Your Horse's Winter Energy Needs

energy when fed to your horse. It is important to base ration balancing decisions for winter feeding on a good hay test. Consider having your hay analyzed for nutrient content in order to accurately assess its contribution to your winter feeding program.
Optimize Your Winter Feeding Regime
The goal in any winter feeding program for your horse is to balance his energy requirements with his energy intake. To successfully accomplish this it is imperative that you accurately assess what your horses energy requirements are and formulate a ration to meet them. Start off with an accurate body weight for your horse a tape measure or a weight tape work very well when used properly and calculate how much feed he should be consuming daily.
A good rule of thumb for a mature healthy horse doing light work is approximately 2 to 2 5 percent of his body weight in feed intake per day. That means your 1000pound horse will require approximately 20 to 25 pounds in total of hay and concentrate daily. Try as much as possible to stretch that feed intake out over at least three meals daily. Your horse will be happier and healthier as a result
Be honest in your assessment of your horses requirements. A mature 1000pound Quarter Horse ridden lightly three times per week probably doesnt need much more energy than his maintenance requirements. On the other hand if you have a mature 1000pound Thoroughbred that is a high anxiety animal he may require more energy just to keep the lights on and the furnace going so to speak than his equivalent bodyweight Quarter Horse counterpart.
Energy fed in excess of requirements has to go somewhere. If you find that your horse is either getting too fat or is trying to tear the barn down you should reassess your feeding program. Changing energy sources can sometimes be helpful. Consider changing from a hay and grain based diet to a diet based on hay fed in combination with concentrates formulated around hindgut fermented fibre sources such as soy hulls instead of starch. Fibre in a bag type feeds can be an excellent resource for increasing energy intake without increasing calories from starch.
لا تنس أهمية الماء في تلبية احتياجات حصانك من الطاقة في نظام تغذية ناجح في الشتاء. فالخيول التي تعاني من الجفاف لن تستهلك الكثير من العلف وتكون أكثر عرضة للمغص. يجب أن يكون الماء نظيفا وفيرا مع عدم وجود ثلج
إن أمكن كما تلعب الظروف الجوية دورا في برنامج التغذية الناجح في الشتاء. سيؤدي الانخفاض المفاجئ في درجات الحرارة في مناخ معتدل ورطب عادة إلى زيادة متطلبات الطاقة لحصانك. تأكد من تعديل برنامج التغذية الخاص بك إلى نظام طاقة أكثر اعتدالا عندما يعود الطقس إلى درجات حرارة أكثر ملاءمة للموسم.