{"id":27326,"date":"2022-06-01T13:36:05","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T18:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/blog\/?p=27326"},"modified":"2024-01-19T11:45:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T17:45:13","slug":"why-is-my-horse-not-finishing-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/blog\/why-is-my-horse-not-finishing-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is my horse not finishing their food?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A horse owner recently contacted us about changing her horse\u2019s diet. She stated that they are \u00be of the way through show season and he is just \u201coff his game.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems that her horse was showing a lack of appetite and not finishing his grain. In addition, his disposition became rather grumpy and his performance level was suffering. In addition, a few times he had shown signs of mild colic over the past two months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We suggested the owner contact her veterinarian, as it sounded like the horse may have an ulcer. One of the most common symptoms of ulcers in horses is that the horse won’t eat. The percentage of horses with ulcers continues to increase, and higher intensity levels of training are correlated with an increase in ulcer incidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ulcers often occur in the upper third of the horse’s stomach, which does not have a mucus layer and does not secrete bicarbonate that helps to buffer stomach acid. <\/p>\n\n\n

The Importance of Horse Pasture Management<\/h2>\n\n\n

In general, horses managed with 24-hour access to well-established, high-quality pasture are less likely to have equine gastric ulcers; however, studies have shown that the prevalence of squamous ulcers in horses exposed to pasture varies by regions of the U.S. and management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is likely due to the fact that as a horse grazes, it produces large amounts of saliva, which contain the bicarbonate and amylase needed to provide a buffer for the stomach lining.<\/p>\n\n\n

Diet changes to help combat stomach ulcers<\/h2>\n\n\n

Within the week, the owner contacted us and said the horse had been diagnosed with a gastric ulcer. He was now on medication, but we needed to make dietary changes as well. I suggested the following \u201cback to basic\u201d steps to help manage her horse\u2019s condition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allow the horse to be turned out or hand grazed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If access to pasture is not possible, good quality hay is a must. Recent studies indicate that legume hay such as alfalfa is an excellent choice due to the high calcium content which may help to serve as a buffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking the daily rations into more frequent small meals helps keep saliva production constant and protect the stomach lining \u2013 more like \u201cgrazers\u201d instead of \u201cmeal eaters\u201d. If possible, use a slow feed hay net (also called a nibble net) to allow the horse to consume hay more slowly and increase chewing time. Also, it\u2019s a good idea to feed hay prior to grain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High starch diets also tend to aggravate ulcers due to increased acid production. A high fat, high fiber feed is ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n

Dietary supplements for stomach ulcers<\/h2>\n\n\n

Consider a digestive supplement such as Nutrena Empower<\/a> Digestive Balance which contains marine sourced calcite. It is a highly porous form of calcium, includes other trace minerals such as magnesium, and has twice the buffering capacity of regular calcium carbonate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to remember that all horses are unique and respond differently to stressors. If you can minimize stressors as much as possible, provide your horse with access to pasture and light exercise, offer quality nutrition and forage, you are helping to limit the chance your horse will develop ulcers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always work with your veterinarian to determine the right plan to care for your horse. Blain’s Farm & Fleet and Nutrena<\/a> are here to help with tips, tricks, knowledge, and products that you can use to help keep your horse healthy and strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re happy to help you in your journey as a horse owner, because we love animals of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was provided by Nutrena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A horse owner recently asked us “why is my horse not finishing his food?” check out this article from Nutrena for the answer from the experts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":14017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1506,1507],"tags":[973],"content_type":[1373],"class_list":["post-27326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets","category-farm-livestock","tag-horses","content_type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy is my horse not finishing their food? | Blain's Farm & Fleet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A horse owner recently asked us "why is my horse not finishing his food?" check out this article from Nutrena for the answer from the experts!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/blog\/why-is-my-horse-not-finishing-food\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why is my horse not finishing their food? 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