Corn provides energy to horses primarily in the form of starch. Processing it—in this case, cracking—makes the starch more available to horses. Energy fuels growth, performance, and maintenance of body weight. Is Maize good for horses? Every horseman knows that Read more…
Horse Care Is a Labor of Love Because they don’t regulate how much food they eat, and will gorge on feed if they have access to a lot of it, you have to provide food in measured intervals twice daily. Read more…
No specific treatment is available to help nerve regeneration, but nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can help control swelling. If voluntary movement, pain sensation, and spinal reflexes improve over 1 to 2 months, the outlook for recovery is good. How do you Read more…
If your horse stretches his limbs exaggeratedly, or in a cat-like way, this could indicate abdomen or back problems. ‘Stretching is typically a way of decreasing pressure in the stomach or intestines,’ Gil explains. ‘So if you see this in Read more…
Horses will often freeze for a moment to check out something frightening when they are stressed before they run away. Why does my horse freeze? Horses balk for many reasons. Some may be nervous about certain situations and rather than Read more…
Tradition holds that timothy hay and oats are the best feeds for horses, and that alfalfa and corn spell disaster. Alfalfa hay may not be the best feed for all horses in all situations, but it contains nutrients needed for Read more…
The natural flight, fight or freeze response in the horse is very strong. As horse owners, we work with this every day. This survival response does such a good job of blocking out pain or discomfort from a past incident, Read more…
Therefore, the supplemental source of protein used in horse feeds should be high quality. Alfalfa, milk proteins, and soybean meal are all good sources of quality protein for growing horses. Protein supplements which are deficient in lysine include linseed meal, Read more…
Grazing perennial cool-season grasses In multiple research studies, we found that horses prefer Kentucky bluegrass with a lesser preference for orchardgrass when planted by themselves. We then determined that horses preferred mixtures of endophyte-free tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass Read more…
Grass and legume forage mixtures provide benefits for horses with higher nutrient needs. Alfalfa can be grazed as a single-species or mixed with grass. Mixed pastures may not be appropriate for horses that are overweight or prone to certain metabolic Read more…