Hay, it’s what’s for dinner Nutrition for your horse Dr. Sandy Tasse Saratoga Equine Veterinary Services
What are we going to feed? Types of Feed Grain vs. forage Whole grains vs. pellets Supplements/filler/treats!
Amount and frequency of feeding
Who are we going to feed it to? A horse Hind gut fermenter
Your horse Body condition score Performance level Deficiencies/Problems
The horse’s owner What is practical? What is affordable?
Six Nutrients Horses Need 1. Water • • • •
Most important for sustaining life! Avg. horse should drink 6-8 gallons/day Need may increase by 3-4xs in hot weather, due to hard work, or in a lactating mare Drink approx 2 quarts for every pound of hay consumed
Fat Provides energy/calories to do work Usually provided at 8-12% in feed Helps blood glucose remain stable
Carbohydrates Main building block is glucose 30% of feed is in carbs Starch and sugar converted to glucose in small intestine and absorbed Fiber converted to volatile fatty acids by microbe fermentation in large intestine
Protein Needed for muscle development Building blocks are amino acids Most adult horses require feeds with 8-10% protein Soybean meal > Cottonseed meal as a source of protein in feed (soybean meal has higher amounts of lysine)
Vitamins Fat soluble and water soluble Usually have adequate amounts in the diet unless feeding a poor quality hay or horse is abnormally stressed Vit E if pasture is deficient Vit A if feeding beet pulp
Minerals Calcium and phosphorus 2:1 ratio Sodium, potassium, and chloride are lost in sweat, and may need to be replaced
Types of Feed Forages To determine the nutrient content, have hay tested by a forage testing lab (contact your local county extension office) Legumes • More leafy and have increased amounts of protein, calcium, and energy • Alfalfa and clover
Grasses • Fine stems, seed heads, and longer leaves than legumes • Timothy, bluegrass, ryegrass, bermuda grass, and fescue
Grasses can be fed naturally by turning out on pasture for grazing Hay and alfalfa bales are grasses that are cut, dried, and then baled If not done properly, can lose nutrients, or have wet, moldy hay Both pasture and baled hay can be deficient in nutrients if the soil where it is grown is deficient
Grains Oats are the most common • Lower digestible energy value and higher fiber content than other grains • Good palatability • Can be expensive
Corn • Twice as much DE as oats, lower in fiber • Energy dense feed that is easy to overfeed • Good palatability
Barley • Moderate fiber and energy content • Has hard hulls that should be processed for easier digestibility
Wheat • Not usually used due to high cost • Higher energy than corn • Low palatability unless used in a grain mix
Sweet feed Usually a mix of oats, barley, and corn • Whole or coarsely crushed and visible
Has added proteins, minerals, and vitamins • Added as a pellet to the above grain mix
High levels of molasses • Improves palatability, reduces bulk, makes grain sticky, which prevents “sorting” of the feed by the horse
DOES NOT contain enough roughages (crude fiber) to be considered a complete feed
Although not a complete feed, sweet feed DOES have its place: Racehorses, working horses, or any horse at a high performance level may need the extra calories from sweet feed High palatability- good for encouraging sick, stressed, or picky horses to eat (can mix some into the feed they are not eating) Provides longer chewing time than pelleted feed, which improves digestion and relieves boredom Ease of feeding: readily available in bags at most feed stores, can be a good additive if having to feed poor quality hay
Pitfalls of Sweet feed High molasses • Prone to caking and spoiling during warm months, as well as attracting flies • Freezing in the winter • Horses still may be able to sort out grain and pellets
Not recommended for horses with metabolic related problems (Metabolic Syndrome, insulin resistance, Cushings) because of the high carbohydrate levels
Pelleted feeds Nuggets or kibble, that is formed by taking all of the grain, protein, vitamins, and minerals, and grinding them up. Heat and moisture are then used to form the ground powder in to pellets.
Usually available in 4 types of feed: Grain mix (Purina Ultium) Complete feed (Equine senior feeds) Roughages (hay cubes) Supplements (daily wormer)
Complete feeds Have all of the horse’s nutritional requirements in the pelleted ration Good for older horses that can’t chew hay or have teeth missing or horses that need to put weight on or have trouble keeping weight on Consumed much more quickly than hay, so horse can become bored the rest of the day
Purina vs. Triple Crown vs. Blue Seal Senior Feed Purina Protein Fiber Lysine Fat Calcium
14% 17% 0.7% 5.5% 0.6-0.8% Phosphorus 0.4% Vit A 3500 IU Vit E 140 IU
Triple Crown
Blue Seal
14% 17% 0.7% 10% 0.9-1.4% 0.6% 6000 IU 170 IU
14.5% 16% 0.56% 5.5% 0.6-1.15% 0.65% 5000 IU 145 IU
Hay/Alfalfa cubes Made of 100% alfalfa, a mixture of alfalfa and grass, or a mixture of alfalfa and whole corn plant • Similar to alfalfa hay in nutrient content • 19% protein, 1.44% calcium, 0.22% phosphorus
Also good for horses that can not chew hay • Better intake and less waste
Less dust than hay, may help horses with dust allergies Can be used as an extra feeding to put weight on or relieve boredom • But also must be fed restricted, as horses will consume more cubes than they will hay, and will become overweight
Supplements Generally only needed if feed is deficient or horse has some type of diagnosed problem More is not always better Money could be spent better elsewhere Can lead to nutritional imbalances
What works for one horse may not benefit another horse with different dietary needs Many many types available, so can tailor to the needs of your horse
Joint Supplements Horses that may benefit: Older, arthritic horses Younger horses with early onset arthritis due to hard work (used in conjunction with joint injections) A horse that has had trauma or surgery on a joint
Focus: to support the health of the joint tissue, including cartilage and synovial fluid Common ingredients: glucosamine, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid (HA), MSM, yucca, ascorbic acid Most studies of these products have been done on humans, and we can’t be sure the results carry over to horses
Hoof Supplements Horses that may benefit: Horses with soft, shelly hooves that may have problems holding a shoe on Horses that get thrush often Horses that have hooves that crack or get abscesses frequently Horses with a history of a hoof disease, such as laminitis or white line disease
Focus: improving the quality of the hoof horn, leading to stronger hooves Common ingredients: biotin, methionine, lysine, zinc, copper, calcium carbonate, flaxseed Keep in mind: supplements influence only new hoof growth, so may take months to see results
Digestive Supplements Horses that may benefit: Horses under stress Horses that are ill or had surgery Horses on medications that may alter normal gastro-intestinal flora (antibiotics) Horses with a history of chronic colic or diarrhea Focus: Aim to keep the normal gastro-intestinal flora alive and happy to reduce the chance of colic or diarrhea developing Common ingredients: probiotics (Lactobacillus), prebiotics (sugars), yeast culture, dehydrated alfalfa meal (fiber) Storage can be a problem, as many of these contain live organisms that can be easily damaged Again, most studies have been done on humans, and we can’t be sure it translates to horses
Skin and Coat Supplements Horses that may benefit: Horses with dull, dry coats Horses with flaky, greasy, or itchy skin Focus: support the production of keratin, collagen, and other building blocks of the skin and hair Common ingredients: pyridoxine (B6), biotin, flaxseed, riboflavin, lysine, zinc, folic acid, niacinamide, calcium panthothenate Poor skin and hair coat can be an indication of an underlying problem, and not a primary problem itself
Three Popular Additives Rice Bran @1-2 lbs/day for underweight or high performance horses ½ lb/day to improve coat and hoof
Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil) Breeding horses: may increase sperm production, increases the immunity of mares milk, also good for growing foals Horses with osteoarthritis or respiratory allergies
Beet pulp Underweight horses or older horses that have trouble chewing hay
Rice Bran Made from the brown layer that is removed from a rice seed to make white rice Rice bran is usually in pelleted or powdered form, a rice bran oil is also available (95% fat) High in calories- 1200 calories/lb, high in fat- 20% oil Also contains fiber, starch, and protein Usually has vitamin E and gamma oryzanol added (helps muscle repair and building) Has a much higher phosphorous level than calcium- needs to have added calcium to have proper 2:1 ratio (or buy a fortified version) Need to make sure it is stabilized, otherwise it will go rancid in less than 1 week
