Feeding Management Techniques for Horses Presentation Part 5: Overweight and Appetite #8895-E

Overweight and Appetite Obesity - common form of malnutrition Being too kind & generous with feed scoop and/or not exercising a horse enough contributes to obesity Weight monitored using weighing scale or weight tape

Overweight and Appetite Estimating by sight is not accurate Weight tapes are within 5% of the actual weight – Not as expensive as weighing scales

Overweight and Appetite Place around barrel or girth of relaxed horse Tape should not be twisted & should be snug

Overweight and Appetite Tape accuracy dependent on: – User – Breed – Age of horse Not accurate on: – Miniature horses – Foals – High withered horses

Overweight and Appetite Body score condition is one way to make sure horses are “fat enough” but not too fat

Overweight and Appetite Thinness in horses cause by: – Poor quality feed – Inadequate feed – Internal parasites – Poor teeth – Milk production – Pregnancy – Excessive work

Overweight and Appetite Dental problems lead to improper chewing & digestive problems Teeth should be regularly checked for unusual wear, tear, & broken teeth With good management, conditions may be corrected Problem must be diagnosed & corrected

Overweight and Appetite May develop a metabolic disorder – Any one of the abnormalities in normal body functions that is of a biochemical origin relating to metabolic functions of the body Many horse owners feed by volume Should feed by weight

Overweight and Appetite Scoop full of oats weighs much less than a scoop full of corn If gelding eats a scoop full of corn, he’ll get 2 to 3 times more energy than he will with a similar scoop of oats

Overweight and Appetite Make adjustments in weight so that horse does not get excess energy – Would cause him to get fat or cause tying up

Overweight and Appetite Recommended Daily Feed Intake by Horses (values are percentages of body weight) State of Horse ForageGrainTotal Mature (idle) Late Gestation (mare) Lactation (mare) Working (lt., med., hard) Growing (weanling) Growing (yearling)

Overweight and Appetite For example 1,000 pound mare that is lactating would get: – pounds of forage – pounds of grain – Total of pounds of feed

Overweight and Appetite The following is a sample showing how to proportion quantities of hay & grain fed to horses according to weights & whether they are idle or performing light, medium, or heavy work

Overweight and Appetite Recommended Proportions of Hay and Grain for a 1,100-lb Horse (values are in pounds) 1,100-pound horse HayGrain Idle200 Light Work (1-2 hrs/day) 1.55 Medium Work (3-5 hrs/day) 1413 Hard Work (5+ hrs/day) 1315

Overweight and Appetite Charts serve as general guides Horse owners must – Estimate how much feed to provide – To evaluate body condition – To make necessary adjustments in feeding