A lot of care and attention goes into feeding a horse. For most horse riders and any new horse owners, the choice of food can be a little overwhelming. Fortunately, over the years, many horse owners have helped to simplified the process a bit. There’s a wealth of nutrition information available to help make sure your horse consumes the right nutrients.
So can horses eat cabbage? No. Cabbage is not a vegetable that you should allow your horse to eat. The vegetable, cabbage, is very similar to broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Research has shown that vegetables from this cruciferous family contain a sugar called raffinose which causes intestinal gas in animals and humans alike.
Horses that eat cabbage are found to struggle badly with gas pain and gas-related colic. There have been instances where consuming too much cabbage leaves has had dire consequences.
While horses love carrots as treats, there are a number of vegetables that are also not safe for your horse. Vegetables that include Avocado, Brussels sprouts, onions, regular potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes.
Avoid feeding these vegetables to horses at all costs!
What Should You Do if your Horse overeats cabbage?
Try following the tips below:
Lie your horse down
There’s an argument from some quarters that laying a horse down could lead to internal displacements, the chances of this happening, however, are very small.
If you do observe notice any random awkward behaviour, then stand your horse up and take it for a walk.
Walking with your horses helps ease his pain.
Consult a veterinarian
It’s better to be safe than sorry as you never know when things take a downturn. So immediately you discover your horse is suffering from gas pain, call a veterinarian.
What Can You Feed Your Horse
Equine nutritionists generally break down a horse’s nutrition into six essential areas:
Fresh Water
Water regulates all systems in a horse’s body, and without water, or if the water contains dangerous ingredients, a horse can become dehydrated and experience severe and debilitating conditions. A horse will need to take more water to match its activity level. A working horse for leisure will have different water needs. Horses sweat a lot like humans, and this water needs to be replaced.
More Protein
This nutrient is found in every food that grows on earth, from cattle to dandelions. Even though humans typically associate protein with meat or dairy products, a horse will get protein from vegetables.
Protein is an important part of a horse’s diet because it facilitates muscle development, especially for young horses. A good sign that a horse may not be getting enough protein is the development of a rough coat.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the basic unit for energy that you will find in most forms of feed of horse. These are digestible and provide ready and quick energy. A horse grazes all day will consume all the necessary carbohydrates, but most horses do not have this luxury; they must be fed with grains such as corn, oats, or barley.
It is important to note that the number of carbohydrates consumed by a horse must be regulated. A horse can develop colic if there is a sudden increase in carbohydrates such as sugar in its diet.
Fat
Although most fats are not found in large amounts in a horse’s natural diet, they do have nutritional value. Additional fat can be added to your horse’s feed if the feed does not provide enough energy. Fat should, however, only be administered in limited amounts to prevent disease and obesity. A horse’s body is simply not developed to handle a large amount of fat, so a horse owner should be careful when adding it to avoid colic or gastrointestinal distress in his animal.
Vitamins
Feed horses foods other than their natural diet; their diet will lack certain vitamins. Horse owners love their horses and would not be able to see their quality of life suffered due to an insufficient supply of vitamins and minerals.
To find out if your horse has the required vitamins is to look at the food it is eating. High-grain diets are probably not rich in vitamins and horses on these diets, as well as stressed horses may need additional vitamin supplementation. You can seek advice from your veterinarian to decide which types of vitamins and supplements are right for your horse.
Minerals
Minerals are necessary for the proper growth and regeneration of many parts of the body. These minerals are often found in forage, but again, they may be lacking in a diet rich in grains. A horse devoid of minerals may not show any overt signs, but its health may slowly deteriorate.
It is clear that you have many products to choose from, and this massive choice leaves many inexperienced riders confused. When I talk to beginners, I often notice that many of them think that in order to get their horse in top shape, they should supplement their horse’s diet with as many different products as possible.
The truth is far from it. You see, if you want your horse to be in top condition if you want your horse to look good and feel good, there are only two basic supplements you should give your horse.
You need to give supplement your horse’s diet with a high-quality feed balancer. Equine feed balancers have been around for decades and play a crucial role in feeding horses. You see, many horses do not get as many different nutrients, vitamins, and minerals as their bodies need, and this nutrient deficiency negatively affects the appearance and feel of the horse. Horses with a nutrient deficiency may have poor coats, cracked hoofs, are often underweight, and generally are not so beautiful as they could be.
To ensure that your horse does not suffer from a nutrient deficiency, you must supplement your horse’s diet with a high-quality feed balancer, since the feed balancers contain all the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
In addition to equine feed balancers, you should also take a look at equine joint supplements. You see, as a result of constant hammering and twisting, horse joints are very vulnerable and prone to injury. If you want to make sure your horse’s joints are healthy and strong, as a horse owner, you must do everything you can to strengthen and support them.
In order to avoid causing damaging imbalances when feeding your horse, you must calculate the nutrients that the horse receives from its basic feed ration. Once this is established, a decision can be made to add supplements to one’s diet. Supplements can benefit your horses if they need them. Nutrient overload can be harmful when we feed our beloved equines and should be avoided.
Feed your horse
Another consideration if you have more than one horse, make sure there is more than one source of water and easily accessible to all horses. By feeding more than one horse, horses sometimes intimidate others. More than one source of water can help with this situation.
When you feed your horse, you must not ignore the importance of the availability of water at all times. Access to fresh, clean water will reduce the risk of impaction colic. This is very important for horses reared mainly on dried fodder. The horse drinks more often if it is offered fresh, clean water.
This will also help prevent dehydration of the horse. In cold weather, the heated water will encourage horses to continue drinking water. Commercially available water tank heaters that maintain potable water at a palatable temperature. This will encourage horses to drink more water in cool weather. Often decreases water consumption because the drop in temperature can cause colic.
When feeding horses, we should not neglect salt. Sodium and chloride (salt) are essential for many bodily functions. Not naturally present in herbs and cereals, salt is an essential nutrient that we must add to the diet of our horses. Horses lose salt when they sweat and need to be replaced.
A block of salt can be placed in the pasture of your horses. He will be available when he needs it. If the horse has a balanced diet, a block of mineralized salt will not be necessary when adding salt to its diet. In winter, extra salt (not more than a tablespoon) in your horse’s food at night will encourage consumption when night temperatures drop.
This can help prevent colic that sometimes occurs when temperatures get cold outside.
If given the opportunity, horses will consume the salt they need. Horses have a natural appetite for it. Sometimes horses kept in stalls get bored and eat too much salt. There is a solution to this. When feeding such a horse in bulk, one or two ounces can be added to the feed. Table salt can be used if the horse already has a balanced diet.
