HORSE FEEDING

Horse feeding characteristics .

A horse is a typical monogastric herbivorous animal .
It has very prehensile lips ( so it browses low ) and continuous teething : it has to chew for a long time , so that is teeth get worn , and so that saliva flows freely .

Digestion is a long process . A horse needs time and quietness for its meal . Don’t ask for hard work just after meal .

The stomach of a horse is a small one . Its content is approximately 12 liters . Food goes through it fairly quickly , so a horse must be fed in small quantities , but rather often : at least two or three times a day .

The small intestine of a horse is roughly 20 metres long . In this intestine , an intense , through brief enzymatic digestion takes place , which concerns all types of nutriments : proteins , lipids , mineral salts , glucides ( except cellulose , which is the major part of grass and hay )

The large intestine is the most voluminous part of the digestive tube ( about 140.1 ) . Caecum (30 l. ) and colon
Act essentially through microbian flora .
For 36 hour , cellulose is there turned into volatile fatty acids , which can be absorbed by bllod .
In the rectum dung is formed , which is evacuated several times per day . Examining its shape , colour , smell and consistance , allows you to appreciate the quality of the digestion .


What are the needs of a trek horse?

Water :

20 to 50 litres a day, including water contained in food.
Water must be transparent, clean, without smell or taste.
Be careful with stagnant waters, see-water ( diarrhea ) as well as with very cold water (colics) do not alow a thirty horse to drink too intensively in a trough.
Regularly clean buckets and troughs.
The best drinking solution is drinking at will (automatic trough).

Energy :

To maintain a temperature of 38°C, and to allow all normal metabolic reactions to take place, a horse needs energy. Energy needs are calculated with a unit U.F.C., taking, into consideration that a horse’s needs are proportional to its weight. That unit corresponds to the energy by 1 Kg of barley.
Allow 0.85 UFC per 100kg of flesh.
There are two parameters to be taken into account for a working horse: intensity of work and length of the work.
Trekking work should be considered as medium-hard work.
Trekking is generally performed at pace speed, but packing, declivity and adverse climatic circumstances must be taken into account.
A correct ration seems to be 0.5 to 0.7 UFC per trek hour + the normal daily ration.

Nitrogen matters

They can be found in the constitution of any living animal.
They can be measured in grammes as MADC (matières azotéees digestibles cheval).
They are to be found in muscles as well as in bones. They are constantly evacuated through urin, sweat, dung.
These needs are usually met in the usual feeding of a trek-horse.


Mineral salts

First and foremost Calcium and Phosphorus (such as calcium phosphates) represent 2/3 of the skeleton, the proportion being 7 Ca to 4 P, let’s say a phosphor-calcic ratio Ca/P = 1.75 which must be kept daily for a trekking horse ( never let this ratio go below 1)
Salt (NaCl) is important for ionic balance, as much of it is lost through sweat.
Magnesium is useful for nervous balance and the needs of a young foal.
Potassium: a horse gets enough of it in normal feeding.
Sulfur: is useful for hairs at moulting times.
Oligo elements are minerals needed in very small quantities: cobalt, copper, iron, iodine, manganese, silicium and zinc. They are useful for various reactions at cell-levels. Too much of these can be harmful, particularly for good calcium fixation.
A salt stone must be therefore be at the horse’s disposal.

Stomach load

Must be calculated over “ dry matter” (DM). In order to function correctly, a horse’s digestive tube must be “filled”.
Cellulosic fibres of grass, hay, straw if needed, will play this role. You must allow 2kg of DM per 100kg of flesh… which is usually respected in normal feeding.


Vitamins


They can be found in grass, hay, fruit.
Vit A woks for growth, healing of wounds.
Vit D works for calcium balance in blood.
Vit C works for resistance against infection.
Vit B works for the nervous system.
Vit K works for coagulation.
Vit H or Biotine works for the synthesis of nitrogen matters.

Needs in vitamins: varied, according to thedifferent vitamins.
Excess of vitamins: often dangerous e.g: too much Vit D may result in abnormal calcification of organs ( kidneys).
Lack of vitamins: may result in rachitis in case of Vit D… or infertility in case of lack of Vit E

 Absence of toxicity
A horse needs a non toxic ratio of food. The 3 toxic causes are:
Noxious or venenous plants (such as buttercups, colchicum, thistle) toxic plants (such as a poppu, ew, fern, belladonna etc…)
Fodder that has been incorrectly kept (rot).
Too much food: an overdose of grain may be lethal or generate exhaustion symptoms.



Food

Classical food

Grass :

It is THEnatural food, giving a horse all it needs for good health and pregnancy,lactation and growth of smallrustic horses.Open fielding is the best wayto feed one’s horse for good health.A trek horse must be kept outside as much as possible.
A horse will browse 12 to 16 hours a day.2 acres of field will be necessary for a day’s feeding and 4 to 6 acres in case of mountain area raising.Best browsing (6 months)should allow 0.5ha/horse and 2 or 3 ha in mountain areas.
Grass is mainly composed of graminees (ray-grass....etc) and also leguminous plants (clover a .s.o)
The younger the grass , the richer in water and MADC.The older the grass , the richer in cellulosis.
Best browsing for a horse is when grass reaches 15 to 20cm.
Taking a horse to a field pasture must be progressive : 1 hour on the first day , 2 on the second dany, and so on.
After a week it can be left in a field


Hay

On top of its nutritious qualities , hay is also a good stomach load aliment.It is dried grass(85% MS)
Hay must be :
harvest ed fairly early for a good proportion of leaves before the ears are totally formed.
Be stored in a dry aired place
Must smell good , be clean, be green, dry but tender.
Must not be dusty.Do not feed a horse rotten or dusty hay (allergies, gastro-enteritis)Avoid shaking hay too much.
Lucerne hay is very rich in


Straw

Brings cellulosis, a good stomach loading nutriment. Corn straw is a easiest one to digest. Barley straw has hard and prickly elements but is the most nutritive straw. Rotten or dusty straw is dangerous.
To much traw will lead to a speeding up of the intestinal transit, thus reducing digestibility of the whole ration of food. (horses will have blown bellies). On the contrary lack of straw will slow down the intestinal transit, thus leading to intestinal disorders for horses constantly kept in stables. Never forget the important role of straw in the psycologican balance of a horse.