Feed

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Hay in New England has been a problem of late. During the winter of 2007, my supplier ran out. That's the first time in seven years of buying hay that it had happened. The haying season of 2008 wasn't very good here either. Heavy rains and the price of gas have driven hay prices to an all time high.

On Friday I wrote about the importance of hydration, especially in the winter. It got me thinking about the changes I've been making to my horse's feeding regime.

On Friday I wrote about the importance of hydration, especially in the winter. It got me thinking about the changes I've been making to my horse's feeding regime.

Here's a useful article from the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources which I first read at www.thehorse.com. It seems particularly appropriate given that I just had to cross country ski to the barn today!

I've been feeding my horses flax seed (also called linseed) for about a decade. I started with HorseTech's fabulous products, first with Glanzen, their hoof & coat supplement, then moving onto one with glucosomine in it.

One day I noticed that the owner of one of the ponies at the barn had switched her pony's feed. I asked her why. She had been feeding the pony a regime prescribed by a nutritionist that had come to the barn and evaluated several of the horses.

Awhile back I wrote a post that stated you should feed your horse a minimum of 1.5% of it's body weight in forage. It's also useful to know how much your horse weighs when calculating grain rations and dosages of de-wormers and medications.