Cool as a cucumber … but what if you are a horse! Summer heat and humidity can be a dangerous combination for active horses.“Heat and humidity affect the horse, and with intense exercising, the excess heat has difficulty dissipating,” notes Dr. Glennon Mays, clinical associate professor at the Texas A&M...
Water is the main component of the body. In fact, an average 1000 pound horse is roughly 660 pounds (80 gallons) of water. About two-thirds of this water is inside cells, called intracellular fluid, and one-third is outside cells or extracellular fluid. To function normally, the body must keep the...
When a mare foals, her daily nutrient requirements increase significantly, nearly double that of early gestation. These nutrient needs must be met for the mare to recover from foaling stress, produce milk, and rebreed without losing body condition. Underfeeding mares during early lactation will result in lower milk production and...
In the past several years, multiple sources have recommended yeast products for inclusion in equine diets for many purposes, including improving fiber and phosphorus digestibility, increase feed efficiency, support hindgut bacteria, and even prevention and cure of gastric ulcers. However, a close look at the published data available on the...
Heat and humidity put an added burden on horses during training, showing and hauling. Horses are actually better equipped to work in cold weather than in the heat. They build up a tremendous amount of body heat due to the internal heat produced by fiber digestion and the large mass...
Feeding horses correctly and safely often appears to be enormously complicated for the horse owner. Horses are unique in the livestock world, and cannot be fed the same way as cattle, hogs sheep, or any other livestock species. However, following a few guidelines will go a long way toward ensuring...
Cold weather presents horses with some specific nutritional and management demands. As winter approaches it is a good idea to evaluate horses, housing and feeding programs to insure that horses get through the cold weather in good shape. All warm-blooded animals have a critical temperature. This is the temperature below...
Nutritive value key to overall efficiency for beef cattle intake COLLEGE STATION – An inexpensive hay test can offer the best guidance as to how much supplemental feed is required for a beef cattle herd, and at the same time, save ranchers money, according to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist....
Body Condition Scoring allows you to monitor the health and condition of your deer. Optimal Body Condition in bucks will allow for greater antler growth. Does will be more fertile: produce more high-quality milk, resulting in healthier, faster growing fawns. The Purina Mills Body Condition Scoring System allows you to...
People often want to feed deer what is handy, which might be sheep, goat, dairy, or even horse feeds. The problem is these feeds are not formulated for deer, do not meet their specific needs, and may even cause problems. Sheep are very intolerant of dietary copper, so sheep feeds...
