To determine what and how much to feed your horse, you first need to understand its needs and do some math. Fortunately, there are tools available to help you calculate the ideal ration for your horse and collect the data that your agronomist needs to do so.

Weigh feed with scales

Start by weighing what your horse is currently eating. Avoid vague measurements such as “one flake” or “one scoop” as not all hay flakes weigh the same, and not all feed scoops hold the same volume. Different feeds also have different densities.

In Québec, the arrival of fall coincides with the end of equestrian competitions. This makes it the ideal time to adjust your horse’s feed program and prepare it for winter.

In some years, drought or prolonged rainfall makes hay production difficult. As a result, many horse owners worry about their hay supplies as suppliers struggle to meet demand. Here are some tips to help you conserve your supplies when forage is hard to come by.

The key to healthy birds is good management. Here are the best practices for managing your urban chickens.

Henhouse

A good henhouse should protect poultry from the weather (wind, rain), predators, wild animals, and pets.

If the birds do not have access to the outdoors, you should plan for at least one square foot of space per bird. The higher the slaughter weight, the larger the area should be.

Totalveau is a complete feed for calves that contains enough fibre to replace forage in the ration.

The idea behind this feed concept is to provide young calves with an unlimited supply of a complete feed so they can maintain a good body condition. More uniform calves are raised because the less dominant calves also have access to the feed at all times.

To improve rumen development and post-weaning growth in young heifers, Totalveau combines several sources of energy including:

Competition horses must demonstrate endurance and power several days a year. What can be done to reduce muscle fatigue and promote recovery? Developing a good feed program is the key to a performance horse’s success.

Hay is an important part of a horse’s diet. That’s why it’s important for all horse owners to know how to choose the right type of hay for their horses’ needs.

Composition

It’s important to remember that forages are not all the same. Their digestibility, nutritional value and voluntary intake vary greatly depending on their composition, maturity and the quality of the harvest and storage conditions.

A foal’s diet begins in its mother’s womb and changes throughout its development. For that reason, it’s essential to adjust the nutrition of the broodmare and the foal at each new growth stage.

Newborns

Colostrum, the first milk produced by the mare, contains a significant amount of antibodies that protect a foal from pathogens in its environment. It also contains enzymes, hormones and growth factors responsible for the development of the foal’s gastrointestinal system.