Omega 3 Fatty Acids Omega 3 and 6 are “essential FA” FA that cannot be synthesized by the horse at all or in sufficient quantities, so they must be added to the diet When oil is digested, FFA are incorporated into cell membranes
Grains contain oils that are mostly Omega 6 and little Omega 3 Omega 6- pro-inflammatory- benefits the immune system during infection and sickness Omega 3- anti-inflammatory- helps decrease pain and swelling
Hay contains less Omega 3 than fresh grass Suggested ratio of Omega 6 to 3: 10:1 Unknowns: Do Omega 3s increase production of free radicals? Should we give a Vitamin E supplement with it? Don’t know enough about Omega 6s to condemn them
Oil Additives and Omega 3s Oil source
% oil in seed % Omega
3 in oil Flaxseed Menhaden Canola Soybean Rice bran Corn Sunflower
36%
53% 100% fish oil 31% 28% 12.9% 18% 7% 20% 0.8% 3.6% 0.7% 19% 0.2%
Omega 6:3 ratio 1:4 1:15 2:1 7:1 29:1 84:1 199:1
Beet Pulp The material left behind when table sugar is extracted from sugar beets Contains a lot of fermentable fiber, fairly easy to digest May result in more efficient digestion to help horses maintain body weight Not high calorie- only slightly more than a good quality hay 10% protein, 18% crude fiber Does not cause a sharp rise in blood glucose like grain does and because it does not contain large amounts of soluble carbs like grain, it can be safely fed in larger amounts Can be used to replace 50% of the forage in a horse’s ration No vitamin A- may need to supplement Some may have added molasses to increase palatability NSC 12%- used in formulating high fiber, low carb diets
Usually soaked before feeding because it is very dry (5% moisture) Does not necessarily have a higher incidence of choke than other pelleted or cubed feed
Fitting Beet Pulp into the classification of feeds When reading feed bag labels: Forage- fiber content higher than 18% crude fiber (hay, soybean hulls, ground corn cobs) Energy feed- <18% crude fiber and < 20% crude protein (grains, rice bran, fat, molasses) Protein supplement- <18% crude fiber and > 20% crude protein (soybean meal, linseed meal, brewers yeast, dehydrated milk) Beet pulp- 18% crude fiber and 10% protein â&#x20AC;˘ Somewhere between grain and hay
Nutritional Deficiency Supplements Vitamin E Prevents free radical damage to tissues or lipid peroxidation (by attaching to the fatty layer in cell membranes) Important for the proper function of nerves and muscles â&#x20AC;˘ Diseases such as Equine Degenerative Myeloencephalopathy, Equine Motor Neuron Disease, and EPM, are caused by low vitamin E or will have worse clinical signs with low vit. E
Supplied from forage, little is added to grain and storage of feed can greatly reduce levels of vit. E Normal maintenance dose: 1000-2000 IU/day 6000-9000 IU/day to treat a disease Useful for horses that are not on pasture, getting poor quality hay, or are on a complete feed, and for foals up to 2 years of age, pregnant mares, or hard working horses
Selenium A trace mineral Horses require 1mg/day from diet, 3-4mg/day is good Also toxic in high amounts- Alkali disease Deficiencies- white muscle disease in foals As many as 46 states may be soil deficient Both deficiency and toxicity can cause unthrifty appearance and dull hair coat
Both vitamin E and Selenium levels can be confirmed by testing the levels in the blood of the horse
Calcium Most well known for its association with bone, although also plays a role in muscle contraction and regulates enzymes Should be in proper ration w/phosphorus in the equine diet: 2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus (1:1 min) â&#x20AC;˘ Ratios as high as 6:1 may be acceptable in the growing horse as long as there is adequate phosphorus in the diet Magnesium will help increase Ca absorption, but phosphorus will decrease Ca absorption (rice bran is very high in phosphorus) Legumes (alfalfa and clover) are high in calcium Deficiency- weak bones or shifting leg lameness, may also have softer teeth and hooves A ground limestone supplement can be added to the diet if ratios are incorrect or a deficiency exists
How much should be fed? Average horse will eat 1.5-2.5% of its body weight per day Avg 1000 lb horse will eat 20 lbs of food At least 50% should be fed as forage (80% is best = 16 lbs of hay and 4 lbs of grain for horses with no turnout, on a dry lot, or over grazed pasture)
Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to add pasture grazing into these amounts!
