Improving your horse's condition - what to feed your horse and why

Improving your horse’s condition – what to feed your horse and why

Improving your horse’s condition can take time, especially if you are a new owner and are still figuring out what makes your horse tick. A sudden change in stabling, grazing and exercise can quickly impact the horse’s overall body condition, and as an owner, you’ll want to make sure you keep on top of these changes. The look of your horse’s coat is only the first step in assessing body condition. Top line, musle and fat should all be observed when making a desision on whether or not your horse needs additional care to improve his, or her, condition. Riding is of course one way to improve top line and muslce condition – while helping reduce fat and improve fitness, but what can be done in terms of feeding to help?

In this article, equine nutritionist, Louise Jones takes a look at what to feed to improve a horse’s overall condition.

Before changing your horse’s feeding regime it’s important to assess whether they are underweight or have poorly developed muscle tone or a combination of both. If your horse is the correct weight you should be able to feel, but not see, their ribs, spine and pelvis. When evaluating your horse’s topline it’s essential to differentiate between fat and muscle. Fat will feel soft and spongy, whereas toned muscles will feel firm. The one exception to this is when fat builds up and hardens (e.g. on the crest of the neck) giving the allusion of a well-muscled topline.

Rule out underlying issues first

If your horse is underweight it’s crucial to first rule out any underlying issues such as dental problems or a high internal parasite burden, both of which can lead to ill-thrift. It’s also a good idea to eliminate musculoskeletal problems and/or ill-fitting tack as the root cause of poor or uneven muscle development. Provided your horse is healthy and in appropriate work, the most likely explanation for their condition is that their diet simply isn’t providing the correct levels of calories and/or high-quality protein necessary to support weight gain and muscle development.

Keep an eye on grazing quality

Good quality grazing can certainly help a horse to gain condition. However, if your pastures have become over-grazed then you will need to provide a source of supplementary forage. In these cases, or if your horse is stabled, feeding a highly digestible preserved forage such as early-cut hay or haylage is ideal. Weighing hay can also be an effective way of making sure the horse receives the correct amount, especially when horse’s are stabled for long periods of time. Other useful fibre-based sources of calories and quality protein include alfalfa and grass chops.

Good quality grazing can certainly help a horse gain condition. However, if your pastures have become over-grazed then you will need to provide a source of supplementary forage.

Bucket feed

The next thing to consider is your horse’s bucket feed. Specialist conditioning feeds such as Equerry Conditioning Cubes/Mix have been specifically formulated to provide a rich source of calories and high-quality protein to promote weight gain and muscle development. Conditioning cubes can accompany a high-fibre chaff to help with chewing time for increased digestion. Be careful to adjust and/or add in feed over a period of weeks. Any sudden change to a horse’s diet can not only cause unwanted behaviour under saddle, but can cause health conditions such as colic.

Your horse’s bucket feed should reflect his, or her, workload. Excess energy can be easily built up when feeding an inbalanced calorie input to output. Many of the leading horse feed manufacturers have helplines to contact to discuss feeding requirements in more depth.

Feeding Suggestion – Equerry Conditioning Cubes/Mix contain a blend of highly digestible cereals, plus high levels of oil to promote condition. They are also packed full of essential vitamins and minerals, including B-vitamins, which are needed for energy metabolism and appetite stimulation. Another useful ingredient included in Conditioning Cubes/Mix is yeast. Feeding yeast has been shown to improve overall digestive efficiency; meaning that your horse will gain much more benefit from both their forage and hard feed.

Size does matter!

Meal size is another important aspect to consider when feeding for condition. Large feeds are counterproductive and will reduce digestive efficiency and increase the risk of hind-gut acidosis. To prevent this, meal size should not exceed 400g/ 100kg bodyweight (i.e. no more than 1 Stubbs scoop of Equerry Conditioning Cubes for a 500kg horse). Depending on the quantity of feed your horse needs this may mean that you will need to feed 2 or more meals per day.

Final thought

Gaining weight and developing topline on your horse won’t happen overnight. However, a well-balanced diet, coupled with an appropriate exercise regime, should mean that you start to see a difference within 2-4 weeks.

For more information please contact the Equerry Nutrition Team on 01845 565640 or visit www.equerryhorsefeeds.com