5 Ways to Feed for Energy Without Compromising Behaviour

So, you need the energy source for your hard working steed, but could do without the wild-animal-like behaviour? We hear you! Perhaps you spend oodles of time scouring the backs of feed bags double checking digestible energy content in each and every pellet, or perhaps you’re still in that experimental stage, trying to establish what type of feed is suited for your horse. Unfortunately, there’s not always an easy answer, but here are 5 tips that should have you well on your way to a savvy meal plan for your equine friend.

Watch out for the sugar content

Be careful of using conditioning feeds high in sugar, as these can cause behavioural issues in horses. It’s key not to forget that the sugar content in your horses grass, hay and haylage will change throughout the year. It may be worth tweaking his feed regime to adapt to the changing sugar levels in his diet to avoid excitable behaviour.

Ever heard of too much magnesium?

It has been neuroscientist’s belief for years that too much magnesium will impair brain function. And in a horses shoes, impaired brain function often leads to spooky, irrational and difficult behaviour! Most horses and ponies will get their recommended levels of magnesium from the naturally occurring substance in the grass and hay. But I bet you aren’t aware that the current pony cubes you are feeding also contain even more added magnesium! Many feeds on the market today do, which is why it isn’t hard to build up an unnatural and unwanted excess…

Seek out slow-release energy components...

Aim to get your horse’s energy source from a mixture of fibre and oils, as opposed to cereals. Many are terrified of the aspect of feeding oats to their horses – in fact you’d probably be surprised to hear they are actually quite low in energy. But they are released into the bloodstream quicker which is why they can cause fizzy behaviour in some horses. Linseed is a pretty safe example as it will provide your horse with the energy but is slow release so shouldn’t result in any party tricks!

Take a rain check on your starch levels

Starchy feeds can cause a horse discomfort in the gut, and discomfort in the gut can cause behavioural issues. So what you might think is excitable behaviour from too much energy could be issues related to too much starch in the horses diet. We all know that high starch feeds should be avoided with Laminitic’s or ulcer-prone horses, but too many carbohydrates can lead to digestive problems for any kind of horse.

The less ingredients on the label, the better…

This applies to supplements too, if you think about it, it makes sense. You could be feeding your horse a bunch of ingredients that you’ve never heard of (or can’t even pronounce for that matter) without knowing what role they play in nutrition, if any. If your horse is sensitive to conditioning type feeds, look into a more natural conditioning feed with as small ingredients list as possible. Avoid conditioning cubes which are more likely to feature artificial buffers and unnatural additives in the formula!