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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Winter

Greetings everyone,

As we come into winter, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, we encounter challenges with the cold weather.  What are your feeding concerns during this time of year?  Are you making sure your horse is getting enough hay at all times?  This is not only for his digestive tract health, and hormonal balance, but also for heat production to keep him warm.

I welcome your comments and concerns.

Juliet Getty 

16 comments:

  1. I have an IR Paint Gelding that foundered last February. I soaked his hay all summer, fed him a weighed 20 lbs a day. He lost over 100 lbs, and had a huge reduction in his crest until the temps prevented soaking. Between the end of November to mid December he gained about 20 lbs. I found your books and started my horse on the free forage plan in mid-December. Before starting, I had my hay tested and found it was high in NSC (15.5%). I searched, purchased and tested another hay source and bought 100 bales of that- 9% NSC. All hay is slow fed and available 24/7 and he appears to be eating approximately 20 lbs a day. I have since read the book Laminitis and have him on all of the recommended supplements at the recommended levels. I am sad to report that since December he has gained over 60 lbs and his neck is about 3+ inches thicker. I wasn't hoping for immediate miracles, but sure wasn't expecting it to worsen so quickly. I live in Michigan with no indoor arena. I had not been riding him regularly since late August. Exercise is not a reliable activity in this brutally cold and snowy winter. He is turned out 24/7 with access to his stall. How long does it typically take to see improvement?

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  2. Hi,

    I too had seen my air fern/easy keeper gain weight on free choice hay. I firmly believe he is much less stressed by having hay available free choice and going back to intermittent feedings was NOT an option for me. I gradually introduced slow feeding hay bags with smaller holes. He is now using a one inch hole bag and consuming less hay. I think both my horses enjoy eating from these bags, because if there is hay on the ground, they choose to eat from the bags instead. Perhaps they think of it as a toy that feeds and entertains them also? I too am in a cold climate and exercise this winter has not been an option.

    Good luck,
    Laura

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    1. Hi Laura, We have found that the great majority of horses do prefer to eat through their Freedom Feeder slow feed "Pasture in a Net" vs what's loose on the ground. I believe that the motion of searching for the hay then pulling it from the net assimilates natural grazing and is much more instinctual for horses. Getting the smaller bites also forces them to chew the hay better. We do have 1" mesh sizes available in all 3 of our capacity nets just for your air fern types :) www.freedomfeeder.com

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  3. Hi Ladies,

    It is difficult to get favorable results when only part of the plan can be implemented (e.g., lack of exercise). However, it is no fault of your own -- exercise can be nearly impossible in this cold weather (I have the same problem with my own horses).

    So, the key is, as you said, Laura, to use slow feeders to reduce overall consumption. I am very sorry, Anonymous (sorry, I don't know your name), that he has gained back his weight. I fear that the reason is the same as we see in people who restrict calories to lose weight -- they lose (as your horse did originally) but their metabolic rate slows down so dramatically that the weight comes back very easily. The only effective way to boost metabolism is to increase physical activity. So, since that is not likely until spring, use a slow feeder (let him get accustomed to it slowly -- frustration and its hormonal response can raise insulin levels). And consider adding a more aggressive supplement called CarbX (if you're not already doing this) plus Quiessence. Here is the link to CarbX: http://gettyequinenutrition.biz/products/carbx.htm and Quiessence: http://gettyequinenutrition.biz/products/quiessence.htm

    Your goal is to provide approximately 20,000 mg of magnesium per day. Look at your hay analysis report and calculate the level of magnesium. Divide it in half - that is what your horse is likely absorbing. Compare it to the calcium level -- and if you can add 20,000 mg without exceeding calcium, you're okay. The point is, calcium should always exceed magnesium.

    I hope this gives you some ideas and insight.

    Thank you both,
    Juliet Getty

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  4. Do you look at half of the calcium as well? My hay tested Magnesium .19%, .88 g/lb
    Calcium .42%, 1.90 g/lb
    Thanks

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    1. Hi -- what is your name? It is always nice to know to whom you are speaking. :)

      Let's look at 20 lbs of your hay:
      Magnesium 17.6 grams
      Calcium 38 grams

      Since magnesium is poorly absorbed from hay, I generally decrease it by 30 to 50%, which leaves me to assume that the hay provides between 8.8 and 12.3 grams of absorbable magnesium.

      Since calcium is 38 grams, to get a 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium, you would want there to be 19 grams of magnesium. Therefore, I would add between 6 and 10 grams of magnesium (and likely start with 6 g since I do not know exactly how much is absorbed).

      I hope this is helpful.

      Juliet Getty :)

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  5. I just came across your article about bring back horses' instincts and have been on a sharing frenzy!! How exciting to find somebody with letters after their name writing about this.... thank you!!
    I take care herd of 8 ponies and one of 7 horses... horses thrive on freedom of forage (I do have to help elderly horse with compromised teeth by adding calorie high feed (I am using linseed meal). Ponies are still overweight though.... but I have never used slow feeders.... that might be the answer? I give them a mixture of hay and straw. Good idea?

    Thank you so much for documenting this very important subject!

