Equine Nutrition by KER's Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Founder In a Young Mare
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: I own a four-year-old, 15.3-hand Appaloosa mare that consumes this diet daily: five flakes of mixed grass hay divided into four feedings; minimal grass in a small paddock; and two small coffee cans of textured feed and two cups of a ration balancer (divided into two feedings).

This mare has been healthy her entire life. A few days ago she became very sore in her paddock. The vet concluded she was foundering slightly from grass. We treated her, and she was sound the next day with no heat in her feet.  Our vet recommended keeping her off grass. What caused this episode? Should I give her a different grain? I have never had a horse founder, as I am very careful with my mare's weight and feeding.

A: It is often very difficult to nail down the exact cause of founder, but obviously something tipped your mare over the edge. Some possibilities might be the growth of grass caused by the rains (which would be very high in sugars), fever, or even the combination of a fresh trim with the high-sugar grass. This may be a one-time problem or a recurring one .

Understanding how to diminish the risk factors may help prevent it from happening again. Keeping your mare at the ideal weight and not letting her gain too much weight is key to preventing further problems, particularly if she is insulin resistant. You may have to be prudent about time out on grass during any fresh growth (spring or fall, or when the grass turns green after a rain from a drought). Muzzling the horse while turned out may decrease the consumption of grass to the point where it is not a problem.

Feed as little concentrate as necessary to meet the energy and nutrient requirements of the horse. Choose a feed that is high in digestible sources of fiber and low in starch.  Maintain a consistent exercise program. Your feeding program seems very sound for a horse that may be susceptible to founder. KER Team Member Brooks Feed has two Phase V products, one textured and one pelleted. The pelleted version is ideal for this type of horse. There is a slight difference in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) between the two, with the pelleted being lower. Because you are feeding such a small amount, it should make no difference whether you feed the pelleted or textured.

I like that you are adding the All-Phase to compensate for feeding less Phase V than recommended, which is ideal, and All-Phase is low-NSC as well. If you cut down the amount of Phase V you feed, then you will need to feed more All-Phase. In general, for every pound (0.5 kg) below the recommended feeding rate add ¼ pound (1 cup) of All-Phase. Match the intake to the body condition needs of the horse, and your horse should do well.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

Wheat Midds in Equine Diets
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: I own nine horses, and three of them are older. Most of my horses are on grass during the summer with mineral and salt blocks, and they have access to a loose mineral product.  The old horses are fed a coffee can of pelleted wheat midds and wet beet pulp twice each day.  In the fall and winter, I add about a half pound per feeding of rice bran. When grass season is gone, the horses are fed either round bales of prairie hay or square bales of prairie brome mix. The younger horses (6 to 14 years old) get about two pounds of wheat midds per day plus hay and minerals. I don't feed a lot of grain and generally no grain in the summer. Most of the horse are very easy keepers, with two being borderline metabolic cases. Is it OK to feed the wheat midds as grain? Do I need to top-dress with anything? We buy the wheat midds bulk for the cattle, so they are less expensive than grain manufactured specifically for horses?

Would wheat midds make a horse high-strung?  We purchased one of the older horses (a 27-year-old gelding) with hopes it would be a safe first horse for my son. We feed him more than the previous owner, and he also gets a daily joint supplement. Now this gelding has more energy than we really wanted. Am I providing my horses with proper nutrition?

A: The only risk you have with the diets you describe is a reversed calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Whether or not you have a calcium problem depends on the amount of calcium in your forages and the amount of wheat midds you are feeding. If you are adding rice bran that is not stabilized or has added calcium, it may be compounding the problem. During the summer when the horses are on pasture and not getting any wheat midds or rice bran, you do not need to add anything. However, when you start feeding wheat midds you should add a little limestone to the feed. My estimation is that for every pound of wheat midds or rice bran a minimum of 10 grams of limestone is needed, but this will also be dependent on the amount of calcium in the forage.

Using MicroSteed, ration evaluation software from Kentucky Equine Research (KER), I compared the old-horse winter diet with KER’s nutrient and energy requirements. Because the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio was below 1, and ideally it should be between 1 and 2, I added limestone.

Yes, wheat midds can make a horse high-strung. Wheat midds are energy-dense (around 3 Mcal/kg), which is much higher than forage (1.5-2.2 Mcal/kg). The form of the energy is most relevant here, as wheat midds are much higher in starch (around 25%) than hay (>5%). The horse probably feels better because he has more energy and perhaps his joints ache less, so his true colors are showing. If this horse can maintain his weight on forage (plus salt and minerals), he will probably become more cooperative as a beginner’s horse. If not, the rice bran may be a better choice for energy than the wheat midds because it is higher in fat, which has been shown to add calories but not make horses excitable .

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

What to Feed a Yearling with Physitis
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell


Q: I own a 750-pound yearling Paint gelding that is showing signs of growth-related bone problems. He is outside 24/7, and is fed one flake of bermudagrass and one flake of alfalfa hay morning and night, as well as King Feed 20/20. Should I feed him the Kentucky Equine Research (KER) All-Phase ration balancer in addition to the hay? Alfalfa or timothy pellets?

A: If you are referring to the All-Phase mentioned on the KER website, it is not available in the United States, only internationally. However, several of the KER Team Members carry similar products, so be sure to ask your feed supplier for a comparable feed.

Because your gelding is growing, it is critical that he consume more essential vitamins, minerals, and protein than most adult horses. So, while he may grow on a hay-only diet, to ensure proper, healthy bone growth and development, a supplement of some sort is recommended. I use software called MicroSteed developed by KER to evaluate the nutritional adequacy of a diet. The program uses information about the horse (age, breed, growth rate, etc.) to establish a custom set of requirements specific to that horse.

I found it difficult to meet the energy, protein, and calcium requirements for your gelding when I used timothy pellets instead of alfalfa. Some nutritionists recommended avoiding alfalfa, but for the growing horse, it is an excellent addition to a balanced diet when fed in limited quantities. For illustrative purposes, in the evaluation I used 12 pounds of bermudagrass hay, 6 pounds of alfalfa, and 1 pound of a ration balancer. If your horse is showing signs of physitis, this would be an appropriate diet.

Using timothy pellets, it would take 10 pounds per day as well as 12 pounds of bermuda grass to achieve a similar level of nutrition that the diet with alfalfa provides. I would be surprised if you could get a yearling to eat that many hay pellets.

The recommendation for a growing horse with developmental orthopedic disease (DOD) is to feed a restricted diet by reducing the amount of starch in the diet, limiting calories, and supplying all the protein, vitamins, and minerals needed by the individual for healthy growth. KER-formulated ration balancers supply these essential nutrients missing in forage-only diets without adding significant amounts of starch.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

Balancer Pellet for Growing Foals
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: I am presently feeding my nursing mares CPI Equi-Balancer 30%, oats, beet pulp, and a popular pelleted protein and energy supplement. I would like to know what the recommended amount of CPI Equi-Balancer is for a young foal. Are other supplements required? I am particularly interested in the amount of lysine in this product because it is not published on the bag.

A: Cooperative Plus Inc. (CPI) is a valued Kentucky Equine Research (KER) Team Member, so I was able to find out that the amount of lysine in CPI Equi-Balancer is 1.9%. Lysine is an essential amino acid, especially important for growing horses.

Recommended amounts of CPI Equi-Balancer for young growing foals will depend somewhat on the expected mature weight of the foal. For a foal with an expected mature weight of 1000-1200 pounds, the following would be appropriate:
Age 4-8 months:  1 pound Equi-Balancer per day, and
Age 8-12 months:  1.25 pounds Equi-Balancer per day.

You should not need any other supplements as long as you have quality hay/pasture available. You can feed the amount of oats and/or beet pulp needed to maintain the foal's weight and support adequate growth. A general rule of thumb is 1 pound of feed for every month of age up to six months (including the CPI Equi-Balancer) and 6-8 pounds per day for foals 6-12 months of age. The advantage of feeding CPI Equi-Balancer or any other balancer pellet is that you can supply all the essential vitamins, minerals, and protein without extra calories. Then you can control calorie intake with the amount of oats and beet pulp you feed.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

Mares Slow to Cycle: A Nutritional Component?
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: We live in Portugal and are having problems with lack of estrus in our mares. Could you suggest a change in management or a supplement that can help us stimulate heat in these mares ?

A: Here are some reasons why the mares in your area are not coming into estrus:
1. Because of your proximity to the equator and little change in daylight hours, mares will often cycle year-round. However, reproductive specialists have found that mares near the equator will sometimes shut down for 3 or 4 months to reset their reproductive tracts, much like what mares in the temperate areas experience. If everything else appears normal with the reproductive tract, then perhaps what you are seeing is a temporary shutdown. If this is the case, then the best plan of action is to just wait and let them come back when they are ready.
2. If mares are in poor body condition or are losing weight, they are less likely to show signs of estrus. Also, mares that are protein-deficient may not ovulate. This is Mother Nature's way of helping mares so they do not get pregnant at a time when they cannot physically support a growing fetus or nursing foal.
3. When mares have been given anabolic steroids (commonly used on the racetrack and with halter show horses), it wreaks havoc on their estrous cycles. After ceasing use of the steroids, it may take up to a year to get the mares' hormonal cycles straightened out.
4. Physical problems or states will keep mares from coming into estrus: pregnancy, cystic or damaged ovaries, uterine infection, endometritis, pseudopregnancy, etc.  All of these should be diagnosed and treated by a veterinarian.

