The role of nutrition

By Your Horse

Seasonal guides

18 October 2010 09:39

When it comes to keeping contentment levels high and fizz levels low, it’s essential to remember that exercise and diet are two halves of the same equation.

"Stabling 24/7 and irregular exercise due to poor weather over the winter months are likely to mean that your horse is much fresher next time you ride," says Dengie nutritionist Tracey Hammond.

"Although it’s impossible to do anything about the weather, planning ahead and evaluating your feeding regime may help to avoid exacerbating natural exuberance.

"Irregular exercise combined with stabling can mean it’s very easy to supply your horse with more energy than he needs. Initially this may result in fizzy behaviour but, if it continues over time, weight gain may result."

The role of quick release energy sources such as starch from cereal grains are only anecdotally linked to over-exuberant behaviour – the idea that oats make a horse hot isn’t scientifically proven. However, some horses do appear to react to cereal in much the same way as some humans get a big peak in blood glucose after a chocolate bar.

"Some studies that have compared diets based on starch and sugar (compared to fat and fibre) have found differences in behaviour. Of particular interest is some research carried out by Nicol in 2005, who found that young horses raised on a high fibre and fat diet were less distressed immediately after weaning, and seemed calmer and were more inquisitive during temperament tests than horses raised on starch- and sugar-based rations," explains Tracey.

"There is more work to be done in this area but the evidence does seem to fit with the experiences of many horse owners who find more over-exuberant behaviour when they introduce cereals into their horse’s ration. On the other hand, some don’t."

In the meantime, it does make sense to reduce or remove cereal-based feeds from the ration in favour of feeds based on slow-release energy, such as fibre and oil, as these complement the horse’s natural preference for a long, slow chewing experience and studies suggest that horses are calmer on a diet that’s predominantly fibre.

Fibre also reduces the risk of gastric ulcers and other health problems, so Tracey strongly recommends maximising fibre intake to keep your horse both manageable and healthy.

"In an ideal world a horse would be able to have contact with other horses and constant access to feed, but this isn’t always possible and so it’s important to take other measures to try to keep your horse occupied," she says.

"With regards to feeding behaviour, horses spend in the region of 16-18 hours per day grazing when given free choice. The easiest way to achieve this in the stable environment is to offer ad-lib access to forage so that your horse continually has access to as much forage as he can eat. If this isn’t possible, then offer forage little and often so that your horse spends as little time as possible without anything to eat.

"There is also some evidence to suggest that providing multiple forage sources is beneficial for your horse’s behaviour. In other words, use a combination of hay and haylage as well as offering a bucket or two of short chop forage replacement such as Hi-Fi to help keep your horse occupied for longer.

"Replacing your usual mix or cube with a fibre cube can significantly increase the amount of time your horse spends eating, and by choosing lower calorie feeds, you can feed more and make feeds last longer. Stable toys and licks are also useful to help keep boredom levels down."

You also need to encourage your horse to drink enough. Research performed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine showed that in cold weather, horses will drink a greater volume of water if it’s warm and will, therefore, stay better hydrated. Don’t give them a choice, though – if they have a choice between warm and icy water simultaneously, they drink almost exclusively from the icy and drink less volume than if they have only warm water available.

So, as an owner, there’s plenty you can do to keep your horse’s brain in balance this winter, even if turnout isn’t an option. You just have to read the research and try to compensate in other ways, namely maximising munching time and including at least one hour of disciplined socialising – human or equine – into his daily schedule