Amanda Kroeker, BSA, MSc, PAg Equine Nutritionist

Transcription

1 Amanda Kroeker, BSA, MSc, PAg Equine Nutritionist

2 Define Your Horse: Body Weight, Height, and Condition; Metabolism; Age; Health What is Your Horse s Job: Light to Heavy Work or Breeding & Pregnant or Retired Seasonal Requirements: All Year Hay versus Winter Hay Feeding Cold temperatures require more Hay

3 Hay Quality: Both chemical (feed analysis) and physical hay quality determines rate of hay intake. Know the Bale Weight for the Hay. Flakes of hay vary in weight and misrepresent actual amount fed.

4 Take Measurements Required for Calculating Intake Measure your horse using Weight tape and Height stick. These measurements will direct the Nutritionist as to how much your horse will eat. Body Condition: thin, normal, or over condition. /facts/ pdf (reference from Carroll, C.L. and Huntington, P.J., Body Condition Scoring and Weight Estimation of Horses, Equine Veterinary Journal (1988) 20(1), 41-45). This step is important to determine how your horse distributes their body fat and muscle.

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6 Metabolism - Hard or Easy Keeper Although some breeds have a very distinct metabolism, the best measure is knowing how your horse deposits fat and builds muscle on their body. Points to consider: How long does it take for fat and muscle to develop? Under what conditions (example, work load, environment, weather, etc.) will it take to deposit fat and muscle?

7 Age Plus How old is your horse? What shape are the teeth in, can they eat properly? Does your horse have good mobility? Health Does your horse have a disease, genetic disorder, or metabolic challenge, etc? Knowing these health conditions will determine what type of nutrients in the hay you can feed.

8 Outline what your horse does, examples: Yearling, No health issues, Growing, outside on pasture (Light Work) Adult, No health issues, Breeding and Pregnant Adult, No health issues, Grand Prix Show Jumping with intense training 5x a week for 90 minutes (Heavy Work) Geriatric, Insulin Resistant, Teeth Declining, Retired outside on pasture (Light Work) Why is Defining My Horse s Job Important? More Work = More Nutrient Dense Hay and Ration is Required.

9 Cold Temperatures = Feeding More Hay Horses that spend time below their lower critical temperature of -15 C for Adults and -11 to 0 C for Yearlings will require additional hay. How does feeding more hay help? Fermentation of the hay by the microbes in the hindgut generates heat, which in turn provides warmth to the horse. Nutrient requirements increase during cold weather, feeding additional hay provides those increased nutritional demands.

10 Which Hay to Pick? Grass versus Legume (Alfalfa) Hay Nutrients (chemical or feed analysis) and Physical structure for both hay sources are vastly different. Understanding the basics of the chemical analysis (feed analysis) will guide you in selecting the hay that will meet your horses requirements and satisfy good intakes. Hay Bale Weight Know the bale weight in kilograms or pounds. Flakes of hay vary. If your horse eats 9 kg (20 lbs) of hay per day and your bale weighs 60 lbs, then one bale will last approximately 3 days. So portion the bale into 1/3.

11 Valley Hay has all their hay tested and provides their customers with the Feed Analysis Report.

12 Collect a History Warmblood, 8 years old, 545 kg (1200 lbs), 165 cm at wither and hip, Good condition (normal muscle and fat deposition), Metabolism is fast (hard keeper), No health concerns, Teeth are normal, Mobility is sound; Show Jumper with intense training for 90 minutes per session 5 days per week (Work is heavy). Time of year is summer show season with full time hay feeding. Hay is 50% Alfalfa Grass mix (chemical analysis indicates overall excellent nutrient profile); bales weigh 60 lbs.

13 Calculation Daily dry matter intake of 2.5% is assigned to this horse, which is 13.6 kg or 30 lbs. It is stated that the hay nutrient profile is excellent, which allows us to use a higher portion of this hay in the total daily intake. Lets use 50% of the intake will be hay. This means that 6.8 kg or 15 lbs of hay on Dry Matter Basis will be fed. If your hay contains 90% dry matter, then 15 lbs / 0.9 = 17 lbs as fed (actual) Hay fed to this horse. 60 lbs Bale / 17 lbs as fed Hay daily = 3.5 days to feed one bale.

14 Conclusion 17 lbs as fed daily of Hay x 365 days = 6205 lbs for the year to feed one competition horse lbs / 60 lbs bale = 103 bales per year to feed one competition horse. Always add in addition bales for cold weather, for waste, and for unexpected increases in hay intake if performance changes.

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