Nutrition Focus: Winter Q & A

Lorna Edgar – specialist equine nutritionist

Tira & Bella enjoying some winter grazing

Photograph courtesy of Lorna Edgar

Winter Q & A

Feeding those in winter work

Firstly, I wish you all a very happy 2022 – let’s hope it is a good one with plenty of polo!

Since the Christmas break, I have been asked a few questions about feeding over the winter months with some aimed at horses in work and playing arena polo whilst others relate to those turned out on their winter break.

Q: When my ponies are playing arena during the winter months, do I still need to give them electrolytes?

A: The simple answer is YES! They will still be sweating, and those electrolyte salts lost in the sweat will need to be replaced with an electrolyte supplement. As always, I would supplement only when the horses are sweating, probably not every day – such as days off, quiet days or possibly days on the exercise track when the weather is cold.

Make sure you read the manufacturer’s recommended quantities of the supplement, whether it be powder, liquid or syringe to ensure you are feeding the correct quantities, and how to administer it – in the water, a sloppy feed or syringed.

Dillon Bacon’s Open Jabalina

Always ensure there is free access to water for the horses to remain hydrated at all times, with good access to forage which will act as a reservoir in the hind gut to aid hydration during exercise.

Q: A couple of my ponies that are playing arena have gone a little dull in the coat and their skin seems to be dry and scurfy, what should I do?

A: There are a few suggestions when horses are looking a bit dull coated at this time of the year, especially when being clipped. I would suggest trying the following: • Ensure the diet is balanced – feeding the right amount of feed for workload will ensure all essential vitamins and minerals are being received for general good health, which includes skin and coat health as well. • Adding a good ‘glug’ of soya or linseed oil to the feed or using an oil supplement such as Outshine or EquiJewel, will help to bring back the coat shine and allow the skin to not be so dry and more supple. • Sometimes, if the forage is not of great quality, it may not be providing all those essential nutrients that the concentrate ration should be complementing, so ensuring enough of a good quality forage is being fed and possibly substituting the forage with a beet pulp or an alfa with oil, will help to pick up the overall nutrient content of the diet. • And, not forgetting those basic management ideas – brushing out the sweat, washing off well, and NOT over rugging.

Q: I have a mare playing arena polo who is proving to be quite hot, she also plays in the summer and is better suited to grass as she likes to run, but I need to settle her in the Arena without her dropping condition – help?!

A: Great question! Some horses are just suited to arena or grass but we can sometimes use their diets to help them adjust. As arena polo is a lot more ‘stop/start’ with very short bursts of speed may cause some horses that are used to being able to run to become quite excitable or ‘hot’, so my suggestions would be as follows: • Initially, to help reduce the excitable energy

I would opt for a low starch diet, although, because calories are required to help prevent her losing condition, it’s best to avoid a traditional Conditioning Cube or

Conditioning Mix and look at something like Ease & Excel Cubes or Ease & Excel

Mix. The calorie intake will still be met, but the starch (which can exacerbate excitable energy) will be reduced considerably. • Monitor how much forage is being eaten – if the hay is not being eaten up during the day or night it’s worth providing an alternative fibre source… o A more palatable hay or haylage – ideally less stalk, more leaf o A separate feed bowl containing a couple of scoops of Fibre-Beet or Dengie Meadow Grass, for example • Splitting the feeds over three meals per day rather than two large meals – to increase absorption and digestion of the concentrate feed, no more than 1½ round bowl Stubbs scoops of cubes/mix/chaff/ beet in one feed. • Looking at a pre/probiotic supplement to help support the beneficial bacteria in the hind gut work more effectively. • If she doesn’t settle after trying the above suggestions, I would have the conversation with your vet regarding Gastric Ulcers (EGUS) and whether to treat or investigate further.

Q: Usually, I play my horses from the field, but this winter we are having to keep them in, and I have had a couple of episodes of impaction colic, what would you suggest I do to help this?

A: Oh, how frustrating, but you are not alone and there are things we can do to hopefully help! Firstly, I would keep a close eye on their droppings – are they becoming too firm? I would also suggest keeping an eye on how much they are drinking, if they are used to being out and not drinking from buckets they may be intimidated by the narrowness of a bucket so a ‘trug’ on the floor might be better suited.

I would also suggest feeding a sloppy beet pulp to really help keep the wet fibre going through the digestive tract, especially if the horses are on hay or a dry haylage. If you (or they!!) are not so keen on the beet pulp then feed a scoop of chaff and add a scoop or so of water to it so you are still increasing the water content and digestible fibre in the diet.

Have a look at your hay or haylage – if it is very ‘stalky’ it may not be as digestible – perhaps mixing it with a soft leafy hay will help to resolve the problem until a new batch of forage comes in? To help with the digestion of the fibre, you may want to consider adding a pre/probiotic supplement to their diets as well.

Q: Since Christmas, my wintering ponies have dropped off a little condition, what should I do?

A: Very often those horses turned out over the winter will maintain their condition during the first half of the winter, and as the winter weather begins to get harsher after Christmas, we often find the horses will drop off condition.

If you are already supplementing with hay or haylage in the field already, this is great. What might therefore be the problem is that the forage is not providing adequate calories and therefore some hard feed would be necessary to help stop the loss of condition – a heaped scoop of Conditioning Cubes per day would suffice as this adds a few calories, some quality protein and vitamins and minerals – perfect!

You could also consider putting field licks out in the fields for them to take on some extra supplementation of vitamins and minerals.

Dillon Bacon’s Manzana waiting to play in the arena

Q: I have been offering my wintering horses extra hay this winter, the fields they are in have plenty of grass, and they don’t seem to be all that interested in the hay, does this matter?

A: Yes, we do see this from time to time, and if you are lucky enough to have winter grazing that is dry this is a ‘win win’ situation! This year in particular the grass didn’t stop growing until quite late, so it is likely they are getting enough ‘gut fill’ and fibre from the grass. I would, however, keep offering them some hay, particularly now (after Christmas) as the colder weather is with us, they will want to eat more long fibre to ensure their ‘central heating system’ is working effectively (also known as the hind gut)!

Don’t put huge amounts out for them, just a few small scattered piles, and see if they are interested. Once they begin to tuck in, you will need to keep them topped up – they are hungry for extra fibre!

Contact Lorna Edgar of Baileys Horse Feeds on lorna@baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk