits over the top of the feed trough through which the horse has to pick
rather then taking big mouthfuls.
8.
Pour grain feed over fluffed up hay so they have to rummage around for the feed.
9.Feed smaller, more frequent meals with plenty of long-cut chaff.
By taking care of your horse's digestive system and being mindful of the amount of food he can handle at one time,
you will increase digestive efficiency and reduce the risk of digestive problems.
You may even need to feed less as your horse will get the full benefit of every mouthful.
Horse Colic
Rules of Feeding
BUT if the feed is mainly grain and the horse bolts it down double quick, the capacity of the stomach is overwhelmed.
Food leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine before making sufficiently with digestive acids.
The sheer volume of food and the fact that it's only partially prepared for small intestine ingestion means that enzymes do not
get a chance to do their job properly.
Food travels through the small intestine in just two to eight hours and for larger meals that have been consumed rapidly, this
can mean indigested grains make it all the way through to the hindgut.
The primary job of the hindgut is to digest fibre. When large amounts of undigested starch (grain) enter the hindgut, they can cause a range of
problems for the resident bacteria and other microbes, leading to colic, scouring and sometimes laminitis.
In addition, the value of the feed is reduced as the metabolism of energy, minerals and vitamins is compromised by the rushed passage time.
The amount of time required to chew and grind long stem forages such a hay, pasture and rough, long cut chaff slows consumption rate and allows
time for ingested food to go through the digestive process efficiently.
The horse's stomach cannot stretch in response to a meal as ours does, and food cannot be reguritated (vomited) once it enters the stomach,
so once it's in there there's only one way to go.
Many of us feed from a 20 litre bucket, often brimming with food. For meals consisting mainly of chaff with a little added grain and
for horses that take their time to eat slowly, leisurely getting through the feed in a couple of hours or more, this is probably not a huge problem.
Meals of grain or pellets, which are chewed less before swallowing, have
the potential to fill up the stomach quickly.
Horse Nutrient
Drought Tips
If there's no feed in your horse's paddock and you can't afford to pay the high prices to hand feed,
then letting any horse in your care starve is both legally and morally NOT AN OPTION.
Consider selling the horse, or contact one of the local horse welfare organizations for advice.
They're sure to be busy during times of drought but may be able to offer some advice.
*If you own a mare and are considering putting her in foal, think long and hard first.
The mare will need extra feeding during pregnancy and nursing and the foal will be an extra mouth to feed once it's weaned
and that's supposing you can even get feed.
*Pick up manure as often as you can during a drought to maximize available pasture.
If you don't have one of these, then use an old large tyre or haybag. Hay thrown on the ground can get
walked on and soiled, going to waste.
Manure is a vital part of worm life cycles so regular manure collection is an important part of worm management.
*Horses being ridden regularly have higher energy requirements than those not in work.
If you can't provide bulk in the form of grass or hay, or afford to buy too much commercial feed mix,
consider not riding your horse until conditions improve.
*Minimise hay wastage by feeding in hay feeders.
*If your horse is being fed mostly hay because there isn't any grazing in his paddock, then it's a good idea
to dampen it down first to help avoid impacting in the horse's stomach, which can cause colic
*Horses burn energy to keep warm in cold weather so rugging your horse will help preserve his condition meaning he'll
need less feed.
*Don't try feeding your horse different kinds of vegetation in the belief that if it's green, it's edible.
Many are in fact toxic to horses
Avocado, castor oil plant, bracken, poppies, oleander (a common garden shrub).
Carrots and apples are okay but not in huge amounts and should not be a horse's main diet.
Introduce them slowly and don't over feed, studies have shown that sugar in carrots can be detrimental to horses
suffering Cushings Disease, so it's recommended no more than four or five carrots be fed a day.
Pears are another treat, good for older horses whose teeth may be worn.
Make sure all fruit and vegetables are washed first to remove any chemicals.
*Don't feed lawnmower clipping EVER.
They can compact and ferment in the horse's stomach, causing blockages and colic
It's way better to take the horse to the lawn and let him graze!.
The average suburban backyard won't sustain a horse for long though, plus most
councils won't approve either.
*
Make sure your horse's teeth are in good condition, if he has sharp edges he won't be able to chew
properly and utilise whatever feed you are giving him.
*
Avoid feeding your horse processed foods for humans or other animals.
They're not designed to digest it as they don't have the digestive enzymes to recognise them as food.
Animal protein such as dog biscuits can have a toxic effect on horses
