Posted: 8th August 2018 | Back to news feed
Mother Nature did not get it wrong when she designed the horse’s digestive system and the feed that works best with it. With equines being ‘prey animals’ their natural instinct is ‘fight or flight’ when danger real or perceived. They must be prepared to travel long distances at speed to evade capture. They take in fuel and fluid through forage as they move along to ensure they stay ahead of their ‘hunter’! However with the modern horse, the danger is more often perceived than real but the horse’s instincts are still very powerful. Therefore when a horse is under stress whether real or perceived the tendency to take on water is diminished as the sympathetic nervous system prepares for their escape.
This psychology may explain why 83% of horses do not tend to drink whilst travelling or at shows according to a recent Social Media Poll (Sept 2017).
Look at it from the point of view of the horse…Lets take loading and travelling for instance…
Could it possibly be perceived that the lorry/trailer is like walking into the open mouth of a beast, perhaps? And moving around inside this ‘beast’ in a very confined space, without being able to see where it is going or what is going to happen to it?
It is no wonder that travelling is therefore the cause of a lot of stress for the horse, especially the younger animals producing sweat leading to a loss of body fluids, this can cause a horse to become dehydrated which can lead to further complications such as loss of body condition, loss of performance and even colic. What about at a show when all they can see are horses seemingly running away in every direction… this perceived danger can create another very stressful situation for the horse, especially young or inexperienced horses, so being relaxed enough to drink in these sort of situations may be impossible for some horses. It is only when horses become desensitised through repeated exposure to these apparent threats, do they relax and respond in a less instinctual way, but you can now see that psychology plays a huge role in equine behaviour and the regulatory response to fluid uptake. This is where Mother Nature comes in as the natural instinct of a horse is still very strong indeed, even though the modern day horse does not really have predators, however the instinct to forage is still one of its strongest instincts which can override the regulatory ‘thirst’ response because forage typically contains between 40% and 80% water, therefore whilst evading capture it is natural for horses to take in fluid through grazing whilst on the move.
The development of good quality fibre diets that provide ENH are in response to the difficulty the equine industry has hydrating horses during times of stress whether it be due to perceived danger, heat or exertion stress and also to address the considerable increase in equine gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders such Equine Metabolic Syndrome Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS), Laminitis and stereotypical behaviours primarily caused by feeds high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC’s) according to several research papers, and heightened stress levels caused by modern management practices.
Equine Nutritional Hydrotherapy uses this concept to great effect as it is “the ability of a good quality, natural fibre feed to deliver an adequate level of hydration to an equine to balance body fluid”.
The practice of Equine Nutritional Hydrotherapy (ENH) encourages not only the use of natural whole food nutrition, but in must allow for an increase in the hindgut reservoir of fluid available for the horse to use as and when required and to balance the body fluids to reduce the detrimental effects of dehydration. This is now proving to be an invaluable resource for veterinarians within the clinical environment both in the UK and in Europe.
ENH can be provided through various means, however feeds that provide ENH must be 100% natural fibre based, this may include soaking good quality hay, the use of soaked grass or alfalfa pellets or more commercial liquid fibre formulations that use quality forage based ingredients that allow voluntary uptake of large amounts of fluid and quality fibre nutrition that works in synergy with the natural function of the digestive system. It must be noted however that only structural carbohydrates including soluble fibre allow water to be carried within their molecular structure, grain based feeds cannot provide adequate water to balance body fluids.
Equine sports are on the increase with tests getting harder, fences getting bigger and distances getting further, and the movement of equines across the country, continents and around the world is becoming more widespread. It may take years to evoke change, to encourage a more fibre/hydration based diet for the modern equine as old traditions are difficult to alter, with many management systems that seem to be ‘set in stone’, however there are now hydrating feeds that work in synergy with the natural processes of the equines digestive system. Because of their high quality fibre ingredients, they provide adequate energy to keep up with the demands and requirements of our horses working and sporting activities and they also support horses in the clinical environment to recover in a healthy more natural way.
Written by Sandra Murphy BSc (Hons) EqSpSc
Equine Nutritional Hydrotherapist (11/05/2018)
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