Budgeting to feed horses through winter can be a real juggling act, especially when grazing young, geriatric or pregnant animals together.

Horses spend more energy keeping warm over winter and grass growth is greatly reduced, so extra supplements may be required to meet maintenance requirements.

Here are a few tips to keep your horse at its optimum health over winter:

Teeth

• Make sure your horse has had their teeth checked within the last 6-12 months.  A horse’s teeth erupt continually throughout their life and are prone to developing sharp enamel points that grow unevenly and painfully into the cheeks and tongue. These sharp points can lead to oral disease and make processing of feed very inefficient.
• Gum disease is another issue that can contribute to weight loss and difficulty processing feed. A horse’s mouth cannot be adequately examined unless the horse is sedated, the mouth opened with a speculum, flushed thoroughly and then examined with a dental light and mirror.
• Several vets have undergone post-graduate training specifically in equine dentistry and are able to provide this full service for you. 

Worms

• These days it is important to know the active ingredient in the worm product you are using. Approximately 80% of horse worms are now resistant to white drenches (benzimidazoles) and there is also significant resistance to most of the other active ingredients available on the market. 
• If you are concerned whether your wormer is working effectively heading into winter, a faecal egg count (FEC) test should be performed 10-14 days after treatment. There should not be an egg count present at that stage. The test is not valid if performed immediately after treatment as some worms are not killed but stop reproducing for a few days. They are normally producing eggs again by 10-14 days if your wormer hasn’t worked. 
• Moxidectin treats the small strongyle/cyathastome worm during its larval migration through the bowel wall. This worm causes weight-loss, diarrhoea and ill-thrift in horses. Moxidectin is also the only product with no documented resistance in New Zealand to date. 
• We recommend using a moxidectin-based product annually (Equest Plus® or Ultramox™).  Generally, this is used in early spring but if you are unsure whether your horse has received a moxidectin product in the past year, now is a good time to treat.

Feeding

• An adult horse can consume approximately 2% of its body-weight in dry matter (DM) per day (see table below for variations). 
• This equals 10kg for a 500kg horse.  How you “spend” the 10kg for this horse’s total daily intake will determine whether they maintain, lose or gain weight.
• Reputable feed supply stores are helpful at providing information for basic feed supplementation over winter.  Your veterinarian is also able to provide a more detailed feeding programme for horses suffering from illness or unexplained weight loss and difficulty maintaining weight.

Approximate feed requirements:
 

Type of horse	Energy (MJ/DE/day)	Protein (gram)	Fibre (kg)	Intake (kg/DM/day)
300kg pony light work	54	520	3	6.8
500kg horse turned out	68	653	5	10
Pregnant mare (500kg) 8-11 months pregnant	75-82	720-787	5	10
350kg yearling (growth)	83	797	3.5	7.9

Remember that good shelter and warmth are also imperative. If your cover isn’t waterproof, it is far worse than no cover at all! Good shelter belts and/or sheds help to keep your horse or pony warm and save them from wasting excess energy generating heat.

In summary, the three major considerations for maintaining your horse in good condition are freedom from oral disease, freedom from internal parasites/worms and an adequate feeding programme.  If any of these areas are lacking, they will be become an issue over the colder winter months. 

At Franklin Vets, we provide free winter dental checks for peace of mind. We can also help you to determine a cost-effective feed programme for your four-legged friends, so contact your local clinic today to book your horse in for its warrant of fitness.