WINTER is coming and if the forecasters are to be believed it will not be long until we are once again covered in snow – let's hope they are wrong!

Feeding your horse over winter can be both confusing and costly but it needn't be.

When autumn/winter arrives the majority of horses undergo major management and lifestyle changes;

l Work levels are generally reduced as dark nights and inclement weather start to impact on our horse life.

l Many horses are brought in for the winter, some overnight and others for longer periods. This reduces the amount of exercise the horse gets still further.

l The nutritional quality of any grazing reduces significantly which can be a blessing for some but not for those whose horses struggle to keep condition over the winter. Many horses won't see much grass over winter and will be fed on conserved forage both inside the stable and out in the field.

l Temperatures will drop and in some cases, this can be significant, horses therefore require more energy to keep themselves warm.

It is a fact that the majority of leisure horses would keep over winter on just forage (fed ad-lib) plus a general purpose vitamin and mineral supplement or a mineralised lick. Some horses even need to lose weight and winter is a great opportunity to do so. Weight will only be lost if the colder temperatures and reduction in grass quality are not then over compensated for. Below are a few winter feeding dos and don'ts as a help this winter.

DON'T

1. Feed extra hard feed just because it is winter, factor in the fact that your horse's exercise is likely to be reduced, either time or intensity or even both. They may also have reduced turn out time and you may find that in fact your horse may need less feed than previously.

2. Cut back time spent foraging, this can lead to mental and health problems. If restriction is required, use very small holed hay nets and muzzle when out at grass.

3. Use high starch diets for weight gain e.g. barley, especially if your horse is a live wire or has stable vices such as crib biting or wind-sucking. Use high fibre and oil based diets as much as possible.

4. Feed more than 2kg of concentrate in any one meal, preferably feed less. If your horse needs more feed then increase the number of meals you give him or use a more nutritionally dense feed that can be fed at lower rates.

5. Over rug any horse that needs to lose weight, if they can't burn off calories keeping warm then there is little chance of them losing any weight.

DO

1. Monitor body condition score and weight (using tape) weekly to detect any changes early on, whether that be a gain or a loss in condition. Weight change can go unobserved until a dramatic difference is then noticed and by then it is more difficult to correct.

2. Use forage as the mainstay of your horse's diet. Feed forage true ad-lib and then add any extra feeding if and when required.

3. Ensure vitamin and mineral requirements are met. As previously mentioned, use a powdered vitamin and mineral supplement or a mineralised lick to fulfil your horse's requirements.

4. Make any feeding changes gradually, both adding and taking away different feed types. Remember if you are swapping from one forage type to another e.g. hay to haylage; that this also has to be done gradually to reduce the risk of upsetting the good bugs in your horse's gut.

5. Try to turn out as much as possible, this increases exercise and reduces boredom which can help lower the risk of your horse developing colic or stable vices.

6. Ensure a supply of clean, fresh water at all times, this can be hard when everything is frozen but it is crucial, as this is one of the implicating factors when it comes to winter colic. Provide salt too as horses still need salt during the winter and this can also encourage drinking.

The most important thing to bear in mind is that feed should only be increased if it is actually required. If you have had your horse for a winter already and you know that it loses weight, then you can be organised and try to prevent it happening this year.

Changing the type of feed you use can help, rather than just increasing your current feed. If your horse always loses weight over the winter then using a conditioning feed based on super fibres and oil would be the best thing to use, rather than piling on the barley, as this will help to keep your horse sane as well as in good condition. Like-wise, if your horse has no problem holding condition but can get a little loopy with reduced exercise and turn out, then make sure that he is no longer on a competition feed and is swapped on to a high fibre cool feed instead, or even just a chop bucket feed with his supplements. This can be all that they require.

Hay/haylage and grass should form the biggest part of your horse's diet, making sure you purchase high nutritional quality forage for any poor doers, can save a lot of worry and money. Vice versa, try to find the latest cut, stemmiest forage you can for good doers, soak hay when you can, but this is not always easy in the winter, to reduce sugar and therefore calorie content of the hay.

Winter feeding doesn't have to be a worry, stick to the above dos and don'ts and if in any doubt please speak to a nutritionist about your winter feeding regime.