Suggestions:
1. Make sure the mares have a balanced diet so there are no deficiencies or excesses.  The diet should also provide plenty of energy so that mares are gaining weight if they are too thin. For obese mares the diet should maintain weight, but it is not the time to try to slim down the mares. The particular nutrients to pay attention to are vitamin A and vitamin E. Omega-3 supplementation may also be useful.
2. In the United States, it is very common to use artificial lighting to lengthen the daylight hours so that the mares start cycling in December and January. The goal is to have the mares spend 16 hours in light and 8 hours in dark. At the equator, the day and night are equal in length--12 hours light and 12 hours dark. I am not sure how much your daylight differs from this. Perhaps putting the mares under lights for 16 hours may have an effect. The light needs to be strong enough to have an effect; a 200-watt bulb is sufficient for an average stall.
3. Hormones can be used to regulate estrus in mares. If mares are not showing signs of estrus, progesterone (injectible, implant, or the oral product Regumate) can be given for 10 to 14 days and then followed with prostaglandin. Mares should come into heat in 3-5 days. This method is used commonly to synchronize herds that are scheduled for artificial insemination (AI).  This may not work if mares are in anestrus, but it is useful if mares are in the transitional phase (moving from anestrus to estrus).
4. The presence of a stallion on the farm, especially if he is in close proximity to the mares, can help to bring mares into estrus. Even if there is no breeding stallion, a teaser stallion or a hypermasculine gelding can be useful, particularly if he is vocal and will call to the mares. Bringing the stallion or teaser up to the mares on a daily basis has been shown to increase signs and detection of estrus.
5.  I am not aware of any herbal remedy or specific nutrient that would help jumpstart mares into cycling. Tryptophan was tested as a supplement for reversing winter anestrus and was not successful in the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps it may have a different effect on mares that are already in sufficient daylight hours, but I am not aware of any studies on mares in the equatorial region.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

 

Slimming Down a Cresty Neck
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: Suppose a horse has a cresty neck score of 2. If we reduce caloric intake slightly and exercise the horse 4-5 days per week, will the score return to zero if the horse loses weight? If so, will it return to zero if the horse has EMS? Cushing's disease?

A: Horses are given a cresty neck score (CNS) to determine degree of fat deposition and to more easily monitor changes in neck thickness. A narrow range of scores exists; a score of zero would describe a neck with no crest, and a score of 5 would describe a massive crest that has shifted permanently to one side, called a fallen crest.

If the horse loses weight with a change in diet and activity, it should lose fat out of the subcutaneous layers all over its body. The fat that accumulates in the neck tissues is a little different than other body fat, and the amount lost on the neck may depend on the breed of the horse. Draft horses and draft crosses, some pony breeds, and Morgan horses may retain a bit more crestiness than members of other breeds. If the horse is hot-blooded like a Thoroughbred, it should lose all of the crest once it has achieved moderate body condition. Stallions of any breed might retain more crest than mares or geldings because deposition of fat in the neck is a secondary sexual characteristic.

If you can get a EMS horse to a body condition score of 4 or 5 and keep it in a consistent work program, it should resolve a lot of the issues with insulin resistance. The problem is getting the horse to lose that much weight. A structured schedule of near-daily exercise is usually necessary.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

 

Feeding Efficiency
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: How do the nutritional needs of recreational trail horses differ from those of horses competing in other disciplines?

A: Some of what you have to pack depends on the backcountry. If forage is sparse, then packing forage cubes or pellets would be the most compact way to bring in essential forage to supplement what little the horse can pick up. One advantage of forage cubes and pellets is that they can be fed wet as a way to make sure the horse consumes water. Check ahead of time to know if you need to have certified weed-free forages. If there are abundant natural forages, then bringing along some type of grain concentrate will be very much appreciated by the horse. On a weight-by-calorie basis, the high-fat feeds certainly give the horse more energy with less bulk than low-fat or conventional feeds. Pelleted rice bran together with some type of vitamin/mineral supplement would give more calories per pound. Conventional high-fat pellets (6-12% fat) would be another option as would a high-fat sweet feed, but rancidity might be an issue if the temperatures are consistently high. Bring along a small salt block or loose salt to add to the feed calorie-dense feed.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

 

Pastured Horses
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: When horses are out on pasture, what extra vitamins, minerals and supplements would be helpful to make sure they are getting all they need?

