Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Work Level and Feeding Horses

Thehorse.com - Full Article

Make sure your horse’s diet supports his regular exercise program with these tips.

By Clair Thunes, PhD | Mar 26, 2018

Q. Many grains’ and concentrates’ recommended feeding rate is amount is based on the horse’s body weight and how much work he is getting: light, moderate, or heavy. I’ve found online resources for how to calculate body weight but not to determine work level. How do I accurately determine my horse’s work level?

A. Work level can be a hard thing to judge accurately. As a starting point I recommend you consider what a typical week looks like for your horse. This should include both the work your horse does and also how he’s housed. Is your horse at pasture 24 hours a, day 7 days a week, or is he in a stall? Perhaps he’s out part time. A horse that’s stalled at all times but hacked out every day at the walk with little trot or longed for a short period is likely only expending the same amount of energy as a horse that lives out 24 hours a day and without additional work. You should categorize this as “no work” and feed the maintenance requirement...

Read more here:
https://thehorse.com/156680/work-level-and-feeding-horses/

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