prior to feeding. Copra can be used
to increase energy in the diet but
should be fed in conjunction with
a balanced ration, especially for
growing or breeding stock since the
protein is of low quality and will not
support adequate growth.
Common health risks
associated with drought
feeding
During drought, you may need to
make frequent changes to your
horse’s diet as different ingredients
become unavailable, or a new source
of an ingredient is found. Constantly
changing the diet, using unusual
ingredients that you are not famil-
iar with and feeding more hard feed
to make up for the lack of forage
imposes some health risks on your
horse. The major risks to be aware
of are colic, gastric ulcers, laminitis
and worms.
Colic: To minimise the risks of colic,
try to provide as much roughage as
you are able, and provide as much
energy in the form of fibre and fat as
possible, thus minimising the need
for grains. Introduce all new feeds
and ingredients including different
hay and chaff types over a period
of 7-10 days, gradually phasing out
the old whilst slowly increasing the
new ingredient. Remember that dry
forage sources such as hay contain
much less moisture than fresh
pasture, so horses will often drink
more water when consuming large
amounts of these forage sources.
If you are having to feed a large
amount of the required energy as
hard feed, make sure you feed little
and often. Feed no more than 2.5kg
of hard feed in one meal. This may
mean that you have to provide three
or even four meals per day in order
to reduce the risk of colic. Provide
plenty of fresh water, whatever the
cost. If you have run out of water
from your dam, you will need to find
an alternate source, or move your
horses to an area with good water
supply.
Gastric ulcers: These result from
feeding a diet high in grains, and
from the stress of work or travel.
Again, to help prevent ulcers, try
to minimise grains, and feed small
meals with plenty of forage. Bulk
out the meals with chaff or one of
the chaff substitutes mentioned to
slow down consumption and allow
as much hay as you can ration.
gastric environment and protect the
sensitive lining of the stomach.
Laminitis: Horses are at high risk
of laminitis with drought feeding
practices. Making all changes very
slowly, feeding small meals and
enlisting the help of your veterinar-
ian and/or equine nutritionist can
be essential in successful manage-
ment of these horses during drought
periods. Depending on the individ-
ual history of the disease with this
horse, management
techniques may vary.
It is worth considering adding KER
EquiShure to your horse’s ration
during this time. KER EquiShure
promotes normal digestive function
by aiding in the maintenance of an
optimal hindgut environment and
is designed for horses suspected of
suffering from or that are at risk
of developing hindgut acidosis.
Hindgut acidosis can be triggered
by many factors, including restrict-
ed forage intake and the overflow
of starch from the small intestine.
Hindgut acidosis leads to changes
in the bacterial population of the
hindgut, digestive disturbances and
reduced digestive efficiency.
Worms: Dry conditions do not
favour larval survival, so worms
tend not to be quite so prolific in
horse pastures during drought but if
there is a lack of forage horses may
start to eat droppings and graze
rough areas of the paddock to sat-
isfy their need for forage. Maintain
a vigilant worming program during
drought to help horses get the
most out of their feed and remove
droppings from the paddock or yard
regularly.
Wood chewing: You may notice your
horse eating tree bark, or your fenc-
es if you are not providing sufficient
forage in the diet. The easiest way to
prevent and remedy this problem is
to make more forage available either
with hay or chaff, or with some of
the aforementioned alternatives.
Once the drought has
broken
When the rain comes, everyone
breathes a collective sigh of relief,
but the problems do not end with
the first patter of the life giving
drops. Paddocks that have become
dry and dusty will take a period of
time to fully recover, and until then,
the dangers of fresh new growth
to your horse will also have to be
carefully managed. The temptation
is strong to put the horses straight
into a paddock that has just become
lush with new growth and feel the
glow of satisfaction from watching
them tuck into natures gift. But
as with all dietary changes, the
introduction to new pasture must be
done slowly to avoid the risk of colic
and laminitis. If possible, start by
allowing just a couple of hours each
day at the new pasture. Not only will
this help the horses to get used to
the change in diet, but it will allow
the pasture to recover a little too.
For the first month or so, build up
to a period of time during the day at
pasture, but take the horses off, or
rotate to a different paddock for the
rest of the time so that fragile new
pastures will not become depleted
right away. If you have the facilities
to selectively graze your pasture by
using temporary fencing, then start
this practice right away, and allow
the worst portions of your pasture
to fully recover before subjecting
them to the stress of grazing.
Beware of the ‘green drought’ in
which your pasture may appear to
remain green, but there is no actual
grass to be had. You will need to
continue with supplementary
forage until there is sufficient pas-
ture for the horse to graze consist-
ently before reducing the amount.
Whilst the benefits of the new
pasture and hay crops are starting
to be felt, you can gradually wean
the horses off any extra hard feed
you have had to provide to main-
tain weight during the drought and
revert back to your old management
systems. For those horses that have
lost quite a bit of condition during
the drought despite your best ef-
forts, continue to feed them enough
hard feed to recover their condition
before cutting back.
Help is available
Feeding and caring for horses
during a drought can be stress-
ful. For more information and tips
on successfully managing horses
during drought, contact Kentucky
Equine Research’s FREE nutrition
consultation service on 1800 772
198, email advice@ker.com or
submit a diet analysis through our
website www.ker.com.
Consider adding an antacid and
gastric coating supplement like
KER Neigh-Lox. KER Neigh-Lox is
a scientifically formulated blend of
slow and rapid acting antacids and
gastric coating agents designed to
support the maintenance of normal
September • October • 2018 • The Australian Quarter Horse Magazine • 39