Are you thinking about changing your horse’s diet? If so, it’s important for you to do it as gradually as possible to prevent problems.
Research has shown a definitive link between diet changes and certain types of health conditions like colic, so you should resist the urge to simply switch your horse’s diet altogether and instead ease the horse into a new diet slowly. According to The Horse, this should reduce the risks associated with changing your horse’s feed and keep him or her happy and healthy throughout the process.
If you are planning on increasing the grains that your horse eats every day, one of the best ways to go about doing it is to increase the ratio of feed you give your horse by about 1/2 pound per day. This will give your horse’s digestive system the time it needs to start incorporating these grains into the horse’s diet without any adverse effects.
By the same token, you should gradually scale back on how many grains your horse is getting each day if that’s your plan. You can subtract about 1/4 pound of feed per day every other day for a week or two for best results. You should also be mindful about the grains your horse is taking in if you decide to change the type of grains you give it. You should replace about 25 percent of its current feed with new feed every other day until you have successfully made the switch.
While grains are the most common type of feed for horses, there are other things that horses eat as well, and they should also be monitored closely and changed gradually when switching to a new feed. For example, if your horse eats hay and you are making a change to a new type of hay, it’s a good idea to replace about 25 percent of the old hay with the new hay per day until your horse is able to eat the new hay without any issues. Or if you want to send your horse out to the pasture more often to eat, you should limits its grazing time initially and think about sending your horse out after it has eaten some of its usual feed to avoid digestive problems.
It’s not difficult to switch your horse’s feed, but you do need to be patient and give your horse time to adapt to it.
At Deer Creek Structures, we can provide you with portable horse barns that will allow you to provide shelter for your horses. It will be easy to switch feeds when you have the right space to do it. Call us at 254-546-2276 today to discover why one of our portable horse barns would be perfect for you!