What is a maintenance horse?

What is a maintenance horse?

Horses at maintenance include those kept in pasture and those occasionally used for work for short periods of time. The energy requirement for maintenance is low and can often be met with good-quality forage. Typically, grain supplementation is not needed.

What horse breeds are easy keepers?

Most pony breeds are easy keepers, and smaller, hardy horse breeds such as the Arabian or Mustang have many representatives with this trait. Many draft horse breeds, such as the Percheron are also easy keepers, as are most mules and donkeys.

What does it mean if a horse is an easy keeper?

Some horses gain weight easily, even under conditions where other horses will lose weight if not fed additional feed. These are commonly called “easy keepers.” They are a joy to own because it takes less feed to keep them in good condition.

What is a balanced diet for horses?

When feeding horses, it is important to recognize that there are six basic nutrient categories that must be met: carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water. Often, feed companies will balance the first five nutrients for us; however, it is critical not to forget about water.

Whats a maintenance diet?

Fringe nutrition. A part of the Atkins diet in which high-protein, high-fat foods are allowed ad lib; carbohydrates are restricted to 25–75 g/day. Rationale. Atkins believed that decreased carbohydrates induce ketosis, resulting in mobilisation of fat.

What kind of maintenance does a horse need?

Horses need a regular supply of food and water In most cases, they need to have hay or pasture throughout the day, with additional grain feedings twice a day. An average-size horse will eat about 20 lbs.

Which horse breed is the calmest?

Keep Calm & Ride On: Meet the 5 Calmest Horse Breeds

• American Quarter Horse.
• Morgan Horse.
• Appaloosa Horse.
• Norwegian Fjord.
• Connemara Pony.

What does gelded mean in a horse?

castrated
Gelding – A gelding is a male horse which has been castrated. Stallion – A stallion is a male horse who is kept for breeding purposes. Stallions will usually have had a successful racing career in their younger days and it can cost extraordinary amounts to get a top stallion to breed with your broodmare.

Are Arabians easy keepers?

Therefore, today, Arabians are generally known to be easy keepers.

Which hay is best for easy keeper horses?

Easy keeper horses tend to struggle with being overweight or putting on weight easily. Grass forage is a better option for easy keeper horses, such as orchard, timothy or teff grass. Lower in calories, this can fulfill their fiber requirements without too many added calories.

Why do horses need a balanced diet?

Young horses need extra energy, protein and the right amounts of minerals, such as calcium and phosphorus for bone and tissue development. Senior horses may develop metabolic problems that call for changes in diet. Work level: Work increases energy needs.

What is a compound horse feed?

Compound feed is – by legal definition – a feed made up of more than two ingredients, which may or may not contain additives like vitamins and minerals. Very few horse compound feeds can be fed complete (i.e. total diet, without forage) and so they are classed as complementary feeds, as are supplements.

Why are some horses called ” Easy keepers “?

Some horses gain weight easily, even under conditions where other horses will lose weight if not fed additional feed. These are commonly called “easy keepers.” They are a joy to own because it takes less feed to keep them in good condition. However, the dangers of obesity are a real concern.

What’s the ideal body weight for a horse?

Unfortunately, there are no normative tables to define ideal body weight in horses. However, there are several condition scoring systems (Henneke et al, 1983, Carroll and Huntington, 1988) in which 4 to 7 areas of the horse’s body are scored on a scale of 1 to 5 or 10.

What does it mean when a horse is overweight?

Webster’s Medical Dictionary (1992) defines obesity as “a condition of the body in which an abnormal amount of fat accumulates beyond body requirements,” or “overweight.” Horse owners differ in their perception of what constitutes an abnormal amount of fat in their horses.

What kind of diet does a horse need?

The horse’s digestive system continues to obtain maximum nutritional benefit from a diet of high fiber and low energy grasses and hay.