Winter Feeding – Tips for Warmth and Conditioning
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As the daylight hours get shorter and the temperature drops, now is the perfect time to start thinking about how your horse’s daily nutritional requirements will change over the winter months. Because the colder weather puts extra demands on the horse’s metabolism, meaning more energy is required for daily activities, most horses will need additional calories to maintain optimum condition over this time. Making dietary adjustments now and altering the diet according to condition over winter is important for ensuring he or she stays in tip-top condition right through until spring.
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Some horses, particularly ponies, do just fine in winter and need no real change in management. Other types, such as Thoroughbreds or older horses, may be poor doers and require extra calories to maintain condition over the colder months. Increasing dietary calories can be achieved through various ways, and the following dietary examples give options for various types of horses.
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Forage should be the basis of all horse’s diets and each horse should consume at least 1.5% of their body weight in pasture and/or hay daily. If pastures are low then supplementary hay will be required and chaff and other fibre sources are also ideal. Legume forages such as clover or lucerne generally contain more energy than grass hays, and well-made grass/clover or grass/lucerne mixes can be terrific for horses in the winter time.
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Additional fibre sources such as beet pulp and soy hulls are fabulous for winter feeding as the highly digestible fibre helps to keep the hindgut healthy and the horse warm. High fat feeds can also be a real advantage in the cold weather for preventing weight loss. Fat contains two and a half to three times the energy of grain and is therefore a great way of increasing calories in the diet without feeding large amounts. Good fat sources are vegetable oils such as cold pressed canola, sunflower seeds (25-30% fat) and rice bran (15-20% fat).
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McMillan Grain Free is a blend of super fibres beet pulp and soy hulls, and is a great option for a high fibre complete feed that is low in starch and sugars, so perfect for maintaining weight for horses that are prone to certain metabolic conditions and laminitis. Grain Free also contains high quality cold pressed canola oil for a highly digestible fat source.
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McMillan Rapid Gain is a high protein textured muesli that is another fantastic feed for achieving weight gain over winter. Rapid Gan contains steam flaked grains for maximum digestibility, high quality protein sources, cold pressed canola oil and high amounts of organic trace minerals and natural vitamin E.
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In summary, monitor your horses’ body condition carefully and make dietary changes at the first sign of bad weather or weight loss. For more information on feeding horses over the colder months, or for a custom made diet designed specifically for your horse, contact NRM and McMillan Equine Nutritionist Luisa Wood on luisa.wood@mcmillanequine.co.nz or on 0278097846.
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