With winter just around the corner the weather seems to be making up for the lack of rain through the summer months, means that for many of us we have reduced turnout and our horses are confined to their stables. Some horses appear to cope quite happily with spending less time out at grass while others may become fractious, excitable or more difficult to keep condition on. The aim of the following article may help you to manage these types of horses better and make winter and the care of the stabled horse more bearable!

FORAGE:

Over the last several decades, research has dismissed some of the commonly held beliefs concerning the nutritional management of horses but unfortunately some of the myths regarding feeding forages still abound, despite the domestication of horses thousands of years ago and the volumes of research. In some situations hay is regarded as a mere filler and not nearly as crucial to the horses nutritional well-being as the concentrate portion of the diet or it is regarded as a 'pacifier' of sorts, something to keep horses occupied, particularly if boredom may rise its ugly head in the form of cribbing, box walking, or some other vice. The fact is that forage and a supply of fibre is essential to the healthy function of the equine digestive tract, and whether the horse is a happy hacker or a top class racehorse forage should be given primary consideration the horses diet. A diet that contains large amounts of concentrate is an artificial, if often necessary deviation from a natural management pattern but should be no excuse as to why your horse does not receive adequate levels of forage in his diet.

Hay is the traditional source forage for horses but finding consistently good hay is difficult. Some experts believe that up to 90% of UK hay is too unhygienic to be fed to horses, as it contains dust and mould particles that cause respiratory problems like recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), also known as COPD. The typical calorie content for UK hay is 5-7 MJ/Kg with a crude protein level of 6%, around half that found in a typical cooling mix. The hygiene quality of the hay is more important than its nutritional value. How many of you have a horse that coughs once or twice a day? Dust and mould spores irritate the horse's respiratory system and may lead to coughing, flared nostrils, mucous production and laboured or forced breathing. These could all be symptoms of RAO and are the result of hypersensitivity to dust and moulds. If you choose to feed hay there are several things that you can do to check its quality

Hay should smell sweet and clean.
It should not feel damp but should be green in colour.
Shake out the hay in good light and assess the volume of dust and mould particles.
The most reliable method is to have the hay analysed by a laboratory. Some feed manufacturers offer this service, which can include analysis for energy, protein fibre and hygiene quality.

We recommend soaking hay before feeding it. There are differences of opinion about how long hay should be soaked for but research carried out by Dr Liz Warr at Writtle Agricultural College, Essex, suggests soaking hay for half an hour to help reduce the number of particles a horse can inhale.

Haylage is becoming a popular option for many horse owners because of its better nutrient value and hygienic quality, but remember that in general haylage has a higher water content than hay, so to ensure adequate fibre intake you will need to feed more haylage than hay on a weight for weight basis.

For any horse in the winter, whether he is living in or out providing plenty of forage will help to ensure that he maintains condition. Good quality forage should be viewed not as purely providing bulk but also as a good energy source to provide calories to help maintain body condition. Horses that are kept in stables for prolonged periods very often have their natural instinct to trickle feed taken away from them. Ensuring that your horse has ad-lib hay will not only help to maintain a healthy digestive system but will enable him to tickle feed, chew and stimulate saliva production, which will help protect against the effects of acid build up in his stomach, which can lead to problems such as gastric ulcers. New research has shown that giving horses a variety of forages allows them to exhibit normal foraging behaviour, thereby improving their welfare.

Some horses and ponies would simply get too fat if they were provided ad-lib forage, which is just as much of a welfare issue as not providing enough forage so it may be necessary to limit his forage intake, which is possible without predisposing him to digestive upsets such as colic. The key is to try and keep the period the gut is empty for as short as possible. Try providing lots of small haynets through the day to help the trickle of forage through the digestive tract. We appreciate that practically this maybe difficult as we all have busy working lives but if you are on a yard its worth seeing if you could share the responsibility with some of the others and take it in turns to go to the yard at lunchtime or a little later!

CONCENTRATES Vs CONDITION, TEMPERAMENT AND WORKLOAD

Good-Doers:
Good-doers often just need a source of vitamins and minerals alongside forage. This can be given in the form a low calorie feed balancer such as Bio-Life 2000. Bio-Life 2000 only needs to be fed in small quantities usually between 600 and 800 grams per day. Adding a chaff such as Dengie Good-Doer or Hi-Fi Lite will help to prolong eating time and give you the feel good factor that you are providing your horse with a decent meal!

Providing succulents is also very important so feeding carrots, Swedes and soaked sugar beet are useful additions to any horses diet!

Excitable horses in light to medium work:
A horses natural temperament is something that cannot be changed and excitable horses are usually more manageable in the summer when turnout is available. In the winter excitable temperaments are often exaggerated by the change in management and by the choice of concentrate feed! Choosing the correct concentrate feed can help to ensure that four feet actually stay on the ground!

The ingredients that feeds contain and the way in which these ingredients are digested in the horses digestive system can have a huge effect on how your horse behaves (although not always the case in every situation!). Feeds that are based on providing the digestible energy for the work that you are doing and for maintaining condition from ingredients such as soya hulls, beet pulp and alfalfa etc are digested slowly in the horses hindgut by the microbes and the release of energy available to the horse is slow, hence the term slow release energy. Slow release energy will help to maintain a steady temperament but should also provide enough energy to carry out the work that you are intending to do. Saracen Cooling Mix & Herbs, and Super Fibre Pencils are example of products containing these types of ingredients.

Horses in medium to hard work or those hard to keep condition on:
The digestible energy level provided by cooling mixes maybe not be enough to support the work level carried out by some horses or to maintain condition on those horses that are prone to losing weight easily. In situations where more energy is required you may need to consider concentrate feeds that provide more energy not only from digestible fibre sources but also from a higher oil level and inclusion of cooked cereals, which are easier to digest. Most conditioning feeds and performance feeds will include oil between 4 and 6%, sometimes higher e.g. Saracen Show Improver Mix or Enduro 100. These types of feed may also contain a yeast, which will help to enhance the efficiency of digestion and feed utilization, all of which will help to increase the amount of energy that is available to the horse for use. Again choosing feeds that have more emphasis on providing the digestible energy from digestible fibre and oil will help to maintain a steady temperament while still maximizing performance.

Remember that the horses stomach is very small in comparison to the rest of him and his small intestine can easily become 'overloaded' with cereals and starch. To reduce the risk of undigested starch reaching the hindgut, predisposing him to digestive upsets such as colic or laminitis, never provide large concentrate meals. Split feeds in to two or three feeds per day.

Other tips to add variety to your horse's day:
Providing that it is safe and you wear a hard hat and gloves try taking your horse out in hand for some grazing.
Many horses get hours of enjoyment from some of the stable toys that are now available, some of which encourage trickle feeding and foraging behaviour.
If it is not possible to exercise your horse try to ensure that he gets some play time and a chance to let of steam by allowing him to roll and have a trot around a menage.
Horses in stables loose social contact with other horses so that activities such as mutual grooming are reduced. Make sure that you groom your horse to stimulate blood flow to the skin and hopefully make him feel happy!
Remember that if you are in any doubt as to how, what or how much to feed your stabled friend there is always a nutritional advisor available on one of the feed manufacturers helplines who will be happy to advise you.