Loss of weight in winter is a concern with many of our equines, especially those who are older or naturally leaner. The cold weather in winter increases energy demands on our horses, as they must produce more body heat to maintain their body temperature. On top of this, the amount and quality of the grazing in the paddocks during winter is dramatically reduced.
All of this means that even if you are feeding a top-of-the-range ration to your horse, with high-quality forage and concentrate feed, you must not overlook the fact that winter conditions result in horses typically requiring more food (in the form of hay, grazing, and concentrate feed) than usual to maintain body condition and keep up with their workload.
The effect of temperature
All warm-blooded animals, including horses, have a critical temperature. This is the outside temperature below which a horse must produce extra heat to maintain his body temperature.
The critical temperature, however, varies depending on the horse’s condition. A mature horse in good condition, where ribs cannot be seen, has a critical temperature of around 0°C. This means that any environmental temperature drop below 0°C will require the horse to produce extra heat. After developing a winter coat, the critical temperature may drop even lower to somewhere around -5°C.
It is estimated that young horses, thinner horses and those who have been stabled and not developed a full winter coat might only have a critical temperature of between +10°C and +5°C. This is important to note, as horses require about 15-20% more feed for each 10-15°C that the ambient temperature falls below their critical temperature. This is to produce the extra heat required to keep them warm.
Therefore, each horse must be considered as an individual when it comes to winter feeding.
Impact on feeding
Temperatures in South Africa do not commonly drop low enough to require the majority of horses to need the extra 15-20% feed. However, most horses will still require more food in winter than in summer.
Another point to note regarding feeding regime changes is that while horses exposed to constant, chronic cold weather acclimate to the cold, horses not accustomed to cooler temperatures typically need 10 to 21 days to adapt to the altered temperature. It is, therefore, often helpful to adjust feeding before the cold weather sets in to avoid playing catch-up to maintain condition over the winter period.Feeding more – the options
Option 1: Feeding extra concentrates
As concentrates generally provide more calories per kilogram than roughage, they are often the first choice for many owners looking to increase energy intake. However, even if horses require a small amount of extra hard feed to provide increased calories, they will not need a significant change unless their workload has increased substantially or if they are pregnant, lactating, or growing. In fact, rather than increasing the quantity of feed, it is often better to switch to a higher-calorie, energy-dense feed, which allows meal sizes to remain small, facilitating more efficient digestion while allowing the horse to derive more calories from the feed.
The bottom line is that, as much as feeding extra concentrates is often easier and perhaps even cheaper, high-quality forage is the key to maintaining condition through winter.
Option 2: Feed more forage
If you want to ensure that your horse remains in good body condition, increasing his amount of forage is likely to be sufficient for the winter months. Forage is fermented in the gut where bacteria are active. Bacteria produce considerable heat during fermentation that the horse can use to warm himself from the inside out, rather than having to shiver or move to maintain body temperature. This means that more forage provides a heat source in addition to the extra calories, making it a very effective way of maintaining condition.
Unfortunately, winter forage is often of reduced quality, which means more hay should be provided than in summer anyway to ensure the same calorie value. Then you will still need to top up the levels even further to maintain warmth. This may all lead to a considerable increase in the amount of forage required, and this can be costly. To reduce this cost, you need to find the best-quality forage (with the highest nutrient value) so that lower amounts can be fed. This is generally cheaper than buying larger volumes of poorer quality hay.
In terms of nutrient levels in forage from highest to lowest, green pasture generally tops the list, followed by winter pasture, good-quality grass hay and poor-quality grass hay. When selecting hay, look for good-quality hay that is clean and dust-free. Consider feeding higher calorie hay like lucerne or teff, should there be a need to boost a horse’s calorie intake further. Choose immature hay (characterised by soft stems and a larger portion of leaf matter) rather than overly mature hay (very stalky with little leaf), as this provides better nutritional value. Moreover, immature hay has a water-holding capacity than more mature hay.
NOTE: Impaction colic is more common in winter as horses often drink less because the cold weather makes their water cold. Forage with higher moisture content is therefore preferred, particularly in winter.
Extra additions
Keep in mind that poorer quality hay can also have reduced vitamin and mineral content. It, therefore, may be wise to consider adding in a balancer product for younger and older horses to increase their levels of vitamins and minerals without changing their diet hugely.
Adding extra oil to the diet can also be beneficial as it allows the increase of calories without adding large amounts of expensive concentrate feed. 250ml (1 cup) of oil has the equivalent calories of around 1-1.5kg of oats.
Remember
You should monitor your horse’s body condition year-round, but especially before harsher winter weather arrives. You can then determine whether your horse needs extra energy by checking for decreased body weight and condition, and noticing these issues as soon as they start to arise. Make sure to feel through the heavy winter coat when checking body condition – are the ribs easily felt? If so, the horse needs more energy. Is the horse shivering a lot? If so, he needs more energy.
And don’t wait for temperatures to plummet before you begin these checks and changing of diet. Ideally, you need to begin your winter nutrition programme early enough and give your horse sufficient time to build up the reserves he needs to get him through the winter. Use common sense and regular observation, and your horse should have an uneventful cold season.
NOTE: Ideally, you should also discuss your feeding regime with a trusted equine nutritionist to ensure the diet selected is optimal. Both overfeeding and underfeeding can create a whole host of problems, and an equine nutritionist is best placed to assist you in planning a winter-feeding programme.