FEEDING TIME POP QUIZ

FEEDING TIME POP QUIZ Want to try something fun? Fix yourself a snack and take a few minutes to try this pop quiz. You don’t have to submit answers online, you don’t have to let anyone know that you are doing it, you don’t even have to write down the answers. It’s just a check on your knowledge about feeding. Ready? Here we go. MULTIPLE CHOICE What is the best way to keep your horse warm in the winter? Put a blanket on him Keep him inside Feed him extra hay Feed him corn How much does a coffee can hold? One pound One quart One meal It depends What makes a horse “hot?” Too many carbs Too much protein Too much sweet feed Too much fat in his diet The best diet for a horse is: A traditional one of oats, barley, and/or corn One that addresses his nutritional needs Sweet (textured) feed Pellets The person who is responsible for remembering the name of the feed that my horse eats is: Me The guy at the feed store The person in charge of feeding at the barn Me The best advice about feeding my horse comes from: My vet and feed store My trainer and farrier The person who wins all the blue ribbons Online TRUE OR FALSE First crop hay is better for horses than second crop hay You can tell how good your hay is by its smell and color Hay is all a horse needs to eat Bran mashes are great to give horses on a cold night All senior feeds are the same Ration balancers are used just like feed Ration balancers and complete feeds are the same thing It’s ok to create your own mix of horse feed FILL IN THE BLANK My horse eats __________pounds of hay per day. My horse eats __________pounds of feed per day. The name of the feed my horse eats is ___________ and it’s made by (company name) ________________. The feed that I give my horse is ____________% protein, _________% fat, and ___________% fiber. I evaluate my horse’s diet every (period of time) _____________ . I feed the following supplements for these purposes: SUPPLEMENT PURPOSE So…how did you do? Give yourself a jellybean or an M&M for each correct answer. To keep him warm, feed him more hay. The digestion of hay creates metabolic heat that warms a horse from the inside. Corn doesn’t. Corn provides a quick release of starch, which breaks down to sugars and can cause digestive upset if your horse isn’t used to having a large amount. I’m not going to discuss blanketing and keeping a horse inside during cold weather because each horse is an individual and your choice should be based on his age, health, living situation, etc. But whatever you do, give him more forage for warmth. How much feed a coffee can holds depends on the type of feed and the size of the can. If you measure out the same VOLUME (such as four cups), then pellets are typically heavier than textured feed and both are heavier than extruded feed. But what about the size of your coffee can? A recent survey in the grocery store showed coffee cans that range from holding eight ounces OF COFFEE to forty ounces OF COFFEE. Don’t make the mistake of confusing volume with weight, and don’t assume that the density (weight per volume) is the same for all feeds. (Remember too, the density of coffee is different than the density of feed.) All of this is a long way of saying that a coffee can doesn’t equal a pound or a quart of feed. Weigh one of your horse’s meals to see what he’s really getting. Genetics aside, too many unused carbs make a horse “hot” in behavior. If he isn’t getting enough exercise, he has energy to burn. Protein and fat do not make your horse hot. You can’t blame sweet or textured feed either, as some textured feeds are lower in carbs than pelleted feeds. The best diet is one that addresses his nutritional needs. This could be a combination of forage and ration balancer, forage and commercial feeds, or all three. Traditional diets of oats, corn, and barley don’t provide the protein, vitamins, and minerals that he needs. Whether you choose a pelleted feed or a textured feed is based on your personal preference and your horse’s needs and palate. The person who is responsible for remembering the name of your horse’s feed is YOU. It’s nice if the feed store remembers but it’s not their job. The responsibility is yours. And yes, the person feeding your horse should know the name, weight, and frequency of what your horse eats, but the responsibility is yours. To put it another way, do you expect the cashier at the grocery store to remember what kind of cereal you bought last week? Of course not! You shouldn’t expect the feed store to remember for you either. Advice about feeding your horse should come from your vet and your feed store. Think of it this way: do you ask the guy behind the counter how to trim your horse’s feet? Do you ask your truck mechanic how you should deal with training issues? Each person has their area of expertise and we need them all, so make sure you are asking the correct people. If you research online, make sure you are looking at reputable sites such as feed companies or scientifically based/peer reviewed research. Fuzzy-Wuzzy-Pony Forum and Drafts-R-Us don’t count. In fact, as a general rule, I don’t even look at forums. Too many unproven opinions. This is a bit of a trick question. Second crop may be better, or it may not. You won’t know unless you have your hay analyzed. False. The smell and color of your hay will tell you whether or not it is musty/moldy and will show you the color but that’s it. You won’t know