Equusmiles, LLC

01/17/2025

01/04/2025

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Going to keep this as simple as you should...Want to help your horse stay warm during cold nights??

Feed more hay!

Horses are better equipped to deal with cold than we are. Aside from their thick, insulated coat, the digestion of forage acts like an internal furnace to help warm them from the inside out.

You can use a slow feeder to slow down the fast eaters or “fluffy” ones (🙋🏼‍♀️ I have one of those!), but having access at all times is important.

A few other things to consider are adding extra salt or an electrolyte (like Bluebonnet Hydrate and Recover) or wetting down existing feed to help with water consumption. For older horses with bad teeth, increase their chopped forage or hay pellets at their evening meal. Avoid adding things they don’t eat on a daily basis like a mash of something other than their normal feed or a type of hay they don’t already eat daily. This can only add to digestive distress.

At the end of a cold day, feed more hay 😘

12/07/2024

Boarded at the Hinky Dinky 😉

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving 🍁

11/19/2024

https://bluebonnetequine.com/blog/cold-weather-feeding-tips/?

No matter what part of the country you live in, the weather has certainly gotten colder. Sure, some people have it worse than others, but there are certain adjustments everyone can make to help horses thrive in the cold months. How Cold is Cold? Someone’s perception of a “freezing cold day” in...

10/14/2024

Absolutely soaked hay pellets for older horses for nutrition but pasture/hay for “something to do” so the bad habits don’t kick in

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Replacing hay with hay pellets reduces chewing time by 75%!

Why is this important?

Horses spend 12-18 hours per day on foraging behaviors. When forage is unavailable, horses will continue to spend 8-12 hours a day on these behaviors (basically simulating grazing). The boredom or anxiety can lead to wood chewing, cribbing, eating shavings (up to 7lbs/day🫠) or f***s, plus too long on an empty stomach can lead to ulcer formation and other digestive issues. Harris et al., 2016


Take away message...feed hay (when pasture is unavailable).

Horses will continue foraging behaviors regardless if forage is available. REPLACING long stem forage with pellets or cubes can lead to behavioral issues as well as health problems due to decreased chewing time and lack of fill.

Side note- this is not to say not to use those forms of forage, but recommending not to use them as a sole roughage source (unless of course you have an older horse with poor dentition who can no longer chew hay or grass).