Eating well is not always the same as eating safely.
Dave Freeman, an equine specialist with Oklahoma State University, said horse managers who ignore that lesson may be creating digestive problems for their animals.
“Many feeding management recommendations for horses are related to supplying energy safely.”
He said horses should have access to pasture, hay or coarsely processed forage at minimum levels of 0.75 percent of body weight per day.
“Incorporation of long-stem forage into rations increases particle size of substances ingested, thus slowing the rate of passage of nutrients through the digestive tract,” he said.
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“Slowing the rate of passage may assist digestion in the horse’s small intestine.”
Grain, however, is the most common problem. It is low in fibre and supplies large amounts of carbohydrates. If allowed free access, most horses will consume enough grain to cause digestive upset.
“Grains vary in the amount of starch,” Freeman said. “For example, corn has more starch per pound than oats. Knowing the energy concentration of the grain mix will assist in determining the amount of ration that is needed to supply a horse’s energy needs.”
Generally, the higher the fibre content, the lower the digestible energy content. Producers can determine fibre content by reading the crude fibre estimates found on feed tags.
Added-fat feeds will raise or maintain a feed’s energy level while reducing the amount of starch.
Horses in a positive energy balance will store energy as fat. Body fat is reduced when the ration does not provide sufficient nutrients to maintain energy balance. Accurate assessment of a horse’s fat cover allows for visual appraisal of the animal’s energy status.
“In general, most horses should be fed a balanced ration at levels that produce moderate to fleshy body condition, thus avoiding extremely thin or obese conditions.”
A routine assessment must be done of each horse’s body condition, because nutrient needs will vary among horses in similar production and weight classes.
Freeman said while horse managers commonly group together horses in similar production and weight classes, animals in abnormally high or low body condition may need to be separated to ensure that individual needs are met.
“Once horses are grouped, horse managers need to assess energy sources, levels and utilization of feedstuffs.”
Slow change
Freeman said it is important that changes to intake levels and the physical form of rations be done gradually over several days or weeks. This gives a horse’s digestive tract time to adapt to different levels and forms of nutrients.
“Gradual changes are especially important when feeding energy-dense rations,” he said.
“Grain amounts should be increased incrementally when changes in management require an immediate need for additional energy. Increasing grain one-half pound every two to three days until the energy balance is met is a common recommendation.”
The technique is also useful when introducing horses to pastures with large amounts of lush forage. Simply limit access for several days.
One method many horse managers find useful is to feed horses by the weight of the ration rather than its volume. Feeding by weight will decrease the chance of overfeeding because of differences in weight per volume of different feeds and different processing methods. For example, corn weighs more per volume than oats, and pelleted feeds weigh more per volume than textured feeds.
“Horse managers need to weigh feed periodically to ensure accurate monitoring of intake by horses,” Freeman said. “This is especially important when changing feed sources. One of the most common causes of digestive upset is overfeeding energy in a single session because differences in weight of grain mixes were not taken into account.”
Processing often increases the digestibility of hard coated grains and assists in intake of ingredients with different particle sizes. It’s not as useful to process soft-seed coated grains like oats.
Freeman said horses with poor denture conformation may benefit more from processed food than other animals. This is often a consideration with older horses.
Also, the value of processing is increased when feeding large quantities of grain to horses with limited capacity, such as rations fed to growing horses to obtain maximum gain.
“In many ways, the horse’s digestive physiology is best suited for a continuous low-level supply of feed,” Freeman said. “However, management, housing and production needs dictate that most horses are meal-fed.”
To meet the requirements of horse and owner, Freeman suggested splitting grain mixes into two daily feedings when the daily amount of grain exceeds 0.5 percent of the animal’s body weight.
“Those feeding grain to horses at levels of one percent or greater of the animal’s body weight should consider splitting amounts into three portions per day.”
Meal feedings should be separated as much as possible. Ten to 12 hours between morning and evening feedings for two daily meals is a common recommendation.
