With frosty nights closing in, grass quality declining and turnout time reducing, the Keyflow Team have put together some quick tips for helping your horse maintain condition safely this winter.
For those of you who have good doers, you maybe grateful for the chance to use the cold weather to your advantage and allow your horse or pony to lose weight before Spring grass brings the bat tale of the bulge again.
So this winter:
Check your horses overall health
Double check their teeth, they might need attention
Address any soundness issues, low grade chronic discomfort will make holding condition harder
Keep your horse happy
Turnout where possible
Keep them comfortably warm, do not over rug
Provide enrichment, such as haynets in different places, grazing buckets with chopped or ground fibre, and leave the radio on
Keep a photo diary, take a weekly photo so you can look back and see how they’re doing
Use a weight tape, although this might not be extremely accurate, it will help to record weight fluctuations
Assess your hay and haylage for quality, request an analysis if you want to check the protein and sugar (WSC) content.
Chat to us for help or advice on the best forage for your horse
Consider feeding a probiotic to maximise hindgut health and get the most from your forage
Feed what they need
Keep starch levels to an absolute minimum
Use oil and highly digestible fibre sources to add condition
Consider if they’re losing topline due to reduction in work rather than a calorie deficit
If your horse is at risk or suffers from EGUS (ulcers), fizzy behaviour, loose droppings, laminitis or Insulin Dysregulation/EMS we can help you with individual advice for keeping sugar and starch low but keeping condition on. High fibre, high oil, pre-digested feeds, carefully matched amino acids, superior hindgut support are just some features and benefits Keyflow Feeds provide.
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