Archive for January, 2009

28
Jan

Feeding your horse for the winter - what to watch for

   Posted by:    in Equine Management, Equine Opinions, Horse Health, Horse Nutrition

As the Farmers Almanac predicted, we have indeed had a cold and long winter with lots of snow.  Long stretches of sub zero temperatures - making it quite hard to get up and venture out to the barn in the early hours - have been plenty, and there still isn’t a quick end in sight.

After the wet cool summer when a lot of crops were left on the field and a lot of hay came in as a poor harvest, there are a number of things you need to watch for regarding your horses health.

This is a topic that I often dive into more deeply, but this blog has touched on a the basics of the issue.  If you have more questions, or would like more information, don’t hesitate to visit www.balancequine.com. Your source for eqine nutritional information and advice.  Can’t find what you are looking for?  Just email balancequine@live.com

Many horses that went into the winter with lots of fat stores are now starting to show signs of losing a bit of weight and condition.  Anyone who went into the winter a little underconditioned to begin with, is now starting to show some wear and tear.  Luckily, these issues are easily remedied if they are caught and treated early. 

Just like humans, when the weather gets colder, horses need more calories to maintain their body heat.  If they are working in the winter, they will require even more calories to maintain body heat and energy to work.  Checking their condition by running you hand along a line perpendicular to their ribs is the easiest indicatior of their weight changes.

If you can feel ribs when you press along this line, your horse is likely in the perfect condition.  If you can easily feel ribs without pushing along this line, your horse may be starting to need a few extra calories.  If you can see ribs, you need to increase his calorise as soon as possible.  It’s important to actually feel rather than look at the ribs.  A thick winter coat can be quite deceiving.

As the commodities seem to be consistently going up (or when the come down it’s rarely reflected on the feed bill) an economic way to increase their calories is key.  For the most part switching to a similar feed with a higher fat content is all that is needed.  This is most often cheaper and more effective than increasing the feeding rate of a lower fat content feed. 

Many people prefer a high fat high fibre feed with the fat being somewhere around 5-8%.  Check at your local feed mill and see how many different kinds of high fat high fibre they carry.  Nine times out of ten they have a home brand (not a Name brand) that is $4-5 cheaper than the leading promoted feeds.  These home brand feeds are not usually poorer in quality, you just don’t have to pay for the name.

Again, this is a topic that I often dive into more deeply, but this blog has touched on a the basics of the issue.  If you have more questions, or would like more information, don’t hesitate to visit www.balancequine.com. Your source for eqine nutritional information and advice.  Can’t find what you are looking for?  Just email balancequine@live.com

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23
Jan

Shake that thing with New Cowgirl Bling - Western Purses that is!

   Posted by:    in Horsewoman Necessitites, Rider Fashion

I”ve promoted this link before, and I will do it again.  Their merchandise is always changing….each change better than the last!  Disappointing though if you didn’t order that last purse

 you wanted and it’s now unavailable!  www.thecowpokestore.com

Purses from Rhinestone buckles, to just subtle and classy, they have what you need.  Original?  You got it.  If you are in the market for a well priced and well made Cowgirl Bling western purse, ladies, this is the place to visit!

And while you’re there you might want to check out some of the gorgeous cowgirl jeweled accessories…they only stock origianl, so if you are looking for one of a kind, here is where you will find it!

www.thecowpokestore.com

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12
Jan

World Class Equestrian Centre - Update

   Posted by:    in Eqine Events, Equine Opinions

As I have already written about the highlights of the proposed Equestrian Centre in Arkell, I won’t excite you with all of the details again - if you want to read the post, it’s in Novembers archives.

I would however, like to update you and invite you to visit the new website at www.ontarioequinecentre.ca and see for yourself all of the great proposals and benefits behind their work.

As mentioned on the site, feel free to post, or email any comments or questions to one of their many contacts.  Remember, we’re all in this horse thing together so the more support the better!

I will keep you updated on any new news when I hear it….such as the groud breaking…which we hope is in the near future!

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5
Jan

Back to feeding basics - equine Hay analysis

   Posted by:    in Equine Management, Equine Opinions, Horse Health, Horse Nutrition

I have decided that since I feel this is one of the most important issues involved with owning and feeding a horse, I will address it again.

We are starting to get to the time of year when hay quality is starting to have siginificant effect on our horses.  They have now been consuming it for at least a couple of months, and any deficiencies are now becoming apparent.

I had a customer a couple days ago come in and asked to buy a bag of corn to feed his Rocky Mountain mare who was not only just being weaned but also due with her next foal in mid April.

His concern was that she had just recently started losing weight, and he didn’t want to feed her too much starch, but wanted to put some weight on her. 

Now this customer, as I realized throughout the conversation, felt himself very knowledgeable in the world of horses and their needs.  He bought up and discussed issues of cushings and laminitis, tying up and high strung mares.  It seemed quite odd to me that he thought it appropriate to feed a few handfuls of corn to this mare who would obviously be needing quite a bit more in the way of vitamins and minerals as well as protein and fats.

In the end, our nutrition discussion led us to the conclusion that their hay supply, which started out as being good quality, and quickly moved down to medium to poor when I found out it was harvested late and only had one sprinkle of rain while it was drying.  As well, since they had more horses than they intended on having for the winter, they were feeding less in an attempt to get the most out of their hay and have it last till spring.

At this point I feel quite sorry for these horses, and especially the mares that are starting to show the strain of these combined bad feeding decisions.  So where can we go from here?  Well, a hay test would have shown us exactly where we stood.

With a hay test we could have determined the mares nutritional needs, and how closely they could be met feeding the least amount of hay possible.  If the protein quality in the hay had been hight, he could have likely gotten away with feeding less. 

As well, with the analysis, we would have been able to determine which minerals and vitamins were lacking as far as those required for proper foal development, and supplemented them as required.

I cannot stress enough how important and economically efficient a hay analysis can be.  Undeniably it is one of the most important factors in feeding a horse.  So, I will keep on keepin on with promoting it’s importance.

For more information or nutritional advice, visit www.balancequine.com

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