When determining how to feed your thin horse, knowing the current body condition score and estimated weight of your horse can be very helpful. When we see our pasture partners every day it is difficult to monitor changes in weight or condition. Weight tapes are a good tool to estimate weight. Following are some ideas for feeding the thin or recovering horse once you have a good assessment of its condition.

• Provide plenty of clean, fresh water and approximately 1%-2% of your horse’s body weight in good quality forage. Having access to ample quality forage spread out in 2-3 feedings will minimize gorging.

 

• Special feeding situations may need to be implemented for the thin horse if it is at the bottom of the pecking order. Feeding a complete balanced ration of concentrate feeds in addition to the forage is best. Approximately .75#-1.5# per 100# of body weight is a good starting point depending on the specific feed and body condition. Keep in mind you need approximately 6000 kcals above those needed for maintenance to reach one pound of gain per day. According to the 2007 Equine NRC, the estimated increase in DE intake necessary to change the condition score of a 500-kg (1100-lb) horse from a body score 4 to a 5 is 5300-6700kcal/day for 60 days.

 

• While beet pulp has some benefits, including a high-fiber content which may “normalize” fermentation in the large intestine, it is not particularly high in kcals and contains no vitamin A. Although processed beet pulp is not high in sugar, some beet pulp products have added molasses to increase palatability, so check labels carefully, especially if your horse has carbohydrate tolerance issues. Also when feeding beet pulp, it is best to feed it wet. This will help encourage increased water intake especially in the winter. Although no good documentation is available, feeding beet pulp dry raises a common concern that the product may swell after consumption leading to an increased risk of both choke and colic.
• A good choice for increased weight gain is to look for a feed or top dress option with a high kcal (digestible energy -DE measurement) and fat content. High fat feeds need to be introduced gradually but offer a palatable, balanced solution for your horse that will help you get the Kcals you need to meet the weight gain goals necessary for your horse.

For more information about the nutrient-packed feeds and high fat, top dress options from Kent Feeds, visit our website www.kentequine.com and check out the product OMEGATIN®. While you are there, take advantage of the free download of the body condition score card to help you monitor the progress of your horse.

Top 5 Tips getting ready to Show and Win
Getting the horse ready – Have you started to remove the winter coat and increase your training regiment? Now is the time to do so. Using our Omegatin product helps renew that hair and coat just in time for your first show. This product is great for enhancing body condition. www.omegatin.com

Get the trailer ready – Check the tires, breaks, registration, lights and floors. Make sure everything is going to provide safe transportation for you, your family and equine friends. Clean out the tack area and update your supplies to fit your travel needs.

Get the rider ready – Does the show attire fit like it did last year? Is it time to buy new, trim down or just make sure all the sequins or there, boots are polished and zippers are working? Having all of this ready now is better than trying to do it the night before. Don’t forget to do this for everyone in the family who participates.

Get the tack ready – Take the cover off and give it a good polish. Make sure all the leather is in good shape, not cracked or torn. Check to see if it fits the horse properly as I know this harsh winter has added a few pounds to most horses.

Get your budget ready – Have you set your budget for shows, travel, equipment new purchases? Now is a great time to set some monetary goals and stick to them. Can you share show expenses with a friend who has a bigger trailer?

“Mickey”, a 38 year old Morgan gelding, rests on his laurels since retirement at the Beekman Therapeutic Riding Center, in Lansing, Michigan. Today we are all so grateful to have such a wonderful horse in our presence. He is still alive and well and ambitiously serving in our therapeutic program! For this, we give credit, with deep gratitude; to the Kent Feeds product Dynasty Senior for Mickey’s continued superior health and longevity.

Known bits of Mickey’s history trace back to mention of his retiring as a stud and show horse, later to becoming employed as a carriage horse for the Milwaukee Carriage Service, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Mickey did not serve long for the carriage service, however, simply due to his small stature, 14.2 hands.  He was viewed as unfit for the demands of hauling large passenger carriages around the city. In 1981, Mickey was sold to Ken Gagne from Bark River, Michigan with a vision of starting his own carriage service.

In 1982, Mickey was put back to work as a carriage horse, when Ken started the “Ludington Park Coach and Carriage Company” which was stationed at the House of Ludington, a historic hotel, in Escanaba, Michigan. Escanaba is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on the shore of Lake Michigan. Mickey took good care of Ken as he was a novice to the driving discipline and fairly new to horses in general. Ken ran the business 6 days a week, with Mickey being his only hitch horse. Mickey was hitched to a restored antique 4 passenger surrey. Each night he stood hitched awaiting paying customers to tour through the beautiful Ludington Park, which was less than a block away. With the town being small, the business was sporadic so there were times when Mickey worked all night long and more times than not, didn’t work at all. This meant standing hitched and tied to a street lamp post for endless hours. Mickey was so good about standing that one evening an elderly couple approached the carriage driver to settle a disagreement that they were having between themselves about whether or not the horse was real! Apparently they drove past the hotel more than once that evening, just to check out the motionless horse, as this had the husband convinced that the horse was a statue!

Mickey’s career ended with the Ludington Park Coach and Carriage after 16 years of service. In 1998 Ken retired Mickey from his string of 4 horses and decided it was time to sell him due to his age. In no time Ken had a buyer who was going to use Mickey for driving and pleasure riding. However, for whatever reason, the deal fell through and that’s when Mickey’s destiny changed.

