Feeding Management of the Broodmare

It’s getting to be that time of year again when you’re waiting to lay eyes on your new foals!  While you are waiting, its important to make sure that your mares are getting the proper nutrition that they need for themselves and their fetuses.  According to Dr. Robert A. Mowrey, Retired Extension Horse Husbandry Specialist at North Carolina State University, nutrition is one of the more important factors affecting reproductive efficiency.  To learn how to reduce production costs, increase conception rates, and improve foaling rates, please read Dr. Mowrey’s article at: http://www.ncagr.gov/markets/livestock/horse/documents/AG491-1FeedingManagementoftheBroodmare.pdf

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Water and Hay: Critical to Winter Health

With brisk temperatures and frequent fluctuations of our North Carolina winter weather, it is always good to remember how critical these changes can be to our equine companions.  If you’ve been in the horse business long enough, you have probably encountered a horse experiencing colic due to temperature changes.  Keeping horses warm and hydrated in the winter, as well as in good body condition can be a challenge, especially during weeks like this one.  Key factors in achieving this are providing shelter from the wind and rain, along with plenty of clean water and good hay.  Here are some things that should help keep your horse healthy this winter.

Maintaining ample water intake is the most critical part of ensuring the health of your horse during cold weather.  The horse prefers a water temperature of 45-65°F.  Under normal conditions, the horse will consume one gallon of water per 100 pounds of body weight per day.  An 1100 pound horse will consume 10-12 gallons of water daily.  As the water temperature decreases, horses will consume less water.  An 1100 pound horse may consume as little as 1-3 gallons of water per day when water temperature is 32°F. 

 Low water intake is directly related to the increased incidence of impaction colic.  Water intake can be encouraged by increasing the amount of forage being fed prior to a drop in temperature.  The resulting increase of dry matter encourages the horse to drink more water.  Concentrate mashes can also be fed during the actual cold period when water temperature is below 45°F.  Feeding 2-3 gallons of hot water mixed in a mash with a textured or pelleted concentrate mix will provide additional water intake.  To minimize gas colic, allow for the mash to sit for 15 minutes. This will permit the feed to expand prior to feeding.  If possible, offer 10 gallons of water (at 65°F or warmer) twice daily.  Break and remove ice from water tubs, making certain to provide water that is available free choice. 

Providing good quality, nutritious hay is another critical aspect to winter management of horses.  This is the time of year where hay supplies sometimes get thin, so planning ahead and purchasing enough hay to get through the winter is critical.  When temperatures get below freezing, winter pasture growth reduces tremendously, and hay is our only forage option.  Horses, along with other grazing animals, need hay to stay warm.  Hay and other forages are digested in the cecum and large intestine of the horse, and this digestion process is the primary source of regulating body temperature. Many horses can maintain their weight through the winter with just an increase in hay consumption.  Those that are harder to keep weight on or older will often need a gradual increase of grain as well. Horses should consume at least 1.5% of their body weight in hay during cold periods.  For example, a mature 1000 pound horse should consume 15-18 pounds per day of hay to meet these temperature needs in cold weather.  It’s important to pay close attention to body condition during these periods, and actually “feel” your horse.  A long hair coat or winter blanket can often cover up thin spots on a horse, so be sure to examine your horse closely and get a feel for where your horse’s ribs, backbone, etc. are and how much fat or “cover” there is over and around them.  If a horse given plenty of hay is having trouble maintaining weight, increasing fat to the concentrate diet may also be helpful.  Many “high fat” feeds are on the market just for this purpose. 

These are just a few tips to help you and your horses get through these brisk winter days.  For more information or advice, don’t hesitate to contact your Extension office. 

Written by Eileen Coite

Rye, Rye Grass- what’s the difference?

