These comments lately are stating, much more
articulately, what I was hinting at earlier.
1. Hydration is extremely important. Of
course your horse gets most of his water by drinking, but if the feed is dry the
first thing he needs to do is hydrate it. That takes water.
Conclusion: wet feed is better than dry feed.
2. Gut sounds. Does the horse eat because his
guts are moving or do his guts move because more is going in the front
end? Food eaten stays in the stomach for varying lengths of time.
Fat appears to stay longer than other stuff (at least I tend to feel satisfied
longer after a Big Mac than lettice salad). Does beet pulp exit the
stomach faster than hay? Unscientific experience seems to indicate that
nice lush grass is both liked by horses and stimulates the guts (the green
grass skitters each spring) I think we can all agree that when gut sounds
go away, the ride stops.
3. What does the horse want to eat at that exact
time? If you can predict that you are better than I. Sometimes I
think it is anything that someone else brought for their horse. More food
is better than less food.
Ed
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower
Road Victor, MT 59875
