EquineTeleseminar

How to Help Horses Gain Weight

Horse owners often have to consider controlling their horse’s weight. Most of the time, the horse will weigh too much, but there are situations when horses need to gain a little bit of weight. For very active horses, keeping a steady, high weight total is extremely important. Here are some tips on how to make help a horse gain a little bit of weight if it needs to.

Tips to Maintaining Weight

Weight control is one of the most important issues facing many horse owners. Fat, lazy horses are simply unhealthy horses and they are more likely to live a shorter life than their in shape brethren. How do you control a horse’s weight, while still providing him with the right amount of food and vitamins? It is a delicate balance between healthy and obese, but these are a few ways to walk that line.

Garlic: Good For Horses?

The relatively new practice of feeding garlic to horses in an attempt to help with respiratory health has come under fire in recent months. Because garlic has strong antibacterial aspects, some horse owners have been hopeful that it could be a miracle cure for many horse ailments. There are many in the horse world with doubts about the product, though. A line has been drawn in the proverbial sand as some see it as effective, while others call the herb a toxic horse killer.

When Horses Cramp Up

Though horses are born to run, there are many that experience the painful problem of having cramps while trying to change speeds. When a horse quickens his gait pace to a gallop, cramping has been an especially difficult problem to deal with. Horses are interesting in their running style because they link their breathing to the rhythm of their hoof beats. When horses run, they just don’t bring in enough oxygen to support their muscles, which constantly tire because of the natural existence of lactic acid that causes pain and cramping. Recently, there have been new findings in the industry that are allowing horses to break through this problem and improve their performance.

How Much Food is the Right Amount For Your Horse?

Though it would certainly be nice if there was a full proof template for feeding a horse, unfortunately one does not exist. Simply put, you have to take these things on a case by case basis. There are many different factors that can impact how much food a horse needs. Obviously, a horse that goes through a lot of activity will need more food than one that just sits around.

Vitamins Aren’t Just For Kids

Flintstone’s doesn’t make a vitamin for horses, but that doesn’t mean that your best pet should be left without. When most horse owners consider their horse’s health and nutrition needs, they think about the different foods, the varying amounts of water, and a host of other considerations. Among those considerations must be the inclusion of different types of vitamins.

Expensive Food is Worth the Cost

Buying a horse is a huge responsibility and requires a commitment of both time and finances. After you have bought the horse, the commitment isn’t over. There is still quite a bit to be done. If you want a horse that performs at a high level, you must continue to open the wallet for his sake.

Salt Block Basics

Salt blocks are an essential part of a horse’s nutrition plan. For both the most active and least active horses, having a steady dose of sodium does the body well. For horse owners that want their horses to be able to go for extended rides, there should be an extra emphasis on salt blocks. There are many different brands of salt blocks, though. Each one brings a little something different to the table, so depending upon your horse; you will want to choose the salt block that best fits their needs.

Hay Before Grain: The Great Debate

Novice horse owners often make the mistake of disregarding the order in which they provide food for their horses. After all, the stuff is all going to the same place, right? In actuality, these people are making a huge mistake. A horse’s digestive system is a very volatile thing. Horse owners must manage the way that they feed their horses if they expect peak performance when it comes time to ride the horse. With that in mind, does it really matter if the horse eats grain first or hay first? The answer is a certain yes.

Basic Horse Nutrition Guidelines

In order to get the best performance possible out of a horse, proper nutrition is absolutely essential. Whether the horse is training for competitive riding or just leisure riding, good nutrition helps create and maintain a healthy horse. What basic things must each horse owner take into account to help create a healthy diet?