Question
I have an 11-year-old Miniature Horse gelding; he’s retired after a long show career. He weighs 340 lb (155 kg) and is a BCS of 8, so he needs to lose weight. Because of the weather, he has little turnout time. His daily ration includes one flake of grass hay, 2 cups low-starch feed, 1 cup balancer pellet, and flax, amino acid, and tumeric supplements. This gelding has a sensitive stomach and is prone to colic. I’ve treated him for ulcers in the past, as he sometimes has a grumpy disposition, but ulcers have never been confirmed through endoscopy. He also has stifle and hock issues that make him stiff and creaky. He has underrun heels and long toes, which makes me think he is missing something in his diet that will help with hoof health. I’d like him to have a well-balanced diet. Can you help?
Answer
To help reduce unnecessary calories in your gelding’s diet, I recommend removing the low-starch feed entirely from his ration and offering just the balancer pellet. The balancer pellet will ensure his vitamin and mineral requirements are met.
Horses that suffer from digestive upset benefit from increased access to forage, though this is not always the best management practice for overweight horses. Minimizing the amount of time horses are without access to food can help support digestive health. The use of slow-feeders or increasing the frequency of hay-feeding can achieve this. Also, increasing the amount of time he is on the move, even walking, when turned out can help increase calorie expenditure and lead to weight loss. Having multiple areas where hay is offered—far away from the water and salt sources—can encourage movement.
Overweight horses can be offered hay and feed based on their target body weight. For severely overweight Miniature Horses, though, this should be done gradually. Hay should be offered at 1.25-1.5% of the horse’s body weight; this would be approximately 3-4 lb (1.4-1.8 kg) for a 250-lb (115-kg) Miniature Horse. Chronically overweight horses can develop metabolic conditions such as insulin resistance that require a reduction in dietary sugar. Soaking hay prior to feeding can reduce the sugar content of the hay to make it more suitable for these horses. To definitively determine the amount of sugar in hay, it should be analyzed by a reputable laboratory.
Including a daily digestive health product like EquiShure can help minimize digestive discomfort and support optimal health and function. EquiShure is beneficial for horses on low-forage diets as it works in the hindgut to correct pH imbalance and to maintain a healthy microbial population. A maintenance dose for a Miniature Horse is 15 g EquiShure per day, divided equally into two meals.
Sound nutrition is key to maintaining and improving hoof health and quality; however, this needs to be paired with appropriate, regular hoof care. The current feed program is providing appropriate nutrition, making it unlikely that a mineral imbalance is the cause of the hoof issues you mention.
Correcting faults in hoof conformation can improve the horse’s overall comfort and movement. Some of the gelding’s stiffness and soreness could be related to his hoof conformation, as well as his years of being a show horse. Nutritional supplements, like Synovate HA, can help promote joint health through providing key components of joint fluid and cartilage. Joint supplements can help horses become more comfortable and active.
