Many of us will enjoy a break from routine over the Christmas period and of course this means we can spend more time with our horses! We share a few of our Top Tips for enjoying the Christmas break with your horse - and your friends.
- Treat your horse to a Christmas dinner of yummy veg such as carrots, parsnips and swedes. Just remember to cut up them lengthways to reduce the risk of choke.
- Use the holiday period to assess your horse’s diet. Contact an Equine Nutritionist to ensure you are feeding a balanced ration that is providing your horse with everything they need. This will make sure you are not over or under fortifying the diet, and can even save you money. You can contact a Feedmark Nutritionist by messaging us here >>
- Remember that horses are creatures of habit and changes to their daily routine can led to stress. Try to keep to your normal routine over the Christmas period, or consider teaming up with someone else at the yard to share chores. To support optimal digestive health during periods of change and ensure you manageing your horse's diet in a way that supports healthy gut microbiota and intestinal activity.
- Grass quality and quantity declines over winter. Consider providing your horse with one or two additional grass forage options, such as chopped grass or grass nuts. Grass nuts can be put in a treat ball or sprinkled through hay to extend eating time and encourage natural browsing behaviours.
- Invest in a weigh tape and make it a new year’s resolution to weigh your horse on a fortnightly basis to keep track of any weight changes. Although weight tapes are not 100% accurate, if you weigh your horse in the same place, with the same tape, each time it will give you a good guide to weight loss and gain. This means you can adjust your feeding ration quickly before weight gain or weight loss becomes an issue.
- If you hang tinsel or decorations around your stable make sure your horse can’t reach them or you may end up with a very expensive vet bill!
- Dehydration is the main cause of impaction colic, especially in colder winter months, and no one wants a large vet bill over Christmas! To help ensure optimal hydration during the winter months give your horse warm water after they have had their hard feed and try to ensure it is the only water source available. Other things you can do to increase water intake is feed haylage, soaked hay, or soaked feeds such as sugarbeet. You can also add salt to your horse’s diet to increase their thirst response.
- Keep an eye on your horse’s legs and watch out for early signs of mud fever. Feeding a fully balanced ration with good levels of antioxidants can help to reduce the risk of mud fever developing.
- Be prepared for fireworks. Christmas, and especially New Year, are time when fireworks displays are more likely. Fireworks elicit fear reactions in many animals, including horses, due to the unpredictable, intermittent and high-intensity sounds combined with light flashes and burning smells. Ask your neighbours if they are planning on having any displays and prepare accordingly.
- Go for a Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day ride. Wear fancy dress and put some tinsel on your horse!