Pasture A healthy horse on pasture 24/7 can meet his full 2% body weight energy requirement Horses can eat 1.1-2.1 lbs of pasture dry matter per hour If on pasture ½ this time, 1% of b.w. will be required in hay (will get 10 lbs of grass from pasture and 10 lbs of hay per day) If on pasture ¼ of the time, 1.5% energy required from hay (15 lbs hay/day) • Also works for if on pasture for ½ the time, but pasture is also 50% grazed down, then it is equal to being on pasture ¼ of the time (will still need 15 lbs of hay)
Get out your calculators Horse turned out for 8 hours/day and in moderate work 8 hours = 1/3 of 24 hour day (30%) • 70% x 20 lbs = 14 lbs of additional feed needed
Pasture is ¼ grazed down (25%) • 6 lbs of pasture x .25 = 1.5 lbs, so an additional 1.5 lbs of feed is needed (14 + 1.5 = 15.5 lbs of additional feed needed)
15.5 lbs feed, 80% as hay and 20% as grain: 12.4 lbs of hay and 3.1 lbs of grain (If in light work or not working, then all 15.5 lbs can come from hay alone) Hard Keeper horse: may need to bump grain to 40% and hay at 60%, so would feed: 9.3 lbs of hay and 6.2 lbs of grain per day (split into 2 feedings of 3.1 lbs each)
Helpful Hints Have a scale to weigh food instead of estimating (can use a bathroom scale) Have a calculator to make adjustments At least 50% of feed should come from forages Feeds only contain 0.1% salt, so need to provide a salt or mineral block to ALL horses to meet their 0.25% requirement A regular white salt block is fine, a mineral one is not needed and may not contain the right mineral balance
Horses not in moderate/heavy work CAN maintain an appropriate body weight and obtain all necessary nutrients on pasture and free choice hay alone.
Frequency of Feeding Depends on your own schedule or your boarding barn schedule Should at least split grain meals into 2 meals per day Under weight horses or hard keepers that are getting more grain may need 3-4 meals/day Unless the horse has a physical/medical reason to restrict feed or is an easy keeper, free choice hay can be provided at all times that they are not on pasture • Chewing hay keeps your horse from picking up behavioral vices such as cribbing or chewing wood/fences • Salivation from chewing aids in digestion • For horses that are overweight, feeding a lower quality hay or first cutting hay, may be a better option than having to restrict hay
Who are we feeding? A Horse Non-ruminant herbivores (hind gut fermenters) Have evolved as grazers that spend 16+ hours taking in small amounts of grass Horses vs. Humans: â&#x20AC;˘ Horses can not vomit â&#x20AC;˘ Horses do not have a gall bladder to store bile (makes high fat, large meals hard to digest)
36- 72 hours transit time for feed to go from mouth to rectum
Horse Gastro-Intestinal Anatomy Stomach- small size in relation to body size (only 2-4 gallon capacity) Small intestine 70 ft long Holds 10-23 gallons Most nutrients (proteins, some carbs and fat) are digested here, vitamins and minerals are absorbed
Cecum 3-4 ft long Holds up to 7-8 gallons Blind sac that contains bacteria and protozoa to digest fiber and carbs
Large Intestine Compromised of the large colon, small colon, and rectum Holds 20 gallons Fermentation of feed continues as microbes do the bulk of digestive work â&#x20AC;˘ High grain diets can lead to fewer of these good microbes and promotes microbes that cause disease
Water is absorbed 60% of the energy a horse gets from his food can come from volatile fatty acids produced by the bacterial fermentation of fiber within the large intestine
Your Horse Performance level Pasture pet vs. hard work/training
Age Growing horse vs. mature horse vs.older horse
Body Condition Score (BCS) Does the horse need to put on weight, lose weight, or maintain weight? Use weight tape to estimate initial weight and then see gains or losses
Amount of turn-out time, as well as pasture and hay quality
Performance Level Pasture Pet Pasture +/- hay
Pleasure/Trail Horse (weekend fun horse) Pasture, hay, vit/min supplement
Working Daily/Moderate work Pasture, hay, grain, +/- supplements
