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Re: [RC] Grain At Rides - Susan Garlinghouse, DVMThat said--the main thing with grain is to keep the >individual meals small. I'm not even as brave as some >as SuG's advice--I've never fed more than 3 lbs of >grain to ANY horse in a given feeding, That's pretty close to my max, too---I'll go to a little over four pounds if pushed, but frankly, never seen the need to. Lots better ways to get calories into a horse consistently and safely without piling truckloads of grain in front of them. and that only to one horse, ever. But giving a pound at >a time fairly frequently during the ride works fine. Yup, I agree. As to slurries--I'm a big fan of wet food at rides. >Horses tend to be already dehydrated, and IMO they >have to "download" a lot less saliva to process the feed, >never mind that even what saliva they do "download" >you are at least partially replacing by putting moisture >right back into the gut. Although it isn't near enough >water to make up for their water losses, it is at least a >start. Also, they are less apt to choke on wet feed. Also agreed. I think a lot of riders don't realize that a tired horse has decreased esophageal function, as WELL as having decreased saliva production, AND might not be taking the time to chew adequately, and that all adds up to higher risk of choke at a ride, regardless of the type of feed being provided. Trail-Rite makes a really nice mesh manger hay bag that works really well for wetting down hay at checks---we gave out a ton of them as participation awards at one of the research projects we did. (Maybe SuG can share the incredible numbers again on >the amount of fluid that has to shift in order to process >food--when there isn't fluid in the body to spare for that Depending on the circumstances (ie, more than 2-3 hours since the last meal and eating more than about 4 pounds of ANY type of feed) will produce fluid shifts up to 4-5 gallons from the plasma volume into the GI tract for several hours. In research ponies, the decrease in plasma volume was between 15-24%, which is a huge amount if the animal is already fighting off dehydration effects. Best general plan I've seen (with variations for >individual horses) is all the grass hay they can eat for >several days preride, during the trip to the ride, and at >the ride. Add beet pulp and/or Senior to that as >needed. Remove any fat supplements or high-fat >concentrates prior to the ride and replace those >concentrates with similar concentrates such as Senior. >Then add the carbs as you work, together with >whatever sloppy product works well for that particular >horse to keep him happy to eat at every check. Soaking hay in muck tubs at vet checks also really >helps. That all pretty much works for me. I'm okay with small amounts of alfalfa here and there throughout the ride for the extra calcium. My only addition is that I don't like feeding grain less than four hours before the start. By then, it isn't helping with the overall energy picture and his gas tank should have long since been filled to the brim. Susan G =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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