05/02/2026
Driving past so many fields of horses everyday, the fields like swamps and there’s nothing to eat, horses just standing there looking miserable, leads me to this
🐴 24/7 stabling: Horses are big animals with big digestive systems. They need to move and they need to graze. Turnout paddocks that resemble swamps in itself is a problem if you turnout and don’t give them anything to eat, but equally, keeping in on wet days with zero turnout, zero exercise and normal feeds is asking for trouble, colic, tying up for example, not to mention they’ll be bored sh*tless. Imagine being stuck in one tiny room for days on end. They must be able to move, stretch their legs, get their gut moving and also give their brains something to do. Tying them up outside while you muck out is not enough! Turnout while you muck out morning and evening, hand walk, ride loose school, lunge. Today for example I am working so I can’t ride and I have no school at home, I turned out before the school run, came back, mucked out, did my jobs, hand walked the big one a few laps of the drive and put them away. They’ll have another quick turnout later while I tidy their boxes up. They’ll also have plenty of hay and much less bucket feed.
🐴 Feeding: Horses should drop off in the winter, it’s normal and good for them. However if your horse drops off too much, look at the forage first. Is your horse turned out in above mentioned swamps all day with no or little hay? Do you have a little grass but still no hay out? If the answer is yes, then bingo! They need more forage. Horses are not designed to go long periods with no food and then huge buckets of feeds in one go. Feed ad lib hay and then look at the fat next, oil and linseed are good examples. Horses get their energy from fibre and fat, feeds such as starchy cereals, bran, high starch and sugar mixes and nuts are not a natural source of food and horses don’t digest them very well. Keep it simple with good quality forage, fat/oil and low sugar feeds, grass nuts, readigrasses, high fibre cubes, there are so many simple yet excellent feeds.
🐴Over rugging: horses are not better off a bit too warm. In fact it’s the opposite, they are better off under rugged with an extra haynet. Horses have excellent central heating systems, let them use them!
🐴behaviour: Buying a calming supplement but feeding high starch, high calorie and high sugar feed is a bit like putting a plaster on a decapitated head. If your horse is in more, less exercise, less mental stimulation, more feed and behaving like a bit of a dick then feeding a calmer, isn’t the solution! Before you reach for the calmers, take a look at the whole picture!
