20/10/2022
Helpful post here from Independent Equine Nutritionist Nikki Meggison.
I always recommend straw beds if the horse’s health will allow for them. (No risk of impactions or respiratory problems.)
Please take your time changing over to straw beds, to avoid impactions.
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Friday focus....changing management and routines for winter!
It is autumn, the days are getting shorter and lots of horses routines will be changing soon if they have not already.
The horses digestive system needs time to adapt to any changes in feed or forage and I cannot emphasise this enough! It is so important to make ANY changes to your horses feeds or forage very slowly, particularly forage as this is what they eat the most of. If you do not make changes gradually, the risk of digestive upset is significantly increased.
Please keep this in mind next time you go to the feed merchants and they do not have all of your regular feeds in stock. Try to buy feeds before you run out and if you do have to make changes, please do it slowly. If you are constantly chopping and changing feeds as to what is in stock or on offer, your horse or pony is at greater risk of digestive disturbance.
Today, I really want to mention about introducing your horse or pony to a straw bed, whether your horse is currently out 24/7 or if you are changing from a shavings type bed.
Changing from inedible bedding such as shavings to an edible bedding such as straw can all too often lead to an impaction as the novelty of having a different type of forage all around them can be too hard for some to resist! I am already hearing about cases of impaction colics from routine changes and these horses have all been on straw beds, so please change as gradually as you can. To help reduce the risk;
• Introduce the straw very slowly a couple of weeks before changing the bedding or bringing in from 24/7 turnout, into his or her diet. You could start by mixing a handful into their hay or haylage (or giving alongside) and gradually increasing the amount so that it replaces around 30% of their forage ration. This will help them get used having straw in their diet.
• If they are out 24/7 and will be coming in soon, I would advise bring them in every day for a while to have some of the hay or haylage they will be eating when they come in plus some straw if they are going onto a straw bed.
• Ensure that your horse or pony has enough hay or haylage to last them overnight when they are on their new straw bed, so they do not eat their bed if they run out of hay.
Getting your horse or pony used to the forage they will be having when they come in and introducing straw very slowly if they are going onto a straw bed will help their digestive systems to adapt to the change and will help reduce the risk of digestive upset.