In the fall of 1999, the Beekman Therapeutic Riding Center was looking to set up a driving program for the disabled students. As luck would have it Mickey was still with Ken. When asked if we could borrow Mickey to get the driving program started he agreed to the request and said we could have use of the horse until the following spring. So, at the prime age of 28 Mickey took an 8 hour trailer ride from home, only to land in Lansing, Michigan where he was to fulfill his duty of initiating a long awaited driving program!

Since the program was not set up with the proper driving equipment upon Mickey’s arrival, he started in the program as a riding horse and was soon a favorite to the students and staff.

In the very early spring of 2000 a Meadowbrook cart was purchased for the program and Mickey began his career as a therapeutic driving horse for disabled ambulatory students. With the program just getting underway, time was getting shorter and we were beginning to realize that sadly Mickey was going to be returned to Ken. However, a phone call to Ken telling him how much the horse was being appreciated paid off as he decided to donate Mickey, knowing he was in a perfect place to retire.

Within a year of the driving programs’ beginning, a specialized driving vehicle, complete with hydraulics to accommodate power and manual wheel chairs, was purchased with funds raised from the Special Cars for Special Kids car show. From the time of its purchase, Mickey pulled the cart on a regular basis, racking up 7 years of service to many wheel chair bound clients, covering several hundreds of miles and bringing just as many smiles to those who adored him.

In May of 2007 Mickey was officially retired from his driving career; however he still remains in the Therapeutic Riding program, part-time, as a mount for students under 50 lbs. He continues to get used weekly and truly looks forward to the attention. Without a doubt we know we can credit Dynasty Senior from Kent Feeds for the gift of Mickey’s longevity. His presence is so precious to the many children and adults who adore him and we are deeply grateful to Kent Feeds, Inc.

Reading a Feed Tag

How long has it been since you really looked at the content of your horse’s concentrate feed? Like most  of us, you probably stand in line at the feed store, ask for “three bags of the 12%,” load into the back of your truck, and drive on home without as much as a second glance at the ingredients or the nutrition in that ration.

 Each tag attached at the bottom of each bag of KENT horse feed can supply a wealth of information to the consumer who reads the fine print. Learning to interpret the information can tell you whether the feed you’re buying is truly the best choice for your horse.

 An ingredient list–which might list every ingredient in the feed, but more often is deliberately vague. There are two reasons for this: First, some feed formulas are designed to be variable, so that one ingredient (providing similar nutrition) can be substituted for another as grain market prices fluctuate. So, instead of specific ingredients like soybean meal or cottonseed meal, you might see phrases like “plant protein products” listed on the feed label; instead of brewer’s yeast, wheat bran, or corn gluten feed, you might see a listing for “processed grain by-products.” This approach also known as “Collective Terms” helps manufacturers keep costs down–but it can make it difficult for consumers to evaluate what they’re buying. Does the formula stay consistent or are they reducing ingredient costs by changing them weekly?

LOCKED FORMULAS–At Kent feeds we take pride in listing all of our ingredients on each feed tag.  And we will take it one step further by locking in our formulas.  Our products are manufactured using the same ingredients day after day to ensure the safety of your horse. And we all know why consistency is important in the health of our horses.

Directions for use– These guidelines usually are calculated so that, along with an appropriate forage, the feed will provide complete nutrition when fed in the recommended amounts.  Feeding reduced quantities ‘dilutes’ the nutrition of a feed product. Try to stick to the feeding directions as much as possible—as they are calculated for the health of your horse.

Guaranteed Analysis on the feed tag

Crude Protein – The percentage of crude protein on a feed label is calculated from the nitrogen content of the grain; nitrogen is contained in amino acids, the “building blocks” of protein. The most critical of these amino acids is lysine, often called the “first limiting” amino acid because it must be present in sufficient quantity in order for the horse’s gut to absorb and utilize any of the other amino acids in the protein chain. Our Dynasty products have great levels of lysine. Junior has 0.8% for growing horses, Pro has .75% for Active horses and Senior has .65% for mature horses.

Crude Fat  - Fat is energy-dense, providing almost 2 1/2 times as much energy, pound per pound, than do carbohydrates or protein; the higher the crude fat value, the higher the calories provided per pound of feed–so fewer pounds of grain might be needed for the same amount of energy and weight maintenance.

Crude Fiber – The crude fiber value of a feed plays a major role in determining the energy content of a feed. Generally, as the fiber percentage decreases, the calories per pound go up; and as fiber levels increase, the calories go down. High-fiber feeds (those with fiber values higher than 10%) usually are designed to be “filling,” low-calorie feeds for mature horses which are idle or in light work.

 Minerals and Vitamins  - Calcium and phosphorus are probably the two most crucial mineral levels to note on a feed tag. This is because they are so important for the development, maintenance, and repair of the musculoskeletal system, and because they both must be present in sufficient quantity in order to fulfill their functions.

 Copper, zinc, and selenium are trace minerals which are needed in much smaller quantities in the horse’s diet than are calcium and phosphorus. Nonetheless, they play an important role in the horse’s overall health.

Vitamin A, found in your forage tends to break down rapidly after hay is cured, therefore supplement it in our feeds.   It is important for vision, bone and muscle growth, skin tone and health, and the reproductive health of mares.

 If you have questions about the information on the label –contact your KENT feeds salesperson at the location below.