AFTER a lovely, warm summer with good grass growth many horses will be going into the winter season carrying good condition.

The aim of a successful feed regime is to have a fit and healthy horse so that he is physically able to stand the rigours of a busy winter season hunting and hunter trialing and has the energy to give his jockey a safe yet enjoyable conveyance.

As winter approaches most horses will have a change in routine, being stabled for longer periods of time and may be restricted to two or three hard feeds per day. To mimic natural grazing habits where horses would graze for approximately 17 hours a day, forage should be offered on an ad-lib basis when horses are stabled.

AD-LIB FORAGE

Feeding a high-quality forage on an ad-lib basis will reduce feeding costs by improving the amount of nutrients sourced economically (good quality forage is very good value for money). Microbial digestion of fibre releases heat and therefore acts as a central heating system for the horse to keep him warm. This will not only help to keep condition on your horse but will also help to support a healthy digestive system.

During the first few weeks of fittening work very little feed energy will be required in addition to that supplied by the forage. It will, however, be important to ensure optimum vitamin and mineral intake together with good quality protein to support muscle development during the fittening process.

A good solution is to feed a top specification feed balancer, which will provide these nutrients in a small quantity of feed and therefore a low energy intake. As the workload increases you can gradually increase your horse’s feed energy intake according to his requirements by adding a blend, the choice being dictated by his condition and his temperament.

DON’T BULK FEED

It is important to make sure that your horses feeds don’t become too big to be efficiently digested. A typical 16hh 500kg horse should not have more than 2kg dry weight in a feed so don’t be tempted to add lots of chaff and sugar beet to feeds to bulk the feeds up. Instead use a conditioning feed balancer, and add calories as required in the form of conditioning cubes and mixes and/or straights like sugar beet and oats.

TopSpec Comprehensive feed balancer or TopSpec Joint feed balancer (combines the benefits of TopSpec Comprehensive feed balancer and a joint supplement) is perfect for horses hunting full days. There’s also TopSpec Cool Balancer (for horses in light to medium work e.g. half a day’s hunting or competing in riding club competitions). A smaller hard feed which is more nutrient-dense will be more effective in keeping condition on your horse.

BRAN MASH

Should we offer a bran mash? Normal feeds can be offered soaked into a warm mash after hunting and may be more tempting to a tired horse. However, it is kinder to his digestive system to give him his normal feed soaked into a mash than to introduce a new feed, i.e. bran, for his system to cope with once or twice a week.

Don’t be put off by the cost of feed balancers - a 20kg bag lasts a typical 16hh 500kg horse for 40 days and a 250kg pony for 80 days. Not all feed balancers are the same – it is worth comparing the specifications before you choose so that you get the results you want. Feeding a balancer will be more cost-effective and more palatable than adding lots of supplements, probiotics and oil to feeds so they are particularly beneficial for the fussy feeder that doesn’t hold his condition well.

For example TopSpec Comprehensive feed balancer contains the following supplements at the therapeutic levels; Hoof Supplement, Vitamin E and Selenium Muscle Supplement, B vitamins, Blood Tonic and Probiotics (improve digestibility).

OVERALL HEALTH

Keeping horses rugged and warm will help to reduce the energy used by the horse and therefore reduce the amount of feed he needs. Regular visits by a qualified equine dentist will ensure that your horse can chew his fibre effectively. And don’t forget that an effective worming programme will mean that you are not wasting feed. Correct wormers need to be used at the right times of year for a worming programme to be effective.

Straights can be utilised along side feed balancers and where, for example, good quality oats are available, this may be a cost effective way of feeding. TopSpec produce a range of blends designed to be fed with a feed balancer or a supplement and are a superb alternative to straights in some circumstances.

If you are looking for a ‘non-heating’ regime look for very low sugar/starch cubes formulated without cereal grains i.e. TopSpec FibrePlus Cubes, CoolCondition Cubes or Performance Cubes. You may also take advantage of other fibre sources like unmolassed alfalfa or unmolassed sugar beet.

Towards the end of the season if your horse is starting to drop some condition it is best to add an extra feed rather than make his feeds too big to be efficiently digested. Feeds should ideally be four hours apart – so a late night or lunch-time feed, if possible, can be very helpful.

Adding a very concentrated feed like TopSpec Super Conditioning Flakes will tempt even the fussiest horse to tuck in and clean up his feeds. At 11% oil they will also help to give him an energy boost and aid stamina which may be what the doctor ordered at the end of a long season.

SALT LICK

Supplying your horse with a salt lick is very important because it is likely that he will need more salt than is provided in his feed if he is sweating heavily a couple of times a week. He may also need table salt added to his feeds, particularly if he is a good doer on limited feed intake or if you feed predominantly straights like sugar beet, oats/barley and chops.

The best advice I can give you is to ring a nutritionist for advice tailored to your own horse or pony.

Katy Mickle BSc Hons, Senior Nutritionist, TopSpec

Free, helpful feeding advice available on: 062 85401