As I am sure you will all be aware, we are well and truly in to autumn, even thought it seems like summer never quite happened, and winter is just around the corner.

Most horses experience a change in routine at this time of year, and most certainly their feeding will change. A fact that is out-with our control as the quality and in many cases, quantity of grass decreases. You may be thinking about what your winter feeding plan is going to be, so what things should you be taking in to consideration before launching in to change for changes sake?

Grazing

How much grazing will be available to your horse over the winter will obviously have a great impact on how you approach your winter feeding. If you are lucky enough to have acres and acres of winter grazing then your feeding plan may need little adjustment, especially if you have a good doer or your horse will have a reduced work-load.

Or, on the other hand if your horse will have little to no grass available then you need to work out how you are going to supplement hay in the field. Look at various hay feeder options and how best to minimise waste and bullying, if this is a potential problem. Depending on your hay quality, it may mean that you have to consider changing your horse to a higher energy bucket feed if they start to lose condition.

Forage

You will hopefully have made sure that you have enough hay sourced for the winter. The nutritional quality of this will influence how much and what type of bucket feed you will need to give, so it is worthwhile feeding the best that you can find/afford.

Unfortunately it is not possible to tell by looking at hay, what its nutritional quality is but it is possible to get an analysis carried out before you buy. You may even want to do this if you have good doers or horses that are prone to laminitis, to ensure that the sugar levels aren't too high. A very general rule of thumb is that later cut hay or haylage will be lower energy than that which has been earlier cut and hay with mostly Timothy grass will be lower energy than hay cut from a sward full of rye grasses.

The other general rule is that haylage is generally of a higher nutritional spec than hay but remember that you have to feed around 30% more by weight to ensure the same dry matter intake.

Type of horse/work load

If your horse is historically a poor keeper over the winter then you should start feeding a conditioning feed now. Conditioning feed should be high in oil and fibre. If your horse is a live wire or is prone to ulcers, select a feed that has low levels of cereals, particularly barley.

If your horse lives on fresh air then winter is the best time to try to shift some unwanted condition. These horses will not need extra feeding and may even need their rations cut back, as a consequence of a reduced work load. More on this topic in next month's column.

If your horse's work load is being maintained or even increased over the winter, then it is likely that you will have to change feed type or quantity to account for higher maintenance requirements, due to colder weather. Again it is best to select a high oil and fibre feed to start with and then use feeds containing cereals if you require more instant release type energy.

It is worth remembering that all horses are different and some may not even need an increase or change in feed. Keep an eye on weight and body condition of your horse during the winter and react accordingly.

Bucket feed

If you have taken note of the above variables then you should have an idea of what type of bucket feed you should be giving to your horse. Be it a lite chaff with a powdered general purpose mineral for the good doer in light work or an oil based chaff with a conditioning feed for the hard working thoroughbred type.

The main thing is not to be tempted to change your horse's feed just because winter is here, or because other people are making changes to their horse's feed. Make sure you consider their current body condition and only adjust your feed as and if necessary.

You never know, we may get a reasonably mild winter again, where the grass never really stops growing, which will mean that less supplemental feeding is required in most cases.

Water

Perhaps a slight departure from topic but the provision of water in winter is something worth considering now – before the first hard frost comes our way. Water is the most important nutrient for all living things and lack of water in the winter can lead to all sorts of problems, including impaction colic.

Consider how you are going to ensure that your horse can access water if it is out all day in minus temperatures whilst you are at work. Make plans in advance so that you are not caught out. Using foot-balls in troughs can help as can using hot water to fill buckets in the morning. Insulating water containers with tyres and old blankets can also work. Remember that automatic troughs will be likely to freeze so other options will need to be available.

There are many things to consider when looking at a winter feeding plan for your horse. The main thing to bear in mind is that all horses are different and should therefore be treated thus. Forage and water provision are the most important parts of the equation and once that is sorted you can then consider what changes, if any, need made to your supplemental bucket feeding.

Harbro Limited

01888 545204

www.harbro.co.uk