Monday, August 18, 2008

Sweet feed can make young horses naughty, says study

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

August 19, 2008

Young horses may be easier to train if they temporarily lay off the sweet feed, according to Montana State University (MSU) researchers.

A commercial mixture of corn, oats, barley and molasses - sometimes called "sweet grain" or "sweet feed" - gives horses the glossy coat and lively spirit that makes them attractive to prospective buyers, said Jan Bowman, an animal nutritionist at MSU.

But the extra energy provided by sweet grain during the early stages of training made horses in an MSU study more disobedient and fearful than horses who ate only hay, Bowman said.

The grain-eaters spent more time resisting the saddle...

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