|
You may end up paying an additional thirty to forty
dollars per month on top of your regular boarding costs
if you don’t get a decrease in your bill by brining in
your own feed. However, correcting the situation by
feeding a supplement is often the best option. Most barn
managers will accommodate their customers in this area
since they realize the difference in horses needs.
You should look at possible reasons if horses are too
thing such as deworming schedules, pasture time and the
amount of grain and hay fed. Underweight problems can
usually be solved with rice bran. Extra calories in the
form of fat are provided through an all-natural
supplement that contains stabilized rice bran. However,
never confuse rice bran with wheat bran. There is twenty
percent of fat in rice bran along with naturally high
levels of Vitamin E and Iron. For optimum weight gain
you should feed one to two pound per day and you will
also get the added side benefit of improved coat
condition. An improved diet will often take about four
weeks before you start to actually see benefits.
Often times, horses that are thin are not getting enough
good fiber in their diets. The boarder often has little
control over the pasture and hay quality in addition to
quantity. Fiber supplements are one way that you can
improve this feeding situation. Overall fiber intake can
be improved through four to five pounds of alfalfa
cubes, alfalfa/timothy cubes or chopped forage products.
In addition to underweight horses, concern should also
be given to overweight horses. Restrict the horse’s diet
in both grain and hay or pasture to take weight off and
exercise the horse more often. It is difficult to find
grain rations that have vitamin and mineral
fortification. To balance the vitamin and mineral
requirements of a horse five to eight pounds of rations
are typically required. Feeding this much grain just
isn’t practical for overweight horses. It is best to
feed a specialty diet feed or feed the horse a
supplement that provides the additional requirements all
in one package.
If supplements are only giving you a portion of what you
need then you should be careful when mixing them. You
may duplicate certain nutrients when you mix others to
make up for what is missing and this could lead to
potential toxicity. It is also more difficult for
employees to keep feeding consistent when more
supplements are required.
You should also remember to recognize the fact that each
horse needs different levels of protein. More protein is
required by pregnant mares and horses under two than the
mature horse. Only one protein option is usually offered
by boarding farms. Managers will often use a twelve
percent protein diet when there are different ages of
horses in the barn since it falls between the protein
needs of multiple ages. You should also pay attention to
the importance of clean, fresh water available at all
times for the horse along with a free-choice salt.
|
