Veterans
Feeding Veterans during Winter
Older horses may require extra feed during the winter. Depending on the age of the horse, exercise routine, and general health, this is a far more difficult thing to get right. They can lose weight very rapidly when summer grazing starts to drop off. There is one rule however that I always tell anyone concerned about feeding their horse during the winter. Start early. Do not wait until they start to look thin in November as this is too late and you will be chasing your tail all winter.
Start increasing their fibre intake in September. Do not be lulled into feeding a feed just because it is called veteran mix! These are full of cereals and subsequently starch. As a horse gets older their ability to digest these high cereal based feeds becomes reduced. They of course have their uses and are full of good quality protein and vitamin & minerals, just don’t totally rely on them to keep your horse’s weight on. Start off by feeding a High Fibre Cube and alfalfa chaff with some added soya oil. Then as the winter progresses and you feel that your horse needs some extra calories then look for a conditioning mix to add to the fibre cubes, alfalfa chaff and oil that is high in fibre, low in starch and has a good quantity of Vitamin E.
Vitamin E is the most expensive of the vitamins so choose your brand carefully. A cheaper home brand may be full of fibre and protein similar to a “premium” brand but it’s vitamin and mineral content will be far inferior. You will need to feed nearly twice as much to get the vitamin and mineral content your horse requires. This will have two affects. The first being that what seemed to be a cheaper option turns out to be in fact more expensive. The second being that you end up over loading your horse with too much feed that they cannot digest properly, resulting in detrimental health problems.
If you would like help in choosing what to feed your horse then horse-guru.com may be able to help you.
