Posted: 7th April 2014 | Back to news feed
My 15.2hh bay gelding, Jerry is now 20-years-old but still prone to carrying too much weight. He can also come out of the stable a bit stiff. Is there anything you can suggest regards feeding and his general routine? Melanie Jones
Answer – TopSpec Veterinary Nutritionist, Anna Welch BVSc, BSc, MRCVS answers:
Many horses, if they are not working sufficiently hard to burn off the calories they are consuming, are prone to weight gain. This is a very common situation in older horses, such as Jerry, especially when signs of arthritis begin to appear and they become less active.
Controlling Jerry’s weight will be vital in his long-term management of stiffness. Excess condition puts unnecessary strain on joints and muscles and overweight horses are less agile and more prone to injury.
Both feeding and management will be important for supporting Jerry’s senior years.
Regular exercise, appropriate to his fitness level will actually help to reduce stiffness and control weight. It strengthens muscles and tendons which can protect against injury. Too higher intensity exercise, especially if he is not used to it or after rest days, will exacerbate problems with stiff joints, so all increases in exercise level should be made gradually. Warm up before exercise is also important when exercising to reduce the incidence of injury.
From the point of view of supporting his joints, turnout is beneficial and depending on weather conditions, as much turnout as possible is best to keep him moving to avoid ‘stiffening up’ in the stable. However, this can prove a challenge with weight gain, depending on your grass quality.
The best way of controlling grass intake is to graze poor quality hill land with less-productive grass species and a larger area to graze, burning off calories. However, this is available to very few people!
Other options include mixed grazing with sheep or using a grazing muzzle. Less ideal options when stiffness is a problem include restricting the area to be grazed; the use of a ‘sacrifice’ paddock with a (safely hung) net of soaked hay; limiting the time spent at grass and using late-cut meadow hay (soaked if necessary) in the stable.
When grazing is restricted and time is spent off the grass, forage should still be provided. High fibre, late-cut meadow hay is ideal and this can be soaked (to reduce the content of soluble carbohydrate) for 8-12 hours in ample, cool, fresh water. This will reduce the calories in the hay without restricting fibre intake. Hay is best fed in nets with small holes or ‘double netted’ to slow consumption. The quantity (dry) of hay should not be reduced below 1.5% bodyweight unless requested by your vet (and even then, not below 1% of bodyweight).
If grazing is being controlled in this way and hay being soaked, you will need to supplement your horse’s diet with vitamins and minerals.
TopSpec Senior Lite Feed Balancer is ideal to balance your gelding’s restricted forage diet. It contains the optimum level of vitamins and minerals to support light to medium work and the scientifically recommended level of glucosamine (10g/500kg horse/day) to help maintain mobility.
This is best fed with a low calorie and unmolassed chop, such as TopChop Lite, to provide a feed which will not promote weight gain.
TopSpec can be contacted, free of charge, on their Multiple-Award-Winning-Helpline Tel: 01845-565030 or visit www.topspec.com
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