Posts Tagged ‘pasture grass’

THE SIMPLE PLEASURE OF FEEDING

Food is one of the simplest and greatest pleasures of our horses, so make sure that your horse always has all the food requirements that he/she needs.

There are three types of food that your horse may eat. Pasture is the favorite meal of all horses, supplying needed nutrients, roughage and protein. Pastures and forage crops provide a major part of the nutritional needs of horses almost year-round. Horses are constant grazers, I mean 24/7. There are many types of pasture grass so do your homework, different parts of the country have different types of grasses that grow better in different areas and will provide the proper nutrients for your horse.

Hay is another type of food for horses, when fresh pasture is not available, hay is the best choice. There are many types of hay, such as alfalfa, coastal, T&A, Tifton, and the list goes on. Make sure you provide the best hay for your horses needs. Some hay such as alfalfa has tons of protein and for some horses you will want to give this type of hay sparingly as too much protein is not good for your horse, so do your research.

Secondly, always store hay in a dry but well-ventilated area. Feeding your horse with moldy hay can lead to various medical complications. Feeding your horse with hay alone will never make a sufficient diet so consider including another component in your horse’s diet such as horse pellets or sweet feet to ensure that all your horses nutritional needs are met. Do not forget to consider what your horse does, for example: racing, pleasure, show, competitive, jumper, etc. Horses that expend allot of energy need higher percentage of protein feed and a higher quality hay. Ask you vet for help in determining your horses diet needs.

WATER AS THE SOURCE OF LIFE

Horses are always thirsty, and can consume up to 10- 15 gallons of water daily. As such, it is extremely important that you have a ready supply of fresh water for your horse. During the winter months make sure that you place the water in heated buckets to prevent it from freezing.

SALT, MINERALS, AND HORSE TREATS

Salt and minerals are also important factors in your horse’s diet. Consult your veterinarian as to what your horse should take to consume the necessary vitamins and minerals. Salt blocks and horse treats can be purchased from your local feed store.

EXERCISING YOUR HORSE

The amount of exercise your horse needs depends primarily on its role in life. If you are using it for competitive riding, team penning or pleasure, whatever you choose will determine what type of exercise it needs and how many times it should exercise each and every week. As for all other types of horses, daily exercise is encouraged to allow horses’ muscles and bones to strengthen and not become affected by arthritis, etc. when they become older.

CARING FOR YOUR HORSES’ HOOVES

Horses need their hooves trimmed at least every 6-8 weeks. Pick your horses feet every day, and after each ride or workout. Depending on the work (pleasure, barrels etc.) you choose for your horse, will determine whether on not you need to have your horse shoed. Talk to some of your friends or your Vet, someone who can recommend a good farrier. Remember that just as it is with our feet, the hooves of horses are also the most abused and neglected part of their body so it’s important for us to give them the best care we can afford. The old saying “No hoof, No horse really does apply!

CARING FOR YOUR HORSES’ TEETH

Unlike human teeth, there is no end to periodontal growth for horses. As such, uneven usage of their teeth can lead to the development of sharply pointed teeth and which may cause chewing problems. Your Vet may have to (float) the teeth which means that he will have to file them down a little to help your horse’s eating enjoyment. To prevent this from happening, make sure that you have your veterinarian check your horses’ teeth annually.

GROOMING FOR YOUR HORSE

Allow your horses to enjoy baths regularly. Most horse enjoy their baths immensely but others need a little more coaxing in that area. Afterwards, use a sweat scoop to take off excess water and remember to brush their coat slowly, carefully, and thoroughly. Make sure that you use grooming products that are specifically designed for horses, they are reasonably priced and loads to choose from.

Above all, the best way to make your horse’s life absolutely wonderful is by showering them with your love and affection!

Author: Michele Anderson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: How Electric Pressure Cookers Work

While you might think this is a easy thing to do – feed your horse – you’d be amazed at the number of horse owners that don’t know about the fundamental principles. There is nothing called standard, when it concerns the nutrition requisites of a horse, as it would mostly be based on the amount of activity, its age and body weight. To start with, your horse by nature uses forage as a primary ingredient of their diets. This by the way is one of the most critical components of his diet, which keeps his digestive system functioning correctly, and when we say pasture we are meaning a combining of natural grass and cut hay.

Large horses normally consume about 2 to two point five % of their body size in food every day so a 1,000 pound horse will eat around 20 to 25 pounds of feed each day. Feeds rich in nourishment are what horses need and high-fiber feeds should not be give to them, as it may upset the digestive system. In fact, a horse would be happy if you fed him with a feed of hay/pasture grass amounting to one percent of his body size. For horses, which do not do much activity, a feed of forage only without any grain is sufficient. On the other hand, developing, breeding, or working horses must have supplements in addition to pasture – such as grain or a supplement concentrate. Thus, for optimizing growth and development of the animal, foraging should make up for at least half or more of the body size, as part of his everyday diet.

When you are considering a balanced diet for your horse, consider the nutrient content as well as quality criteria of the grass. This information would help you to gauge the amount of nutrients he would need. The best source, and the least expensive one for summer food is your grass fields and, in most cases good pasture by itself can provide all the nutritional requirements your horse needs. But how do you come to know how much pasture is right for your horse? Using a weight of 1000 to 1200 pounds, here is a rough guideline. This means that a mare and foal 1.75 to 2 acres – yearlings 1.5 to 2 acre and weanlings 0.5 to 1 acre.

Winter feed of course would be cut hay, and again, high quality if you can provide it. Ensure that the hay is leaf-like and green in colored and cut in a systematic way, free of dust, moulds weeds or stubble. This feed is usually rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. While alfalfa hay is food for a developing horse as the protein content is very high, but you have to be careful as it contains abnormal calcium in comparison to its phosphorus content. Too much calcium is not good for growing horses so if you’re not sure about hay quality, have it analyzed.

You will be able to locate some of the best deals on used horse trailers for sale online. There are many used horse trailers for sale, but which one is the right one for you and your horse? Well if you take your horse out only every blue moon then a simple trailer will suffice. The single most important thing to consider when buying any kind of used horse trailer is the floor. Make sure it is stable enough for your horses to stand on and that wood is still strong and not rotted away.