Saturday, April 28, 2012

Ten Simple Ways To Save On Horse Feed

By Heather Toms


I write this article to offer you 10 suggestions on the best way to save on feed costs without making compromises on nutritive values.

1. Maximize forage: Your feeding regime should be based on quality forage. You should ensure that your horse is fed hay and pasture to the extent of a minimum of 1 % of its body weight a day.

You economize with forage in the following ways.

Direct savings in feed costs: Forage is far cheaper than grain. You can meet the nutritive needs of most adult horses just with forage of top quality. You do not need to add grain.

Decrease in veterinary costs: The diet gains bulk from the fibre, and therefore, puts a brake on the rate of grain fermentation in the horse's gut. This helps significantly eliminate the risk of colic as well as laminitis.

Prevention of bad habits: Horses getting enough forage aren't going to be chewing on stalls and fences.

2. Do bulk purchases: If you can afford it and have the storage space, buy hay in wholesale bulk. You are able to save plenty of cash by doing this.

3. Ensure hay quality: When you purchase hay, give consideration to its quality and weight. Greenness and softness of texture characterize hay of good quality. It should additionally be dust-free, mold-free and weed-free. Test hay for nutritive value before buying it.

4. Watch out for fine print: Make sure of what you are getting by talking about nutritional analysis guaranteed on the labels. Quite often, the nutritional value will be far above the requirements of your pony, and you don't want to waste money on that kind of feed.

5. Balanced and complete feeds: Feed labelled 'balanced' means you're going to have to add forage and water. Feed labelled 'complete' need no additions except water. While complete feeds do come with fibre content, you need to bear in mind that your pony still wants roughage to the extent of 1 percent of its body weight a day so its bowel stays in correct condition.

6. Don't blow cash on nonessential supplements: If the feed your horse is getting is fully balanced and complete, and your pony is maintaining glorious health, you don't need to feed him additional nutrient elements. The majority of it'll simply get excreted out.

7. Are worms feasting on your horse's feed? Bugs rob your horse of nutriments and require extra feed to compensate. Keep your pony on a regular deworming program finalized in consultation with your veterinarian.

8. Keep your horse's teeth healthy: Regular tooth care allows your horse to masticate food efficiently. Horses with bad teeth waste major portions of feed by dropping it. The expense associated with a dentist's visit is easily compensated by savings in feed costs.

9. Use horse group dynamics: When feeding groups of horses, anticipate bullying by utilizing individual feeders. Your feed money is not being used optimally if the bullies are consuming more of the feed and the bullied are consuming less. It costs less and is better for health to keep up body weight than to feed with the objective of rocketing or reducing weight.

10. Use weight to work out feed quantity: Weigh feed to gauge it. Don't measure it by volume. Bring about changes in diet slowly to stop possible digestive complications. Always figure out changes in terms of weight.




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