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On-the-Go Feeding By Audrey Pavia | Photo by Heidi Melocco
The stress of traveling can play havoc with your horse’s digestive system. Use this checklist to support your horse’s digestive health.
Before You Go ■ Schedule a wellness exam. Before you set off on your trip, schedule a wellness exam with your veterinarian to make sure your horse is ready for the journey. ■ Evaluate your horse’s diet. Make sure your horse’s diet meets his complete nutrient requirements essential for optimal health and performance. Consider consulting a nutrition specialist. ■ Buy the right feed. Select lowdust forage or a complete feed. Make sure it’s clean, fresh, and toxin-free. Keep to the same feed, if possible. Consider a complete feed that will travel well. ■ Check feed requirements. If you’ll be traveling to or through public lands, find out whether you need to give your horse certified weed-free feed. This regulation also applies to feed pellets in some states. ■ Transition slowly. If you’ll be changing your horse’s diet, start before you leave. Gradually mix the new into the old over the course of 7 to 10 days to minimize possible digestive upset. Keep your horse on the new diet for at least two weeks before you leave home to condition him to the new feed ration. ■ Consider supplements. Con-
sider adding supplements to your horse’s feed to help him with the rigors of travel. “Travel stress is best met by providing B vitamins a week before travel, during the trip, and a week following,” says equine nutritionist Juliet Getty, PhD. ■ Pack salt and electrolytes. Pack natural salt rocks or granulated salt to offer free-choice at your destination. “Horses require a minimum of two tablespoons of salt per day, and more when sweating,” says Dr. Getty. “A sweating horse will also require electrolytes. Provide one electrolyte paste tube for every two hours of work.”
to the flavored water, so will be more likely to his drink water ration during your trip.
On the Road ■ Use a hay bag or bucket. On the road, use a slow feeder hay bag for forage; this will help your horse eat more slowly and will reduce wasted feed. Bring a bucket for complete feed and hay cubes. Hang the hay bag and bucket at a height that allows your horse to lower his head as he eats.
Keep Him Hydrated ■ Provide enough water. Generally, in the summer, your horse needs about 10 gallons of water per day, but if he’ll be working hard on a hot day, he may need more. He’ll also need plenty of water to accommodate increased thirst caused by added salt and electrolytes. ■ Plan ahead. Find out whether your destination offers water for horses. If you’ll be depending on streams, make sure they’ll be flowing at the time of your visit. ■ Bring water from home. If your horse is a fussy drinker, or if water won’t be available, bring water from home to use en route. Consider adding apple juice concentrate to his water for two weeks before you leave on your trip and while you’re on the road. Your horse gets used
USRider® Equestrian Traveler’s Companion
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On the road, use a slow feeder hay bag for forage (such as a Nibblenet, shown); this will help your horse eat more slowly and will reduce wasted feed.
■ Soak the hay. Encourage a fussy drinker by soaking his hay. Put hay or hay cubes into a hay net, dunk the net into a water tub, and drain. ■ Tie him right. In the trailer, tie your horse with enough slack to comfortably eat and put his head down to clear his airways, but not so tight that he can catch a hoof in the rope. ■ Take breaks. Take a break every three to four hours to offer your horse water, refill his hay bag, allow him to rest, and check him over. USR Summer 2021