This is a question that many Extension Agents and commercial pasture managers get asked each fall.  When you get into a conversation with horse owners about this topic, you will always be able to group people into one of three categories. Those that fully understand the difference, those that have no clue there is a difference, and those that understand the difference but interchange the proper terms for the two forages without thinking about it. Regardless of which category you find yourself in, let’s discuss the two different grasses and their pros and cons.

Cereal Rye and ryegrass are two different species (though closely related) of grass . They do have much in common. They are both annuals, meaning that they have to be replanted every year (preferably in the fall)  and will germinate, grow and die in a few months. The plant does in fact completely die, not just goes dormant such as bermudagrass in the winter. This is what distinguishes an annual from a perennial.  They are both considered cool season annuals that ideally need to be planted in the early fall. They both will provide grazing in the spring (and possibly earlier in the year depending on how mild a winter we have).  The two types of grass are almost identical when they first emerge out of the ground, and will not really be distinguishable until they start to grow and get bigger. This is also why you have the confusion that sometimes arises when people use the two terms interchangeably.  For all their similarities however, they are some big differences that separates the two species.

Cereal Rye, which depending on where you reside in the world tends to be referred to as just rye,  is actually a plant that is grown for grain as much as it is a forage. It is planted in the fall and can grow in colder weather than rye grass. It is not uncommon for cereal rye to be growing at full speed by the first of February in a mild winter.  Rye will complete its growth cycle by forming a mature seed head by the end of April/first of May. This is when you can easily tell if you have cereal rye in your paddocks. If left to grow and mature, cereal rye will get very tall and “stemmy” and the palatability (as well as the nutrient content) of the forage will decrease to the point that grazing will stop completely.  Cereal Rye is best managed by grazing the forage heavily before it gets over 5-6 inches tall. If your horse are not able to keep up with the growth of the rye than mowing it is certainly an option. Mowing will almost be a necessity regardless of your management skill by the first of May to remove any Rye residue, which will rob your emerging bermudagrass of critical sunlight in the late spring. This is also a point that not everybody understands about Cereal Rye in bermuda. Regardless of how good a manager you are, rye will slow your bermuda growth in the spring and will cost you 2-4 weeks or growth out of your bermuda in the early growing season.  Given the additional grazing time you get off of the rye however, most people view this as the lesser of two evils.

Rye Grass is similar in a lot of aspects, but it does have some key differences. It too is planted in the fall, and is almost identical to cereal rye when very small. The differences between rye grass and cereal rye does not become apparent until the plant starts to get some size on it. Rye grass has a much thicker leaf and does not put its energy into forming a seedhead. It grows much lower to the ground and appears to be “bunchier”.  As the feed value (protein and energy) of any plant is in the leaf, it is for this reason that ryegrass is generally considered a much better forage for animals.  The plant will keep good palatability much longer into its growth cycle than cereal rye will.  If Rye grass is such a better forage than why would people ever put cereal rye into their bermuda paddocks over rye grass? The reason is that ryegrass grows much later into the spring (and even into the early summer). The problems associated with the spring competition that was discussed in the cereal rye section above are multiplied by a factor of 5 with ryegrass. Ryegrass grows the greatest in April and May, which is at the exact time bermuda is struggling to break dormancy.  With Cereal Rye being at the end of its natural life cycle, you can mow it or graze it heavily and reduce this competition to a manageable level during this critical time of the year. With Ryegrass, this competition reduction is not possible. The rapidly growing ryegrass will cause severe damage to your bermuda stand  during this time.  This is why for all of its short comings, cereal rye is vastly preferred by agronomist over ryegrass if used in an existing stand of bermudagrass.

There are also blends of rye and ryegrass available on the market. The ratio of cereal rye to rye grass seeds will vary depending on the brand name.

Written by Randy Wood

College of Veterinary Medicine Equine Health Symposium

The NCSU Equine Health Program and NCSU-Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners proudly invite you to join us for select topics in equine health.  The symposium will be held February 2-3, 2013.  For more information, click here.

