USHJA HQC Study Session 7 – Equine Nutrition

Equine Nutrition – Feeding Horses as Individuals

Megan Bryant of Purina Animal Nutrition graciously donated her Tuesday evening to cover the nutrition chapter of the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge study guide.

 It was such an educational evening! Nutrition is such a vital piece of our horses’ health and success and one of the least discussed topics of our horses’ daily routines. Did you know that our performance horses should be consuming 20,000-24,000 calories a day? Or that our horses should consume 2% of their body weight in forage daily (that’s roughly 20lbs of hay!)? Did you know the stomach consists of only 8% of the horse’s digestive tract? Let’s dive in to what we learned:

Five Key Nutrients for a Balanced Diet

1. Energy – energy needs come from caloric intake.

   • Our show horses should be consuming 20,000-24,000 calories a day. To put that into perspective, grass is roughly 800 calories per pound
   • Energy comes from three sources:
     • Carbohydrates
     • Fats
     • Protein
   • Energy sources come from carbohydrates in forms of starches, sugars and fibers
     • Nonstructural Carbohydrates (grains)  are starches and sugars. They are short, simple chains of sugars and are rapidly absorbed in the small intestines.
     • Structural Carbohydrates (hay and grass) are fibers are longer, more complex chains of sugar-cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin (lignin is mature hay). Bacteria and protozoa in the hindgut digest structural carbs.

2. Protein – Proteins are essential components of every cell in the body and are needs for growth, maintenance and repair of the body’s tissues.

   • Proteins are composed amino acids, breaking down plant protein from feed into animal protein. There are 20 amino acids a horse needs from its diet. Biggest rule of thumb with proteins: Horses need QUALITY not quantity protein.
   • What is made of protein?
     • Muscle
     • Skin
     • Hair
     • Hooves
     • Enzymes
     • Hormones

3. Vitamins – Vitamins are organic and there are two types of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble.

   • Fat soluble vitamins are the following:
     • A – green, leafy forages. Vitamin A helps vision and bone remodeling
     • D – sunlight and skin Vitamin D helps bone development
     • E – green, leafy forages. Vitamin E helps immune function and reproduction
     • K – synthesized in GIT. Vitamin K helps with blood clotting
   • Water soluble vitamins are the following:
     • Vitamin C – works with the immune system and collagen
     • B complexes – works with the metabolism, hair and hoof growth

4. Minerals – Minerals are inorganic (rocks in the ground) and there are two types; macrominerals (g) and microminerals (mg)

   • Macrominerals (Ca, P, Mg, K, S, Na, Cl – have you studied the periodic table lately?!) Found in grain and hay, grains tend to be high in phosphorus and hays tent to be high in calcium.
   • Microminerals (Co, Cu, Zn, I, Fe, Mn, Se) essentially are the zinc and iron minerals.

5. Water – Mature/idle horses need 10-15 gallons of fresh and clean water a day.

Metabolism

This portion circled us back to what we learned in the conditioning chapter and study session – aerobic exercise versus anaerobic exercise.

A quick refresher: aerobic exercise is long duration and low intensity work (walk, trot, light canter) and anaerobic exercise is short duration and high intensity work. How does this factor into nutrition? Through our horses’ metabolism!

Aerobic exercise primarily burns fat, some glycogen and glucose. The muscle cells burn fuel using oxygen and enzymes to produce energy.

Anaerobic exercise really only burns glycogen and some fat. Energy is produced in the absence of oxygen, which is produced faster and less efficiently.

Body Condition

Body condition influences everything in your horse’s life, from reproductive efficiency, to performance, to good health.

1. Poor
2. Very Thin
3. Thin
4. Moderately Thin
5. Moderate
6. Moderately Fleshy
7. Fleshy
8. Fat
9. Extremely Fat

An ideal body condition score is a 5 which means you can’t see the ribs but you can feel the ribs, their topline is filled out but not creating a crease. A horse needs to lose or gain roughly 45-50 pounds in order to change their body condition score.

