Timing of Meals for Horse Health and Performance
Horse owners know how important good nutrition is to the health and performance of their animals. They spend considerable time and money ensuring that their horses are provided with the nutrition they need to do a job and stay healthy. There is a great deal of debate in the equine industry today about feed and its safety or suitability for our horses. We search the internet seeking the best supplements and more and more we are backing up our research with lab analyses to ensure we know as accurately as possible just what we feed them. Despite this diligence on the part of horse owners there can still be issues with health and performance. Horses who are working intensely are subject to gastric ulcers and hindgut upset. Performance horses can hit the wall and run out of energy when they most need it to be successful. Why does this happen and what can we do to feed our horses better?
The timing of meals for working horses is a poorly understood and easily overlooked subject. We know that in general horses have a small stomach and so the practice of feeding small meals frequently is preferable to large meals especially when feeding concentrates like grains. We also know that horses can be prone to gastric ulcers especially if they are on an intensive work or training schedule. Its also generally well known that horses secrete gastric acids in their stomachs constantly and not just in response to a meal. The potential outcome of this digestive adaptation is discomfort for a horse performing on an empty stomach. So how exactly does the timing of meals affect your horses health and performance?
One of the most effective ways to ensure a healthy foregut for your horse is to feed consistent small meals of forage throughout the day. No matter what your horses need for supplemental energy provided by concentrates all horses need access to consistent intake of palatable forage. Grass hay works well as do grassalfalfa mix hays. Alfalfa itself is an excellent buffer in the stomach of the horse largely due to its bulky fibre content and the high level of calcium it contains. Straight alfalfa must be fed with caution though due to its high protein content. Protein fed in excess of needs has to be metabolized and excreted a metabolic process that costs your horse energy. Soaked
