07/25/2024
A very interesting article I found about the benifits of Grazing Slow Feeding Boxes. Now that everything is drying out horses will be going for that last blade of grass and sucking up dirt and sand.
Pictures at the end are some of my Boxes. Email me at certepss@gmail.com for more information, questions or pictures.
What’s the Deal With Slow Feeders For Horses?
POSTED ON OCTOBER 2, 2023 BY ECOEQUINE_THE BLOG FOR HORSE HIPPIE
As a certified equine nutrition expert I can tell you this, slow feeders are da’ BOMB!!
Let me start by stating that I am not being paid by any slow feeder manufacturer, heck some of the coolest ones I’ve seen people have made themselves! But I have seen the beauty of how they work so I am a big fan.
In general slow feeders offer a more natural way for your horse to consume his feed stuff; both hay and grain. The range of benefits include health, farm management and economic.
Slowing down the rate at which a horse eats means that the digestive process is slowed down and nutrients in feedstuff can be absorbed much more efficiently and I’m all for that!
HAY SLOW FEEDERS:
What are they? Well, it’s quite simple really: it’s either a net or a grid system placed over your horse’s hay. The net or grid has holes that are fairly small, usually just less than two inches square.
There are many different styles and sizes to fit all kinds of feeding needs, from feeding big round bales using a net system to feeding flakes of hay using a box system or a bag.
Forage feeders are designed to mimic grazing; with the pulling of the hay through the net or grate acting in the same way a horse pulls then chews a mouthful of grass.
Simulating a more natural method of “grazing” the hay slow feeder can result in the horse taking hours to consume a few flakes. Not only does this help you feed less but it helps to manage boredom and boredom associated vices, like cribbing and fence or tree chewing.
Slow feeders reduce feed related anxiety in horses that are on restricted diets. Because they can take hours to eat a few flakes they do not feel like they are being starved to death.
The use of a slow feeder in your sacrifice paddock or stall reduces waste as the horse cannot paw through the hay (then drag it around to ultimately p**p on it) and will eat all of it, even the little chaff at the bottom.
If that’s not enough to convince you. Here’s more, there is also evidence that a slow feeder can decrease the occurrence of ulcers. Horses salivate only when they are chewing and eating, and under natural circumstances they produce up to 30 litres (8 gallons)of saliva per day! Saliva is an acid buffer and neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Since a horse constantly produces stomach acid (even if the horse is not eating) the more often this acid is buffered the better. Slow feeders allow this buffering saliva to be produced for longer periods, thus potentially helping ulcers.
The Horse Hippie