Roughage/Forage

Hay is around 10% water and is 800-900 calories per pound. Pasture is around 50%-60% water and is 400-500 calories per pound. Horses need to consume 1%-2% of their body weight a day in roughage. That’s roughly 20lbs of hay a day! To put that in perspective, a 1,000lb horse must graze all day on pasture to meet their calorie requirement. Rule of thumb, always evaluate the stage of maturity of your forage, as this is the basis of your horse’s diet. How does it look? How does it smell? What are its characteristics?

Grass Hay vs. Alfalfa

Grass Hay is

• Lower in
  • Energy
  • Minerals
  • Protein
• Higher in fiber

Alfalfa is

• Higher
  • Energy
  • Calcium
  • Protein
• Inconsistent quality

Concentrates and Grains

Concentrates and grains provide vitamins and minerals that is deficient in forage. Straight grains will provide calories but not significant amounts of vitamins and minerals. Concentrates can be used to provide additional calories and/or balance the diet. Here are different types of concentrates and grains:

• Oats: 9%-12% protein, 4%-5% fat. This is considered the safest of cereal grains due to added fiber hulls and density. Oats can be process whole, steamed or rolled.
• Corn: 9% protein, 3%-4% fat. Higher in energy than oats, less fiber. Corn is processed whole, cracked or flaked.
• Barley: 11% protein, 1.8% fat. Higher in fiber.

Grain Processing

There are three main types of grain processing: grinding/cracking, pelleting and extrusion. Grinding/cracking increases the surface area of the grain that is exposed to digestive enzymes. Pelleting mixes feed ingredients that are preconditioned with steam then forced through a pellet die and cut into a proper length. Pelleting prevent sorting, reduce dust, improves palatability and increases starch availability. Extrusion mixes feed particles that are forces through an opening under pressure. It increases starch availability and slows eating down.

Supplements

Supplements are used to fortify diets with specific nutrients. Some of which are: electrolytes, ergogenic-performance enhancers, blood-builders, mood enhancers (we love those sassy mares!), coat conditioners, vitamins and minerals. Always remember to use supplements with caution and start with a balanced diet.

How do I determine how much and what to feed?

These are factors that are considered when making nutrition decisions:

• Age
• Activity level/lifestyle
• Body condition score
• Forage amount and type
• Body type
• Your preferences
• Special needs – health status

Biggest Rules of Thumb

Megan gave us a list of the “biggest rules of thumb” when it comes to equine nutrition. The below rules are important to know and a great starting point when understanding the basics of your horses nutrition and diet.

• Feed horses as individuals!
• Daily observation of horses and feeders is critical – did they finish their meals from before? Any abnormalities?
• Feed by weight not by volume
• Feed small amount and often
• Ration changes should be made over 10-14 days

What’s Your Horses’ Diet?

Do you know your horse’s diet? This is something we should all be aware of as horse owners! Here’s Cat’s daily diet:

Morning – Cat is fed at 8:30am every morning

• 5lb of Blue Cloud Farms grain (this is a customized grain made specifically for BCF. It is tested to ensure the horses receive the proper vitamins and minerals lacking in our environment and forage.)
• 1 ounce Vitalize Digest More
• 8lb of grass hay

Evening – Cat is fed at 3:30pm every evening

• 5lb of Blue Cloud Farms grain
• 1 ounce Vitalize Digest More
• 12lb of grass hay

Supplements – Cat is fed her supplements at 7pm every evening

• 1lb soaked beet pulp
• ½ lb Purina Amplify (at horse shows, she gets 1lb Purina Amplify 2 hour prior to competition as this gives her the necessary “cool calories” – energy – she needs to compete)
• 2 ounces of EnviroEquine OmegaBalance camalina and pumpkin seed oil

That’s a wrap for week seven!

We are so grateful for Megan’s Megan Bryant of Purina Animal Nutrition gracious donated her Tuesday evening to cover the nutrition chapter of the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge study guide.time and expertise on equine nutrition! The girls had great questions individualized to their horses’ and learned so much. We are looking forward to the coming months with horse showing and watching the girls understand what their horses consume and why! Stay tuned for week eight – we are covering the horse handling and horse shipping chapters with Mindy Bower (seriously, how lucky are we to have all of these amazing guests?!).

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