Management Techniques for Equine Health and Proper Feeding

Procedures

Feeding To Desired Body Condition

WHAT SHOULD I BE FEEDING MY HORSE?

The Million Dollar Question:

Does Your Horse Need All The Grain You Feed Him?

Does She Need Grain At All?

Forages• Ration should be primarily hay and pasture grass with little amounts of concentrates (grain)

• High quality forages• Provide more nutrients• More economical

• Characteristics of high quality hay• Leafiness• Color• Aroma

• Texture• Weight• Purity

Weight vs. Volume• Did you know that a 5lb. coffee can of oats

does not weigh the same as a 5lb. coffee can of corn?

• When feeding your animals, it is important to measure their feed by weight and not by volume. Volume measurements of feed vary in weight depending on the contents you are feeding.

• 1,000 pound Horse Hay Grain______No work 20-25 lbs. None

Light (1-2 hours per day) 15-20 lbs. 1-3 lbs(1-1.5 lbs. grain per hours of work )

Medium (2-4 hours per day) 15-20 lbs. 3-8 lbs(1.5-2 lbs. grain per hours of work)

Heavy 15-20 lbs. 5-10 lbs(4 or more hours of work per day)

Daily Feed Required (Average Adult 1,000 pound Horse)

Feeding Guidelines Horses should be fed to meet their

immediate needs. What should you do if you go on vacation and cannot exercise your horse?

Horses’ stomachs are small so feed at least 2 times a day. More often if possible.

Ideally, feed hay 4 times a day. Grain, if needed, 3 times a day.

Feeding Guidelines Store feed properly

Feed on a set schedule

Change feeds graduallyWhy?

Be aware of the pecking order

Feeding Guidelines Have a veterinarian regularly

examiner your horse’s teeth

Feed in tubs off of the ground.

Keep clean, fresh, unfrozen water available at all times.

Why should I evaluate my horse’s condition and how do I do it?

•Can you tell whether or not a horse is healthy just by looking at it?•What does a healthy horse look like?• If a horse is too thin or too fat, what can

be done about it?•What are the risks to a horse that is too thin or too fat?

Body Weight• Scales– Mechanical or electronic– Require calibration– Portability and Accuracy– Expensive ≈ $2000

• Weight tape– Estimates weight– Breed specific– Correlation between

weight and girth

• Weight estimation equations– More accurate due to multiple measures

Weight Estimation Equation• Measure horse from point of

chest to point of croup in inches (this will be your length measurement)

• Measure the horse’s heart girth in inches, making sure the measuring tape crosses one inch behind the point of withers and right behind the horse’s elbows (this is the heart girth measurement).

Heart Girth X Heart Girth X Length, Divided by 330 = Weight (+/- 3%)

Keeping Records• Changes over time are

an important part of monitoring growth

• Long term trends can help in evaluating management practices

• Large operations may be able to detect herd characteristics

Body Condition ScoringIs your horse at risk for metabolic

disturbances or disease?

Dr. Henneke’s Table

• Original Objective:– Develop a system for

accurate comparison of stored body fat in horses that could be used to advantage on equine breeding farms

Key Parts To Know:

Key Parts To Know:

Spinous Process and Back

Projecting

Negative crease

Crease down back

1 POOR• Animal extremely emaciated.• Spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, hooks and

pins are projecting prominently.• Bone structure of the withers, shoulders and

neck easily noticeable.• No fatty tissues can be

felt.

2 VERY THIN• Animal emaciated.• Slight fat covering over base of spinous processes,

transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded.• Spinous processes, ribs, tailhead and tuber coxae and

ischii prominent.• Withers, shoulders and neck

structures faintly discernible

3 THIN• Fat build up about halfway on spinous processes, transverse

processes cannot be felt.• Thin fat cover over ribs.• Spinous processes and ribs easily discernible.• Tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be visually

identified.• Tuber coxae (hook bones)

appear rounded, but easily discernable.

• Tuber ischii (pin bones) not distinguishable.

• Withers, shoulders and neck accentuated.

4 MODERATELY THIN• Ridge along back.• Faint outline of ribs discernable.• Tailhead prominence depends on conformation,

fat can be felt around it. Tuber coxae not discernable.

• Withers, neck and shoulders not obviously thin.

5 MODERATE• Back is level.• Ribs cannot be visually distinguished but can be

easily felt.• Fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy.• Withers are rounded

over spinous processes.• Shoulders and neck

blend smoothly into the body.

6 MODERATELY FLESHY• May have a slight crease down the back.• Fat over the ribs feels spongy.• Fat around tail head feels soft.• Fat beginning to be deposited

along the sides of the withers, behind the shoulders and along the sides of the neck.

7 FLESHY• May have crease

down back.• Individual ribs can be

felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat.

• Fat around tailhead is soft.• Fat deposited along withers, behind

shoulders and along the neck.

8 FAT• Crease down back.• Difficult to feel ribs.• Fat around tailhead very soft.• Area along withers filled with fat.• Area behind shoulders filled with fat.

Noticeable thickening of neck.• Fat deposited along the inner thighs.

9 EXTREMELY FAT• Obvious crease down back.• Patchy fat appearing over ribs.• Bulging fat around tail head, along withers,

behind shoulders and along neck.• Fat along inner thighs

may rub together.• Flank filled with fat.

Cresty Neck Scoring• Score of the amount of fat deposited along

the ridge of the neck• Scale of 0 to 5• Does not consider fatness of the rest of the

body

CNS 0No palpable crest

CNS 1No visual appearance of a crest, but slight filling can be felt with palpation

CNS 2Noticeable appearance of a crest,but fat is deposited fairly evenly from poll to withers.

CNS 3Crest is enlarged and thickened, and begins to have a mounded appearance

CNS 4Crest is grossly enlarged and thickened, may have wrinkles/creases perpendicular to topline.

CNS 5Crest is so large that it permanently droops to one side

Subjective Measurement

Objective Measurement

Body Condition Score

Cresty Neck Score

Girth:Height Ratio

Neck Circumference:Neck length Ratio

Need a trainedevaluator

Non-biased

References:• (2009). Special report: BCS a useful tool. Equus, 32-33. Retrieved from

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/anatomy/body_condition_score_123009/

• Bray, R. (2012). Feeding your horse by weight not by volume. Retrieved from http://www.starmilling.com/bray-fact-feeding-by-weight-not-volume.html

• Foulk, Donna. (2010). Feeding trash…the garbage can horse [PowerPoint Slides]. • National Research Council. (2007). Nutrient requirements of horses: Sixth revised

edition. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11653&page=R1

• Stanier, Burt. (2008). How to assess the body condition score of horses [PowerPoint Slides].

• Stanier, Burt. (2008). Measuring the pasture potato or kentucky derby winner [PowerPoint Slides].

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