Feeding your horses is a crucial component of their care. A large enough error can cause laminitis or colic. Both can result in a life-threatening veterinary emergency. To help you determine the best course of action, we’re going to go over what you should and shouldn’t do. It will help you to be mindful with horse feed, feeding, and more.

Hay shortage preparation

One of the first things you should do is be ready for hay shortage. There might be some areas that suffer droughts. It doesn’t always happen, but it is a possibility. This increases the cost of hay when you need to buy it from further away.

As long as you store and bale it correctly, hay you harvest at a later maturity can still be fine to feed. The same goes for hay that has been in storage for up to a year, as long as it is clean. Older bales that don’t have excessive dust tend to be fine once you open them. Although, the outside could be bleached in colour, which indicates vitamin loss. Some horses could find mature hay unpalatable though and not eat it, so be careful.

Prepare yourself ahead of time by purchasing hay to store as insurance against a shortage. Know your alternatives too in case you are short and need to order another kind of horse feed. Also, use hay nets over rubber mats or feeders to halt trapping and waste.

Carefully manage pastures

You’ll also need to manage your pastures carefully. It might prove tempting to look at all the spring grass and introduce more horses to your pasture. This isn’t usually a good idea though. Depending on how arid your region is, for sufficient full-time grazing, you could need 1 to 10 acres per horse. To lower bare spots that’ll be colonised by weeds, pastures need resting. Preferably, you need two fields or more to rotate between.

If you have a pasture that’s been grazed down and overcrowded, or suffered from drought, you should re-seed. Then, wait six to twelve months before bringing horses back to the field. Weeds also need managing with herbicide or mowing.

Exercise

Make sure you don’t forget the importance and impact of exercising either. Like a person, a fit horse will have higher muscle mass and bone density. For any horses that have minor arthritis, low-intensity movements can work to lessen pains and aches. This will help them to feel better. With overweight horses, you’ll need an exercise program to help them shed those pounds and stay healthy. Always adapt horse feed to suit the amount of exercise too.

Overfeeding

Something else you can’t do is overfeed a horse. A helpful thing would be to study body condition scoring to keep horses from becoming obese. It will help reduce the chance that they suffer from health concerns.

Certain horse breeds and some ponies are very easy keepers and don’t have to eat grain. Furthermore, you should always keep your grain bin/feed room locked up to prevent horses breaking in. This occurs more than you think it does and could result in life-threatening laminitis.

Free choice salt

A grain and hay diet normally doesn’t offer enough salt. This is especially true in hot weather. Therefore, always have a free choice source in your horse’s stall or field. If your horse will lick a standard salt block, you can opt for a trace-mineral or white type. If they doesn’t like blocks, use a feeder for loose salt.

Water is important

Finally, be careful with water. Lots of people forget it is typically the most important thing a horse needs. Horses tend to be sensitive to filthy water. Plus, they may avoid it if it’s too hot. So, see to it that your horse has plenty of clean water at a decent drinking temperature. When troughs freeze or buckets are empty, digestive contents can dry out the gastrointestinal tract. This would lead to impaction colic, a serious problem you can easily avoid.

Order quality horse feed

At JS Hubbuck Ltd, we have several feed options for horses. You can choose the right one for various needs, including high calorie feeds for hard workers and performers. They will ensure that your animals stay in good condition.

So, if you’re interested in buying horse feed, have a look at what we have to offer. Feel free to speak to us to learn about the products or for answers to any questions.