High Performance/Growing horse Pasture, hay, grain, supplements, plus other additives/calorie dense feed (rice bran, beet pulp, corn oil)
Body Condition Score Chart The Ideal Body Condition Score is between 5 and 6-1/2 1. Poor Animal extremely emaciated; spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, tuber coxae (hip joints), and ischia (lower pelvic bones) projecting prominently; bone structure of withers, shoulders, and neck easily noticeable; no fatty tissue can be felt. 2. Very Thin Animal emaciated; slight fat covering over base of spinous processes, transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded; spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, tuber coxae (hip joints) and ischia (lower pelvic bones) prominent; withers, shoulders, and neck structure faintly discernable. 3. Thin Fat buildup about halfway on spinous processes; transverse processes cannot be felt; slight fat cover over ribs; spinous processes and ribs easily discernable; tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be identified visually; tuber coxae (hip joints), appear rounded but easily discernable; tuber ischia (lower pelvic bones) not distinguishable; withers, shoulders and neck accentuated. 4. Moderately Thin Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs discernible; tailhead prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it; tuber coxae (hip joints) not discernable; withers, shoulders and neck not obviously thin.
5. Moderate Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy; withers appear rounded over spinous processes; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body. 6. Moderately Fleshy May have slight crease down back; fat over ribs spongy; fat around tailhead soft; fat beginning to be deposited along the side of withers, behind shoulders, and along sides of neck. 7. Fleshy May have slight crease down back; individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat; fat around tailhead soft; fat deposited along withers, behind shoulders,and along neck. 8. Fat Crease down back; difficult to feel ribs, fat around tailhead very soft; fat area along withers filled with fat, area behind shoulder filled with fat, noticeable thickening of neck; fat deposited along inner thighs. 9. Extremely Fat Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs, bulging fat around tailhead; along withers, behind shoulders and along neck, fat along inner thighs may rub together; flank filled with fat.
Environmental Factors Amount of turn-out time Quality and amount of pasture grass ingested
Hay quality Can have it tested by a local forage lab
Season/Time of year Winter might mean lighter work schedule for the horse, but also can mean less quality or no pasture grass when turned out Do not make the mistake of feeding more concentrates to “keep the horse warm”. Forages (hay) fermentation will help “keep the horse warmer” than feeding a large grain or cracked corn meal.
Always make sure the horse has access to fresh, non frozen and non electrified water Will help limit impaction colic Electrolytes added to water only needed in a heavily sweating horse
Age Growing horses Need more calories, higher amounts of protein in feed Don’t want to over do it and cause horse to grow too fast, will predispose them to having growth related diseases, such as OCDs • Special “growth” or “foal” feeds are made for this reason
Mature Healthy Horse Simplest to feed/maintain
Older Horse May have trouble keeping weight on (may be due to age related disease- heart failure/murmors, GI- IBD, or tumors) Teeth may not be in good shape- may be worn down or falling out, making it difficult to chew and digest hay
Problem Horses The obese horse The starving horse The hard keeper/picky eater
Over weight horses Many horses are over weight because owners like the appearance or are not familiar with what a healthy horse looks like. Obesity IS detrimental: • Unable to dissipate heat as effectively during strenuous exercise • Can become insulin resistant, which can lead to laminitis. • Infrequent work becomes challenging due to the extra body weight.
