THE weather being what it is at this time of year and all the festivities approaching may mean that you have decided to give your equine partner some well deserved time off.

Whether it is just for a week or two or a month or two your horse will likely appreciate the break but what of his diet? What changes do you need to make if any?

When you give your horse a holiday his exercise will decrease dramatically. Hopefully if your horse has been in hard work during the summer you have given him a winding down period of decreasing work level and decreasing feed levels. If not then he may be a little unruly for a while.

Some horses will wind down more easily than others and a lot depends on personality and level of fitness. To compound all this, your horse may be stabled at night or only turned out for a few hours a day, which means he isn't even exercising himself! Correct and sensible (and of course gradual) changes in feeding are therefore required.

The main thing to remember is that your horse still has the same requirements for the majority of nutrients (protein, vitamins, minerals) except energy.

His energy requirements change, in most scenarios they reduce and certainly the type of energy you provide should change.

On the one hand, feed will need adjusted due to reduced exercise, and on the other, colder weather and the reduction of grazing quality may mean that your poor doer horse will need more energy from the feed that you give to him, in order to maintain condition.

If you have been feeding your horse on cereals or a nut or mix with a high cereal content to give him the 'oomph!' to perform fast work (or too pep up a laid back individual) then a change of feed type would be prudent.

Swap from fast release energy sources to slow release ones; in other words from cereals and cereal based feeds to high fibre and oil based diets.

This way you can provide your horse with the energy it needs to maintain condition during the colder periods but it is slow release, controlled energy.

If your horse is one of those many individuals for whom a drop in exercise means an increase in girth size then the energy content of the diet must be kept as low as possible.

By now most of the goodness will have gone from the grass but keep an eye on this as it can suddenly start growing again with just a slight increase in temperature. If your horse is running in a large field where grass is a-plenty and the temperatures increase then you may need to consider the use of a grazing muzzle.

As mentioned above these horses still have a requirement for protein and vitamins and minerals and this can easily be provided by using a balancer type feed, either in the form of a pellet or a powder. Feed with a low calorie chaff this type of feeding regime will work very well for the majority of horses.

Forage is a crucial part of your horses feeding regime at any time but becomes particularly important during periods of rest or light work.

The nutritional quality of hay and haylage can vary quite dramatically and, as during rest periods it forms a large portion of your horse's diet (70-100%), the quality of it can have a huge impact on your feeding regime.

In the majority of cases, changing the forage source to one with a higher nutritional quality is all that is required to help a horse keep condition and vice versa, if you have a good doer and have landed with the highest quality hay.

Forage can be analysed to check its nutritional quality. The eating quality of hay is also very important. Hay of dubious quality may have a high nutritional value but have low intakes.

Hay and haylage should pass the 'sniff test'. If it doesn't smell sweet it probably won't taste all that great to your horse either.

Forage should be fed ad-lib to the majority of horses and most definitely to poor doers. Not only will this ensure that their nutritional needs are met but will also help to prevent stress and the associated stereotypies (e.g crib biting etc).

Gastric ulcers are a major cause of condition loss and temperament issues in horses and therefore it is wise to ensure that your horse always has forage in front of it.

If your horse is doing a little too well on his hay then try slowing down his intake by using small holed haynets or soak his hay, to leach out the sugars and therefore decrease the energy content.

A holiday for you and your horse can have a miraculous effect on both of you. You can return to work well rested, with renewed enthusiasm on the horse's part and motivation on yours.

Always make any feeding changes gradually and ensure that your horse has plenty of forage and always has access to a clean water supply.

Bear the above points in mind and you and your horse will enjoy his holiday and come back smiling in the spring ready for action. Enjoy the festive period and all the very best wishes for you and your equine friends for 2013.

Harbro Limited

01888 545204