    Monica Andreewitch

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    1. Hi Monica,

      Thank you so very much for sharing my letter to horse owners about how horses are able to return to their natural instincts when given a chance.

      It can be a challenge when a horse has been fed improperly for a long period of time, because his metabolic rate has been severely suppressed. And with your pony, who already has a genetic predisposition toward insulin resistance, will have an even greater challenge getting back to a normal metabolic rate. Slow feeders are definitely a good choice, several of them, placed as far apart as possible to encourage movement. You will need to test your hay, of course, but I do not suggest feeding straw. It is dangerous, quite frankly, unless chopped in small pieces and even then, I don't like risking it. But, it can also be high in sugar/starch (NSC), so it, too, needs to be tested. I have a recent article on straw in my website's library: http://gettyequinenutrition.biz/library/feedingstrawtotheinsulinresistanthorsemaybeamistake.htm

      You may enjoy my book on the Easy Keeper - part of my Spotlight on Equine Nutrition Series: http://gettyequinenutrition.biz/TeleSeminars/TeleseminarBooks/SpotlightonEquineNutritionTeleseminarSeries.htm

      I hope you find these resources helpful.

      Best wishes,
      Juliet Getty

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  6. Along with vitamins and minerals, energy and protein also very important.

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    1. Hi RoysFarm,

      Absolutely -- the diet needs to balanced in many areas. Vitamins are missing in hay to a very large extent. But protein is of only one source, leading to poor overall protein quality in the diet. This, surprisingly, can lead to elevated glucose, which is a problem for the insulin resistant horse. So a diet that offers a variety of protein sources -- alfalfa, soybean meal, beet pulp, flax, chia, grain by-products, brans, and whole foods will give the horse the amino acid pool he needs to build body proteins.

      Thank you for writing,
      Juliet Getty

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  7. I have a PSSM horse and I have found that he is doing well on Lucerne High Fiber Gold hay. What are your thoughts on this hay and how would you economically keep it in front of him at all times, esp since he does not do well on grass at all. Thank you, Sherry

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    1. Hi Sherry,
      Lucerne, which we refer to as alfalfa, is truly not the best idea to feed free choice for a couple of reasons. First, as the only source of protein, the high protein content can lead to excess glucose production and can be dehydrating, as well. Secondly, there is a large gap between the calcium and magnesium level and too much calcium can cause magnesium absorption to decline even further. Therefore, magnesium should definitely be supplemented.

      I believe the company that produces this product also has a chopped timothy or other grass? I am not clear as to the reason he does not do well on grass -- perhaps you could elaborate. It would be preferable to give him a little bit of both grass and alfalfa.

      Best wishes,
      Juliet Getty

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  8. Hello, Dr. Getty. I love your site!
    I have my 2 geldings (~10-12 yrs) in the pasture at night and back in the dry lot with free choice hay before 10:00am. I had my pasture grass analyzed in February, but now that the grass is turning green and growing I suppose it's time to analyze it again. To know what to supplement accurately, I know that I should have the hay analyzed as well. However, the person I get my hay from has quite a few different pastures. He does not know which bales come from which pasture after he brings them in and stacks them. So! As I cannot feasibly test each load of hay we get (he stores them for us), there is no way for me to know exactly what they're getting. It's good looking grass hay. I put 2 bales in a cinch net and there is always some left over. I just don't want them to run out while in the dry lot. Also, with two of them eating from the same bales, I can't measure the amount each one is getting.

    Is there a miracle way to figure this out? LOL

    Thank you,
    Lori

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  9. I am not at all being impatient about a response from anyone to my post above. It is extremely surprising to me that there has been so little blogging here. It is such a wonderful site! I am worried that it no longer exists, but it still hanging out in cyberspace. Please tell me that is not so.

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    1. Hi Lorgie, I usually answer the comments after a few days. But you may get some responses ahead of time. So, I'll check back next week and address your concerns. Thank you so much for writing!

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  10. Greetings Lorgie,
    First, let me commend you for doing such a good job in keeping forage available for your horses all the time. If your horses are healthy, and do not exhibit signs of insulin resistance (regional fat deposits along the neck, back, tailhead, shoulders, etc.), then you have no need to micromanage their hay and pasture.

    If, however, they are at risk of developing laminitis, you'll want to pay closer attention to this. And I see that you have made an effort but it would be beneficial to analyze your pasture at two different times -- early morning (best case scenario) and late afternoon on a sunny day (worst case scenario). You may find that you can leave them out longer in the day and not rely on hay as much. And as the season progresses, the numbers should get better.

    Regarding your hay... if you happen to have a good talking relationship with your hay provider, would it be possible for you to ask him to put aside the bales cut from the early morning grass before he stacks it? Or, depending on how you receive your hay, you can possibly be there before he stacks it to collect those bales? In other words, is there a way for you to ask him to not mix all of the bales together, but instead, "mark" those that are cut in the early morning (lower in sugar and starch)? Perhaps you could offer to pay him a little more per bale to make it worth his effort.

    I hope this gives you some more insight. My next "Spotlight on Equine Nutrition Series" book will be on interpreting hay analysis reports and feed ingredient lists, so you may find this worthwhile.

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