Posts Tagged ‘Race Horse’

You may know what is best to feed your horse but that does not mean you are feeding your horse right. Sometimes we become very busy with our daily schedule and let that influence the diet we choose for our horses. The consequences of less than perfect feeding regimens are rather minor at first, maybe costing extra money but not really harming our horses. Sometimes bad choices when making feeding decisions can have serious consequences. Sometimes excesses or insufficiencies can cause health threats to our beloved animals. Some less than optimal feeding decisions may cost the horse his energy. This can result in sluggish performance when you are counting on an excellent performance from your horse.

This article will include some mistakes to avoid when feeding your horse. These are mistakes most often noted by equine nutritionists so that we can avoid them. 

Too much grain can be harmful to your horses’ health. This mistake can lead to obesity and contribute to colic and laminitis. When feeding your horse right, less grain is usually better unless your horse is working extremely hard such as a competing hunter/jumper or race horse.

If your horse does need concentrated feeds it is best if the portions are broke up into small meals. Four or more small meals per day will be better than feeding the ration once or twice per day. If you want to feed your horse right, avoid feeding a meal of more than 0.5 percent of your horse’s weight per meal. Horses’ have a very small stomach in comparison to their size. Frequent small meals are much better for them.

Feeding a horse by volume rather than weight is a common mistake. If you are feeding your horse right you must feed by weight not volume. It is easier to just scoop out the usual feed ration and feed it to the horse. When it comes to nutrition weight is what matters not volume. If you happen to change feeds the same volume in one brand may not be the same amount of nutrition in another brand. Be sure to read the feed label to understand the nutritional content per pound of ration. A kitchen scale is convenient tool for measuring the ration.

Another common mistake that is made when we feed our horses is giving the wrong feed to the wrong horse.  There are a wide variety of feeds available for many specific equine needs. There are feeds specially designed for broodmares, foals, adults, seniors and the list goes on. All are formulated for very specific nutritional needs. Giving the wrong feed to the wrong horse can cause harmful imbalances in horses. So does feeding a horse a formulated feed when none is needed. The nutritional needs of a yearling still developing are very different from the needs of an adult horse. Improper feeding in a yearling can cause abnormal growth. You must make sure you feed your horse the ration designed for his specific time in life if you are going to feed him correctly. 

Sometimes we kill our horses with kindness. We must find the balance between the horse’s natural eating needs and the demands domesticated life places on them. Feeding your horse right will help him stay healthy for many years to come.

For additional information about practical horse management please go to http://wcf-ltd.com/horse/ to learn more about how to care for your horse.

Author: Fran Mullens
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Panasonic Lumix G2

I have a retired race horse, and i would like to know if there is a place where i could find a video or something of one of the races that he raced in. Are those kind of things recorded somewhere, or on record?

I thought it would be fun to own a part of a horse. Of course, I hear that most horses never win a race so I don’t expect much. But how does one maybe own like 1/6 of a race horse just for fun? Do you get to give it pep talks before the big one?

Does it include the jockeys weight? I hope that it makes sense. If not then let me give you and example. Like a race horse may carry 125 how do they figure that.

I am just curious as to the approximate odds of any specific horse being claimed in a race. Just an estimate. 1 out of every race , or 1 horse out of the whole nights card? Thanks

Hello. I am planning on running the 25 mi Malibu endurance race. I was wondering what brand of electrolytes (AccuLytes, Apple-A-Day,Exer-Lyte, Quench, ect) is best for this purpose. I was also wondering if anyone knew any other tips on nutrition and care to prepare for the race. My horse is a bit older, so I want to make sure he is healthy and ready. Thanks!

How many horses run at a time in a race? Which horse race (that you can bet on) has the least number of horses running?