Equine care during the colder months can be challenging. You must adjust to some changes to ensure your horses are well taken care of, comfortable and safe when it’s cold outside.
Here are some of the best tips to properly feed your horse during winter.
Assess Your Horse’s Condition
When the temperature drops, you must be fully aware of how much fat your horse has on their body. It can help inform you about their proper calorie intake. You can do so by checking your horse’s BCS (Body Condition Score), which can tell if your horse is at an appropriate weight, underweight or overweight.
Based on the BCS scale, the ideal condition is five on a nine-point scale. You should be more thorough during winter and feel around your equine’s body. See if you can feel their rump, neck and ribs.
If your horse is overweight, it’s likely you won’t have to change the amount of their feed, even during winter. Their thick fat layers will be capable of helping them stay warm and maintain their body temperature throughout the season’s changes.
On the contrary, lower-weight horses won’t have enough insulation to help them survive the cold. They likely struggle to stay warm and require increased calorie intake to maintain a stable body temperature. You can also add some blankets for your underweight horses if they’re too thin or are struggling to put on weight.
Provide Enough Forage or Other Nutrition Sources
If you’re asking what to feed a horse in winter, then feeding your equines a forage-based diet is the best way to keep the digestive tract healthy. It’ll also help them avoid several health issues, including laminitis, obesity and insulin resistance.
You can use straw, pellets or cubes, silage, haylage and hay. However, note that each horse has specific needs you must consider before changing their feeds.
For horses below the average weight or actively working, you can opt for high-quality hay that’s legume-rich. According to Kentucky Equine Research, each horse should consume forage at 1.5% to 2% of their body weight.
Forages are good for helping you maintain your equine’s gastric environment. However, especially in winter, forages can help maintain your horse’s body temperature through internal heat production.
Compared to non-fibre carbohydrates like sugars, starches and fats, they won’t ferment in the gut and won’t produce heat during the digestive process. Still, if you want to pay special attention to your equine’s calorie intake, you can use grains to fulfil the horses’ calorie needs.
If you opt for grains, be aware that they may cause several issues, like hindgut acidosis, gastric ulcers, and laminitis in horses with EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome). Healthier alternatives include beet pulp, soy hulls, wheat bran and oils. You can also add some gut health supplements to your horses’ diet.
Monitor their Water Intake and Temperature
Water tends to be colder in winter, and this can lead to your horse drinking less and even eating less. When left unmonitored, there’s a risk of colic due to inadequate lubricant in their guts.
Always provide fresh, clean, unfrozen water to ensure they’re sufficiently hydrated. The ideal water temperature should be between 7°C to 18°C. If horses drink colder water, they’ll burn more calories as their body immediately finds a way to increase their digestive tract temperature, which will cause your equine’s weight to drop.
If your horse still refuses to drink enough water, feed them soaked hay or soaked beet pulp to increase their water intake. You might also want to give them an electrolyte supplement, especially if your horse sweats a lot.
Adjust the Feed to Manage Weight
As horses’ calorie intake tends to increase during winter, you’ll likely have to adjust their grain and concentrate portion to ensure they can stay warm enough. However, you should pay attention to the changes in your horse after the adjustment.
You might have also heard that feeding oats to horses in winter can give them more energy. Check if your horse can consume oats without trouble by adding 300 to 500 grams daily, and monitor their responses over two to three weeks.
It’s crucial to maintain a healthy weight when feeding horses in winter. Underweight or overweight horses are more prone to health issues, including colic and laminitis. Weigh your equines regularly using weight tape and BCS so you can catch dangerous changes early.
Add Some Essential Nutrient Supplements
The temperature during winter won’t be consistent. So, when the temperature drops, you might want to add some equine supplements to your horses’ diets. Minerals and vitamins highly contribute to your horse’s metabolic process.
Colder temperatures cause your equines to burn more calories as they struggle harder to maintain their body temperature, automatically raising their metabolic rate. Therefore, their need for minerals and vitamins increases.
Although forage is nutrient-dense and can be considered the best feed for horses in winter, they’re not enough to meet your horse’s needs during the winter. Add nutrients like vitamin E, zinc, copper, B-veins and B vitamins like lysine to your horse’s diet.
Gut Health Maintenance
In colder months, you are unlikely to take your horse out of their stable as much, so they have little to no access to grass pasture. Your equines might take a more extended period between feedings and ingest a lot of concentrates to ensure they can stay warm. These actions may lead to gut issues when not properly handled.
Mad Barn did academic research in which 30 horses were stabled and fed 6 kg of concentrates daily. Within 14 days, all horses developed gastric ulcers. To lower the risk, you should always ensure your equines have access to forage. You can also opt for soaked hay for your overweight equines.
If it’s your horse’s first time switching from pasture grazing to hay feed, there’s a chance they’ll develop gut issues like diarrhoea. Giving them probiotics can help with digestion and their overall hindgut health.
Do Regular Health Check-Ups
Each horse is different, so you may have to personalise each feeding plan and change it according to your equine’s needs. Schedule regular health check-ups to ensure you don’t miss any alarming behaviours.
You might also want to discuss with your vets if you have concerns over your horse’s appetite or your choice of feed. That way, you can be more at ease and quickly change if something doesn’t fit your horse’s needs.
Harsh seasons can be challenging for you and your equines, but once you know what to do, you can help them stay healthy during winter. Adjust and add necessary nutrients and monitor your horses’ conditions when feeding horses in the winter. Never hesitate to consult with your vet if you have any concerns so you can notice alarming signs earlier and provide the best comfort for your equines.
FAQs
What Should You Feed Horses in Winter?
Focus on a forage-based diet when feeding horses in winter. You can also add soaked hay or beet pulp to ensure they stay hydrated.
Do Horses Need Hay if They Have Grass in the Winter?
Yes, they still need hay even if they can access grass in the winter. Hay helps horses maintain their digestive health and prevent problems like colic. Hay also helps your equines maintain a healthy body weight.
How Much Hay Should a Horse Eat a Day in Winter?
A horse should eat around 2% of their body weight in hay daily.
What is the Best Winter Feed for Horses?
Forages, including hay, silage, straw, pellets, cubes and haylage, are some of the best winter feeds for horses.
How Much Grain Should You Feed a Horse in Winter?
If you’re wondering how much grain to feed a horse in winter, it depends on your horse’s activity level. Non-working horses should get around an extra 100 grams of grains per 45 kg of their body weight for enough calories to ward off the cold. In comparison, working horses might need around 200 grams per 45 kg of their body weit, depending on their activity level during colder times.
