Articles on Horses | Topics: horses, horse, equestrian
by Imogen Leblanc
A Nutritional Guide to Educate New Horse Owners
Any new horse owner will tell you how exciting it is to have their first horse of their own. At the same time, it can be a very confusing time for new owners when it comes to trying to figure out what, when, and how much to feed your new friend. Everyone is willing to share information, and usually, not any one opinion is entirely right or wrong. This article will try to help take some of the guesswork out of feeding your horse with this article, and a nutritional guide to educate new horse owners.
The first thing you need to do is evaluate your horse. Is he too fat? Is he too thin? Is he working? Are you just riding him once a week? Or does he get ridden or driven every day, or several times a week? All of this may seem a bit overwhelming, but it really needs to be addressed to assess what and how much you feed your new equine friend. .
Once you have determined what condition your horse is in, you can assess what to feed him. From there, you can access a nutritional guide to educate new horse owners for more information about feeding. One thing every horse needs, regardless of fat content, or lack of it, is salt. It is very important to provide a trace mineral block and a white iodized block to him free choice. Salt is one of the most important minerals to your horse. Your horse will lick and chew on those blocks, as he deems necessary, taking in what he needs.
If your horse stands around, mostly as a pasture ornament, he will be quite content and healthy with a good-quality, grass hay or grass/alfalfa mixture. Some horse owners swear by timothy and/or clover. Any of these are perfectly acceptable as long as you do not overfeed alfalfa or clover to an idle horse. If your horse is being used or worked several times a week, he will perform better, and with more energy if he is fed hay that carries a higher protein content, such as the alfalfa or clover.
If you so choose to 'treat' your idle horse with grain, go right ahead. Be sure though, that you do just treat him, and that you aren't giving him too much grain. This is frequently referred to as 'killing him with kindness'. This will lead to bigger problems for you and your horse down the road. Some of the problems associated with feeding an idle or seldom or lightly worked horse too much grain, are Founder and Colic. Both of these are especially painful to the horse, and Founder can render him useless for riding or driving.
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... the theatre demanded of its members stamina, good digestion, the ability to adjust, and a strong sense of humor. There was no discomfort an actor didn’t learn to endure. To survive, we had to be horses and we were.
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If your horse is thin or idle, it is perfectly acceptable to feed him eight ounces of corn, oats, or commercial feed each day. This amount of grain will also aid in keeping his coat nice and shiny, and may provide some of the nutrients he may not be getting in his hay or grass.
If your horse is fat or worked often, feed is fed in pounds. If you are feeding your horse a commercial feed with hay, you will feed a 1000lb horse approximately 10lbs of feed per day. You should observe your horse, and adjust his quantity of feed per day based on how well he performs and how well he maintains his condition.
Use a nutritional guide to educate new horse owners as a guideline only. You will need to make adjustments to your horses diet base on the information I have provided you, and from what you will learn from your veterinarian and other experienced horse people.
One of the biggest things to remember when you feed your horse is if and when you decide to change his diet that you do so gradually. Ideally, this means over a period of 7-14 days to prevent any upsetting of his digestive system. It is also important to remember in the spring of the year, it is very important to remember to turn your horse out for only an hour or two a day for the first few days on a fresh grown pasture, if he's not been on pasture all winter. By doing this, and gradually increasing his time spent on grass, you will greatly decrease the likelihood of him foundering or coming down with colic.
Treating horses with things such as carrots or apples is an excellent way to increase their taste palate. There are many commercial items on the market for supplementing and 'treating' your equine friend. Take the time to read as much as you can on ways to familiarize yourself with horses and use a nutritional guide to educate new horse owners with a grain of salt. Remember, each horse is different, and each has different nutritional requirements.
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