The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.
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36 TheHorse.com THE HORSE June 2017 The performance horse requires energy for muscle contraction, so he needs some starch and sugar (in the form of grain-based concentrates and/or another supplemental feed) but should still be get- ting at least 1-1.5% of his body weight per day in forage (so, at least 10-15 pounds for a 1,000-pound horse). But for the average horse, says Wil- liams, the general rule of thumb is to offer 2-2.5% of the animal's body weight in total feedstuffs per day. So, an all- forage diet and access to salt (block form or loose) can typically meet the nutrient requirements of a horse at maintenance or in light work. "The second-best option is some sort of (processed) forage or hay cubes," says Williams. "There are many on the market: timothy hay, grass hay, mixed with alfalfa, or straight alfalfa—anything along those lines is the next best thing to long-stem hay. Horses will consume pellets as fast as they consume their grain, but the cubes take a while to chew, so they also cut down on boredom, which cuts down on negative behaviors. "Fiber ferments in the large intestine, so horses get that energy very slowly; that's why forage and fiber are good for the maintenance horse that's not doing a lot," she continues. "They don't need a lot of energy quickly, they just need slow-release energy throughout the day to maintain their body. But the exercising horse needs the stored muscle and liver glycogen that's used when they're exercis- ing. Carbohydrates (mainly from grain) are digested and absorbed in the small intestine, where you get the big release of glucose and insulin." Devices such as slow-feed haynets and hay feeders that extend the forage meal seem to help horses mimick their natural eating behavior, too, says Wickens. Toys can also help alleviate boredom, as can time spent near other horses and/or in the company of barnyard pets such as goats and donkeys. In addition to providing as natural a feeding experience as possible, increasing your horse's exercise can take the edge off his fractious behavior. Rule Out Pain "Some horses begin to behave badly because they're getting gastric ulcers or at least have an environment set up in the stomach that's not very comfortable," says Wickens. If your veterinarian determines your horse has gastric ulcers, remember that in addition to using products specifically formulated for treating ulcers, manag- ing a horse's feeding patterns can help assuage pain: Chewing produces sa- liva, which lubricates food and buffers the stomach's acidic environment. So, smaller, more-frequent high-forage meals result in slower food passage through your horse's digestive system. This means less possibility of feed leakage into the hindgut and, consequently, less chance of heightened lactic acid levels that can cause colitis, diarrhea, gas, and even colic. Alfalfa is a good forage choice for horses with gastric ulcers; its high cal- cium content helps buffer stomach acid. Another possible comfort issue is thermoregulation. "We have quite a few horses down here (in Florida) that are anhidrotic—they don't sweat appropri- ately—so when temperatures get hot and it gets humid, they start to feel pretty miserable," says Wickens. These animals sometimes display their discomfort with agitated behavior. Evaluate Diet Once you've explored the possible non- nutritional contributors to your horse's behavior issues, you can experiment with nutrition as another means of behavior control. Feed, whether forage, grain con- centrates, or other supplemental products, contains three main nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fats, plus vitamins and minerals. Here's how each contributes (or doesn't) to a horse's "hotness," and in which products you might find them. Protein The notion that a high-protein diet causes behavioral issues is incorrect. Protein, says Williams, is not related to energy at all. "(The excess energy) is more related to the calories of the feed source, not the protein of the feed source," she says. "The majority of a horse's energy comes from glycogen and also from fat." That said, proteins are made up of 20 amino acid "building blocks." One amino acid of interest, tryptophan, is a main ingredient in many of the calming aids on the market. Because tryptophan is a precursor of serotonin, a neurotransmit- ter (it transfers signals between nerve cells) that modulates mood and activity levels, one might think that increased tryptophan would lead to increased sero- tonin levels. "But because of glucose and insulin releasing serotonin to the brain, just the opposite is true," says Williams. "Tryptophan actually causes excitement in low doses in horses. Some horses' negative behavior is attributable to discomfort associated with gastric ulcers—which diet changes can help resolve. ISABELLE ARNON NUTRITION (Hay) cubes take a while to chew, so they also cut down on bore- dom, which cuts down on negative behaviors." DR. CAREY WILLIAMS