Caring for horses on a budget

In these economic times all horse owners are looking for ways to save money and keep their horses in good healthy condition. Housing - Healthy horses can thrive outdoors. Building a shelter for adverse weather is good enough for a horse. This will save money on barn maintenance and stall cleaning. Cleanliness - flies, ticks and mosquito's are responsible for a lot of viruses and diseases. Keeping your horses environment extra clean will help with keeping these pests at lower numbers around your farm. Safety - Improving barns and keeping up with regular maintenance will reduce the risks of horse injuries. Always have a good working relationship with a veterinarian. Have a plan set in place so if an accident does happen you will have an idea of how much money it will cost to get good care for your horse. This helps ,because you can save little by little ,so if this does happen you can have some money saved to help pay for the accident. The number one thing that will help any horse owner save money is utilizing pasture. Forage should equal to at least 50% of your horses diet. Horse nutrient requirement depend on their age, weight, exercise, ect..... Most people over feed their horses leading to wasted money and overweight horses. Removing unnecessary grain from diets can lead to huge money savings. Take hay samples and do soil tests to see what nutrients your horse is getting and what your horse really needs. For the full article see : http://www1.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/caring-for-horses-on-a-budget/">

Keeping Horses Warm in Winter

What this boils down to is whether or not to use blankets on your horse during cold weather.  Generally, the recommendation is to not use blankets except in certain situations.  Those situations are if the horse is clipped, is very thin or stressed, or the horse is old and has trouble regulating body temperature in cold weather.

If a blanket is used for whatever reason, be sure that it fits the horse.  Ill-fitting blankets can cause rub marks and sores on the horse, or, if too large, can twist up and cause the horse to become tangled or destroy the blanket.  Check to see if the horse is too warm so it doesn’t overheat.  Blanket linings should not damage the hair underneath.  Be sure to groom blanketed horses often.

            One thing that we should all remember is that the comfort zone for a horse is much different than that of a human.  It is all too easy to think that our horses are cold when we are.  There is a big difference between us and our horses – we don’t have a thick coat of insulating hair all over our bodies!  Our horses do, so I’ll propose that the best way to keep a horse warm in the winter is to use what nature has given to the horse’s advantage.

            A horse’s coat has dense, under hair and longer outer hair.  In cold weather, those dense sets of hair work together with skin muscles to trap air under the hair coat, which provides an insulation layer that helps the horse to stay warm in cold weather.  Combine that with the management strategy of allowing the horse to gain a bit of weight as we are going into the winter months, providing a windbreak area and a roof to keep relatively dry, and most horses will stay very comfortable in some pretty cold temperatures.

            There are a couple of other factors that influence how well a horse keeps warm in cold weather.  Most horses are fed a forage-based diet.  As the microbes in the cecum digest that forage, a lot of heat energy is generated.  Remember that the cecum acts as a fermentation vat in the intestine, allowing horses to utilize forages for nutrition.  That energy release helps horses be comfortable in cold weather. 

            Horses also generate heat by exercising.  Horses are known to just kick up their heels and run around the pasture.  In cold weather, sometimes they are running around to generate heat.  They will also stand still and shiver to generate heat, but usually only for short periods of time.  If your horse is shivering all the time, be sure to take action to see what the problem is.

            People wonder just what adequate shelter is for horses in winter weather.  That answer can range from a wooded ravine that provides a good windbreak to a pole structure with a roof and one wall to cut both wind and rain, to a fully enclosed barn stall.  Be sure that there s plenty of fresh air if the horse is kept inside a barn.  Cold, fresh air is a much better environment for horses than a tight, warm barn with stagnant air.

            The worst weather condition for outdoor horses is cold and rain combined with wind.  The wind will break up the pockets of trapped, warm air and allow the rain to penetrate the hair and destroy the insulative layer.  The horse has a more difficult time keeping warm under those conditions, so then a roof and windbreak become even more important.  Most of the time, however, horses are just fine in cold weather as long as good common sense and management practices are followed.