It’s a known fact horses require 2 to 2.5 per cent of their body weight in good quality forage, which for a 1,000-pound horse is approximately 20 to 25 pounds of hay a day.
From a nutritional standpoint, 80% of maintenance horses will survive on this amount of hay alone, some even less, but will they thrive? Some believe that a horse that has good flesh, a decent coat and appears healthy is thriving – but this is surviving. A more suitable definition is the horse has a great coat, dapples showing if they have them, a brown ring around the eyes and, most importantly, a strong immune system verified by visits from the veterinarian.
How can we achieve this? First and foremost, we need to have a starting point which can be determined using a simple hay analysis. This gives us an estimate of the nutrients found and in what balance. Vitamins do not survive in our hay making process, so important vitamins such as Vitamin A, D, E and K are required to be supplemented in the horse’s diet. Calcium and phosphorus are minerals found in hay, but very often in the wrong balance for horses, as they require a 2:1 (calcium: phosphorus) ratio in order to have good bone development and to keep strong. A very important point is that mineral blocks are 99% salt, with a trace amount of minerals, which does not meet a horse’s requirements.
This past year, hay has been low in protein, with averages around 6 to 7%; the normal range for first-cut hay is 10 to 12%. The colder growing season seemed to stunt plant growth and a combination of hay cut later than normal has led to lower protein values. How will horses fair with this deficiency? Most horses will show a protein deficiency along their topline. The muscle along their spine will start to disappear giving it a more pronounced appearance.
Hay was cut late last year, so grasses are more mature and more difficult for horses to digest. A “hay belly” will signify this deficiency.
How can we help? Ration balancers are supplements that can be fed as a sole ration for horses. There are a variety of balancers available in the market from all the feed companies. Which one to choose will depend upon your hay analysis and your preference for feed.
Since 80% of maintenance horses only require a good ration balancer with hay, one of these products should be in abundance in your barn.
The rule of thumb is if you are not feeding at least a bag a week of a complete feed, you need to change your program to meet the nutrient requirements as you are not feeding enough vitamins and minerals. We see people feeding a handful of a complete feed but how could a handful help a 1,000-pound horse? Ration balancers do not need to be fed in large amounts to help. Most are designed to give all that a horse needs in about 800 grams or (1.5 pounds) a day.
Some horses will still require a higher-calorie feed, or a combination of balancer plus feed, to meet maintenance requirements, and those horses fall into the other 20%.
Deb Ottier, BSc, (Agr.), MSc. works in Sharpe Farm Supplies’ equine division.
