What to feed my horse during winter time?

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It is winter time and most horses will be taken into stables or taken out of grass pastures, and their diet will mainly consist out of hay. So what can we offer our horses during winter time?

Here are some tips:

1. Most importantly is to be careful with calorie bombs. Its natural for a horse to lose a bit of weight during winter time. And in most cases it is not needed to feed concentrated feed.

2. Feed enough hay. 1.5 up to max 3% of their body weight. The hay that we feed already contains a lot of energy. For example a 600 kilo horse needs 80 megajoule of energy. This is maintenance level. 1 kilo of hay contains 8 megajoules. So if you feed 10 kilo of hay you meet the maintenance level. If your horse works out a lot you can increase the amount of hay. Up to a maximum of 20-25 kilo per day. 

3. If you do feel that your horse needs something extra or if your horse works out a lot ( such as high sport performance, riding school horses or senior horses ) then oats or barley are an option to feed (preferable organic). They are a product of nature and don’t have any additives like most concentrated feeds do. Oats and barley contain proteins, sugar, starch and fat. They will give your horse that extra bit of energy that they need. 

4. Another healthy option is to feed grass nuts, such as alfalfa and sainfoin. Or hemp seeds. They contain essential amino acids (proteins) as well. You can use plain grass nuts for horses that don’t work out a lot.

5. It is also important to feed a balancer or mineral feed. Most hay will lack certain minerals. Just make sure the balancer does not have high sugar or starch levels. 

6. AND, what is very important is to reduce the intake of grass. During fall and winter the grass in most pastures contains high fructan levels. So horses with a disturbed hindgut (which most horses have ) will have a bigger chance of getting winter laminitis. 

7. If you would like to make your horses diet more exciting then herbs are a healthy option! Not only do they belong in the horses diet, but they also have medicinal benefits! 

These are just some basic tips that we can give you. But of course every horse is different. There are different breeds, different training levels, young & senior horses & horses with metabolic issues.

If you need help in finding a suitable feed, herbs or supplement to support your horse, then please contact us for a custom made nutrition plan. Made to what your horse needs. 

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