Wash the windows feed the horse

It should be bright green, leafy and fine textured, with a fresh, pleasant aroma. Musty hay or other indications of mold or heating, and dust, weeds and other foreign material in hay can be unhealthy for an animal.

Color is an indicator of quality and nutrient content; good hay is a bright green. Most nutrients in hay are in the leaves, and leafy hay is a valuable source of food. Leafiness is influenced by the kind of hay, its maturity when cut, the weather conditions while growing and curing the hay, and curing procedures of the hay.

Dust is objectionable in any feed for horses. It not only reduces the taste of the hay, it also aggravates respiratory problems. Sprinkling or dunking dusty hay in water can reduce dust. Avoid feeding moldy or dusty hay. In the field, heavy rain can break off drying hay leaves and leaches energy and protein from the hay. Hay baled before it is dry enough will lose nutrients through fermentation, or heating in the bale.

This sometimes starts fires through spontaneous combustion in barnyard stacks of stored, baled hay. This type of hay is unacceptable for horses. Good pasture or grass that an animal can graze can be an economical food for horses, but pasture must be maintained. If animals are allowed to graze on a pasture too long, the grass may be killed.

Well-managed pastures reduce feed costs and provide energy, protein, vitamins and minerals to animals. An exercise lot with a few blades of grass is not a pasture; such a lot, or overgrazed pasture, is not a source of nutrients and can be a serious source of internal parasites. When a grass stand becomes too thin, overgrown, coarse or unappetizing to a horse, it should be clipped or mowed. Lush pasture forages can act as a laxative in early spring and may cause founder.

Introduce horses gradually to pastures by slowly increasing their daily grazing time. Small grains, such as corn, oats and barley, are known as concentrates. Concentrates are lower in fiber and higher in energy than roughages.

The grain should be clean, mold- and insect-free, with a bright color. Grain quality is just as important as hay quality. Grains may be cracked, steamed or rolled, but, if ground too finely, may cause respiratory problems or colic. Oats are the safest and easiest grain to feed with hay because it is high in fiber and low in energy, and higher in protein than corn. Corn has the highest energy content of any grain and can put weight on a horse quickly. It can be fed on the ear, cracked, rolled or shelled.

Barley is an intermediate source of energy and protein content. All grains are low in calcium, but high in phosphorus. Protein and vitamin-mineral supplements are added to the diet to increase the diet's concentration. Grains are energy supplements to a high forage diet. Only add supplements to the diet if something is missing.

Some protein supplements are oilseed meals, soybeans, cottonseed, linseed flaxseed meal, peanut meal, sunflower seed meal and rapeseed canola. Vitamin and mineral supplements should only be added to the diet if the horse is deficient.

Generally, the only minerals of concern in feeding horses are calcium, phosphorus and salt. In some geographical areas, lack of selenium and, in growing horses, copper and zinc, is a concern. Other minerals are likely to be present in adequate amounts in a normal diet. Concentrated mixes are cereal grains with supplements added to increase the specific nutrient content of the mix. A complete feed is a grain mix that is high in fiber because it contains a forage or high-fiber byproducts feed such as hulls.

Complete feeds are held together, usually by extrusion puffed up like dog food or by forming into pellets. If you are feeding a commercial complete feed, you will not need to feed hay follow the label for feeding recommendations. There are also feeds for specific classes of horses. Some feeds are specially formulated for young, growing horses weanlings and yearlings ; and for geriatric aged horses that are old and have specific nutritional needs.

Some commercial feed companies make pre-mixed, convenient, easy-to-use formulated feeds for horses that are on different hay diets such as grass or alfalfa. You should not need to add any other supplements to the diet. These feeds may be more expensive than developing your own ration, but they are good for the owner who does not want to spend time to research their horse's diet. Nutrient requirements for different horse. The nutrient requirements of a horse vary with its age, weight and the amount of work it performs.

Good quality hay is sufficient feed for a mature horse that is ridden very little. With an increase in work, grain should be added to its diet. Approximate Amounts 1, -pound horse , all hay and grain should be of good quality. Only a horse that is worked extremely hard would ever receive half of its ration in grain.

