At this time of year, as the grass stops growing, the weather gets colder and the fields get wetter, we naturally bring our equine friends into the stable more often and for longer periods of time. With the start of this new seasonal routine its essential that your horse feels calm, comfortable and settled.
Unfamiliarity with their new surroundings
This can be particularly difficult for horses and this is something to consider when bringing them in more frequently. Identifying and reducing equine stress is important for the long-term health of your best-friend. Here are some of the behavioural signs to watch out for:
- Pacing
- Pawing
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Weaving
- Eye fluttering
How to avoid stress
To help avoid any stress or signs of stress a constant routine as well as stable enrichment and full-time access to forage is essential. Boredom breakers can be your best-friend in this situation, something to keep your horse entertained and safe. If you can also couple this boredom breaker with feeding high fibre forage it is a huge benefit to your horse.
The importance of fibre
The importance of having access to high fibre forage for your horse is vital when stabled. Horses have evolved over millions of years, and they are naturally foraging animals when in the wild. Allowing a horse to practice natural foraging behaviour is a keyway to keep them calm, and to promote a healthy digestive system. Horses have evolved to eat a diet high in fibre and low in starch. Your horse should consume between 1.5 – 2.5% of its bodyweight in high fibre forage daily which it should have access to at all times.
Why should I let my horse access fibre all the time?
Prolonged periods of time without access to forage can result in gastric issues such as ulcers. Forage is the most critical part of any horse’s diet. It is the main source of calories, protein, vitamins and minerals; it keeps them fuller which can help prevent colic; encourages saliva production, naturally helping to buffer stomach acids; and allows a horse to practice natural foraging behaviour which keeps them calm.
Introduce a new form of forage-based enrichment into your routine to combat this.
What type of enrichment is best?
Silvermoor Swingers are made from the highest quality dried Silvermoor grass and are the perfect way to keep your horse entertained whilst keeping them healthy at the same time. Low sugar, low starch, high fibre and forage-based, they’re the stable enrichment that you can relax about. Silvermoor Swingers are the only hanging forage block made from natural ingredients with no added sugar.
The innovative design attaches to the rope (which can be bought separately) and is hung from a height in the stable. If the swinger is free hanging and cannot be pushed up against any surfaces the horse will not be able to grab at it. The unique swinging design means the horse has to work to be able to eat it. This means it cannot be eaten quickly and will take longer to eat than similarly sized traditional blocks of forage. Eating regularly promotes saliva production which buffers stomach acids and helps prevent against gastric ulcers. Choosing something which is not only enrichment and fun but is also healthy and good for gut health is important.
They provide a healthy addition to be used to compliment your horses’ diet and can help to maintain weight. Gorgeous Grass flavour is safe to use for laminitics and good doers as well as insulin resistant horses and those suffering from EMS. The also come in three other flavours; Captivating Carrot, Minty Unicorn and Amazing Apple.
To conclude, calm them, occupy them, keep them safe.