Checking for obesity Should be able to feel but not necessarily see ribs Neck should not be bulging or cresty The girth should not make an indent in the horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fat when tightened. The shoulder blade should be visible and be distinguishable from the neck and body. The inner thighs should not touch each other more than Âź of the way down the inner thigh region when standing square.
Diet and Obesity There may be other causes, such as lack of exercise or disease, but we will focus on feed. Does this horse really need grain? If not, feed pasture and hay with a vitamin/mineral supplement and a salt block. If horse is working, feed a low starch or weight control pellet. May need a grazing muzzle if horse is turned out on lush pasture or is susceptible to laminitis. May want to avoid richer second cutting hay and not feed alfalfa at all. Consult with your veterinarian for special cases where a weight loss supplement, such as Thyrol-L may help.
Rehab for Rescue/Starving Horses Must be patient- increase feed slowly and may not see visible results for 6 months Horse was probably not getting any grain, so GI- tract is not used to grain, and body in a catabolic state (muscles and proteins being broken down and used for energy) Alfalfa hay is ideal- low starch (3%) and rich protein (18%) (senior feed still has too much starch for these horsesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; depleted digestive tracts to handle) Feed good quality hay/alfalfa hay according to horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current body weight for 2 weeks (feed an 800 lb horse that might normally be 1100 lbs: 800 x 2% b.w. = 16 lbs of hay per day) Horse will gain about 1 lb per day
After the first 2 weeks, increase the amount of hay fed slowly over a 2 week period until they are on free choice hay Wait to feed grain until 6 months have passed and horse is near appropriate BW % caloric requirement
# meals/day
Amt. Hay/meal
Day 1-3
50%
6
1.25-1.5 lbs
Day 4-5
75%
6
2.0-2.25 lbs
Day 6-10
100%
3
5.5 lbs
The Hard Keeper/Picky Eater First, try to determine why the horse is a hard keeper Dental exam, condition of his teeth Bad habits that use energy- weaving, pacing/stall walking Underlying medical condition- due to age or genetics (bloodwork may be helpful), parasites/deworming program Does he live in a adequate environment? (shelter, blanket, does he get bullied?) Increase in work load/travel, or pregnancy
Why is the horse a picky eater? Is the feed fed palatable or been changed recently? Is the feed spoiled or poor quality/lacking nutrients? Dental exam to eliminate oral cause of pain +/- considering gastric ulcers
Feeding the Hard Keeper If canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find a cause for weight loss, or the cause is not curable (ie missing teeth or heart condition), then need to adjust diet Change to a senior complete feed (make sure you read the label- will most likely need to feed much more than you were feeding straight grain) If the problem is poor teeth: Feed almost all the horsesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; daily requirements in the form of a complete feed Give hay just to relieve boredom, though the horse may not be taking much in Try a softer hay, such as alfalfa or Dengie (chopped hay)
If the problem is working hard/or energy lost through bad habits (stall walking) Slowly increase amount of feed Add oil to the feed to increase calories May want to feed beet pulp in addition
If the problem is poor quality hay/pasture or a deficiency Adding a specific supplement or a general vitamin and mineral supplement to the feed may be all you need
Summary Stick to the basics If you do not have a problem horse, feed 2% b.w. with at least 80% of the feed being hay, with a vitamin supplement and salt block
Only supplement what is needed Remember you get what you pay for in the brand of feed you buy Cheaper feeds may have the same ingredients but have less research behind them, be less palatable, or be less digestible than more expensive feeds Find your horse’s “happy medium”
Thanks for listening! Any questions?