A: Good-quality forage found in pastures goes a long way in meeting a horse’s nutrient requirements. Nutrients abundant in green grass are water, digestible fibers, protein, vitamin A (in carotenes), vitamin E and vitamin D (from sunlight). There can be sufficient amounts of macrominerals such as calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.  Microminerals like zinc, copper and manganese are present but may be inadequate. Selenium can be deficient, adequate or excessive depending on the area of the country.  Sodium is usually low in the forage, so free-choice salt (sodium chloride) should always be available. If the pasture is poor, either in quality or quantity, then the supply of the above-mentioned nutrients would be less. Three general types of supplements may be used to balance nutrients that are deficient or missing in the forage, and these vary in what nutrients they offer:  vitamin/mineral fortified salt (formulated for horses), vitamin/mineral supplement (fed in small quantities, only appropriate if more calories or protein are not necessary), or commercial concentrate (contain additional calories and protein; the amount of calories needed will dictate whether it would be a low-intake balancer type or a regular commercial feed).

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

Feeding Trail Horses
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: How do the nutritional needs of recreational trail horses differ from those of horses competing in other disciplines?

A: There is not much difference in the vitamin, mineral and protein requirements between trail horses and other performance horses.  The biggest differences would be the amount of calories needed and the form in which the calories are consumed. Forages (grass or hay) provide an ideal source of energy that is constantly available as the horse goes down the trail. Forages are also necessary for a properly functioning digestive tract and act as a major stimulus to the thirst response for water intake. All of these are important for the trail horse.  If the trail horse can get enough calories from forage alone, then the ideal diet would be forage with a vitamin/mineral supplement and salt to supply the other nutrients that are low or missing in the forage. Only if the horse cannot maintain his weight on forage alone is it necessary to add some kind of more calorie-dense feed.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

Tying Up
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

Q: Is there anything you can feed that would prevent or greatly reduce the risk or tying up, and is there any feeding regimes that could cause tying up?

A: There has been a long-recognized association with the feeding of high-starch meals and the occurrence of tying up.  Consumption of high-starch meals is commonly thought of as the cause of Monday morning disease, seen in work horses that were fed full rations on their day off and then suffered from tying up the following day when pulled out to work. More recently, researchers have been able to link high-starch intakes to tying up in horses with certain genetic muscle disorders like polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) and recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER).  A horse with PSSM builds up too much sugar (glycogen) in the muscle tissue, and thus responds well to removal of as much starch as possible from the diet.  RER horses can tolerate a moderate amount of starch, but a narrowly defined threshold often tips them over the edge. There are a few nutrients that when deficient or imbalanced can lead to muscle problems such as selenium/vitamin E or calcium.  Also when a horse becomes dehydrated and has lost a lot of electrolytes through sweating it can bring on a bout of tying up. To avoid tying up, make sure the horse has a well-fortified diet with the proper balance of minerals and vitamins; back off or slow down if the horse becomes dehydrated; replace electrolytes when the horse is sweating intensely; and avoid high-starch meals if the horse is suspected of having either PSSM or RER.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

Recovery
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

 

Q: What should you feed your horse when your trail ride ends up being longer and harder than you expected and the horse gets back to the trailer pretty tired?

A: There is nothing better for a tired horse than to allow him to graze fresh grass, if it is available. Grass has the benefit of having the right combination of nutrients for energy and a lot of water for rehydration. Letting the horse eat with his head down is also relaxing for the horse and stretches the tired back muscles from carrying the weight of rider or pack. If there is no grass, then hay is the second best. Feeding the hay on the ground and dousing it with water may sneak a little moisture into the horse. Make sure there is fresh water (not too cold) available for the horse. Fiber from the forage in the gut should trigger the thirst response and make the horse want to take a good drink. The fiber and water in the gut form a reservoir of energy and electrolytes for the horse to draw upon to replace what was lost during the long trail ride. Once the horse has gotten a belly full of forage, it would be reasonable to offer a small concentrate meal.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.

Eating on the Go
by Equine Nutritionist Dr. Kathleen Crandell

 

Q: I would like to know if feeding hay in the trailer is safe for horses, and what is your recommendation of how to feed a horse in a trailer so it doesn't choke?

A: Horses are fed hay in trailers without incident all the time, but there is a slight chance that a horse could choke. There are a few things you can do to reduce the risk. Tying the horse so that it is able to get his head down and chew in a more natural swallowing position is one idea. It may seem very convenient when the trailer has a built-in feed bunk, but it can be very uncomfortable for the horse if he cannot step back from the bunk and lower his head. Hay bags work better because the horse can take a bite and then drop his head to chew. Wetting the hay before putting it in the trailer not only reduces the dustiness in the trailer but also provides moister bites. Because horses do not particularly like drinking in the trailer, moistening whatever they are eating may ease its passage down the esophagus. Feeding the same hay the horse is getting at home may be wise if the horse has a tendency to gorge when offered something that is different or more palatable.

Article reprinted with the permission of copyright holder Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit www.ker.com for more horse health and nutrition information.