A racehorse in heavy training is an example of a horse requiring half of its ration in grain. So never feed your pleasure horse more than it needs. Younger horses require special rations, talk to your veterinarian. There are many books available to show you how to balance a horses' ration or contact your local Penn State Extension Educator for help. When balancing or evaluating a ration, use the National Research Council tables as a guideline to determine available nutrients to meet your horse's requirements.

When you balance a ration: Determine the age, weight and level of activity or work of the horse, and determine the actual nutrient content of the available feed by sending your feed to a commercial feed-testing laboratory follow the direction in the article above. Contact your local Penn State Extension Educator for the name of the laboratory nearest you.

The horse's daily nutrient ration needs will vary due to age, activity or performance level, health status, and, in broodmares, stage of pregnancy or lactation.

Estimates of dietary requirements can be found in a variety of publications, such as the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Horses , 6th Edition NRC, , in extension websites. Once you determine a horse's requirements, then analyze your hay and feeds for what nutrients they provide. This determines if you're feeding program meets or exceeds the horse's needs.

There are a variety of websites that allow you to make the calculations automatically or provide step-by-step instructions. An example of one:. Always be careful not to create an excess of other nutrients when increasing feed ingredient levels. Excesses of some nutrients can inter-act with other nutrients. For example, excess calcium can prevent complete utilization of phosphorus.

The horse may need hospital care to keep their airway open and keep them hydrated. Completely clean all feed, manure and bedding from contaminated areas. Keep these materials away from healthy horses. Ideally, isolate new horses for two to three weeks.

Check their temperatures regularly and watch for any signs of strangles. If signs occur, have a veterinarian take a swab for strangles. Intramuscular and intranasal vaccines are available for horses. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

Home Animals and livestock Horse Horse health Strangles in horses. Quick facts Strangles is a highly contagious infection that causes fever, nasal discharge and abscesses near swollen lymph nodes. Hot packs can help the abscesses mature before opening and flushing them out. Removing snow helps the paddock drain and dry faster in the spring. Barns and shelters should have truss certificates of at least 30 pounds per square foot of snow load.

Most buildings fail at the joints. If concerns arise about a barn structure under a snow load, examine the trusses and joints to see if there is movement, cracking, or dry rot. In enclosed barns, snow blowing into attics and wall spaces can melt and cause wet conditions suitable for mold and rotting. Wood will generally give warning sounds before complete failure. Ventilation helps control temperature and humidity levels and improve air quality. Poor ventilation can affect a horse's respiratory health.

Ceiling fans can help with air exchange. You should remove wet bedding and manure daily from barns. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Home Animals and livestock Horse Horse care and management Caring for your horse in the winter. Feed additional hay during extreme cold.

Make sure there is access to shelter. Perform regular hoof care. Your horse needs more water in the winter The goal should always be to maximize the amount your horse drinks to help prevent dehydration and colic. Open all Close all. How to encourage your horse to drink more in the winter. Snow and ice are not adequate water sources for horses A few studies show that horses acclimated to winter weather can meet their water requirements from snow.

But serious health risks may arise with snow intake due to Length of adjustment period as horses learn to ingest snow. Actual water content of snow. Total water intake. These factors put domestic horses at risk for: Gastrointestinal tract complications.

Reduced feed intake. Adjust your horse's feed in the winter. Lower critical temperature affects nutritional needs Lower critical temperature is the temperature below which a horse needs additional energy to maintain body warmth. Lower critical temperature and energy needs As temperatures decrease during winter, the horse needs additional dietary energy to maintain its body temperature and condition.

The best source of additional dietary energy during the cold winter months is forage. Watch your horse for changes in weight During winter months, heavy hair coats can often hide weight loss. Do other nutrient requirements change during the winter? Providing shelter for your horse. What size shelter do you need? Shelter usage. When to blanket Research analyzed the benefits of blanketing a horse to reduce the effects of cold weather.

Cooling down One of the big challenges with winter riding is cooling down a horse with a winter coat. From the elbow to about a quarter of the way up the body. Other types of clipping patterns work as well. Hoof care. Routine care. Barefoot or shod Horses have better traction on snow and ice when left barefoot compared to being shod. Winter paddock and facilities upkeep.