Feeding Natives
I have recently purchased a native type, 14hh, 5 year old, mare, she is my first horse and is being ridden 3-4 times a week with a mixture of schooling and hacking and so far is quiet to ride and handle. What can I feed her to keep her this way?
The basis of your mare's diet should be fibre either in the form of grass, hay or haylage, this will provide her with plenty of slow release energy for the work that she is doing and to help her maintain her condition. Don't forget with spring just around the corner to keep an eye on your mare's waistline and if necessary you may need to limit her grass intake with the use of a grazing muzzle or strip grazing if your grass is particularly lush.
When choosing a concentrate feed look for one that is fibre based too, and that it is low in starch and sugar, i.e. free from, or low in cereals and molasses which will help to avoid excitable behaviour. Most high fibre, low energy feeds are ideal for horses and ponies doing up to one hours work per day. A good quality feed will contain a full range of vitamins and minerals as well as a prebiotic to ensure that your mare gets the most from her feed. Do make sure that you are feeding the correct amounts to get the vitamin and mineral content from the feed, and should you find you don't need to feed as much as is recommended, you can 'top up' with a vitamin and mineral supplement.
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