Does your horse get fat off the smell of any oily rag? Owning a good doer presents a different set of nutrition challenges and this is doubly true if the horse is susceptible to becoming overweight. Achieving weight loss in horses can be just as problematic as realizing weight gain.
While a good doer may be easy on the pocket, nutritionally managing such a horse can be challenging and time consuming. The greatest concern revolves around limiting feed intake to keep the horse at an optimal weight for its height and structure. Careful rationing of feed coupled with an appropriate exercise program will likely produce a slimmer, more athletic, and ultimately a happier, horse.
The nutritional dilemma facing owners of such horses is to safely meet their nutritional requirements without gaining unwanted condition. As concentrated feeds can attribute to weight gain, overweight horses are maintained on forage only diets. While limited grazing time and/or access to low to medium quality forage at 1.0-1.5% of bodyweight per day may help the weight reduction cause, the horse will not receive sufficient quantities of essential vitamins and minerals. These deficiencies may be negatively reflected in the general health, immunity, hair coat or tolerance to work.
KER and Barastoc have teamed up to provide two convenient ways to ensure your overweight horse pony trims up and looks their best. Powder or pellet? It’s up to you! Many people fall into the trap of giving good doers a token feed of a normally fortified feed as they feel guilty. If you are providing your horse with a token hard feed but not the amount the feed manufacturer is recommending to avoid weight gain, you will also be restricting the amount of micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) your horse receives. Cut calories not nutrients! Balance the ration with Barastoc Groom or Stud Balancer.
Barastoc Groom is a palatable, low intake vitamin and mineral supplement that is low in calories but will provide essential vitamins and trace minerals to your horse. It is certainly easier and more accurate to purchase a balanced vitamin and mineral supplement like Barastoc Groom over trying to add a bit of everything and mix your own. Got a good doer that isn’t receiving hard feed as they maintain condition on pasture and/or hay alone? Add a handful of chaff and Barastoc Groom for a convenient way to ensure you horse meets their daily nutritional requirements
Does your horse need the feed without the calories? Try KER Stud Balancer, a low calorie ration balancer pellet. Barastoc Stud Balancer is a low intake ration balancer pellet which is the perfect feed for good doers and with a feed rate of 500g-1 kg per day, Stud Balancer will add negligible calories to the diet, but top up the nutrient gaps in a forage-only diet. Its pelleted design means it’s an ideal choice for the cheeky ones who are experts at sifting out powders in their feeds. Mange your horse’s weight but maintain balanced nutrition with Barastoc Groom or Stud Balancer.
Peter Huntington, B.V.Sc., M.A.C.V.Sc.Director of Nutrition, Australia
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