I recommend NOT changing anything in your horse’s diet when weather changes except for adding more calories if needed in the winter by perhaps increasing grain or hay depending on the horse and the situation. The equine gut doesn’t like changes, but the equine body is well adapted to dealing with temperature changes.
If anything, offer warmer water if your horse isn’t drinking as much. Adding electrolytes to the warm water can help.
i quess, my question is, what do you hope to achieve, far as feeding some hot mash when it gets cold??
Are you worried whether your horse is getting enough moisture, or do you think feeding some hot mash is going to do anything much, far as creating increased warmth?
It probably will make you feel like you are really doing something, but in total effect, does little for the horse, besides acting as a treat
Horses generate heat through digestion, and the digestion of good forage is the best ‘fuel’
The optimum thing you can do for a horse in cold weather, is provide some sort of shelter for wind break, make sure the horse has open water at all times, and provide free choice good forage
Beyond that, make sure the horse has assess to free choice minerals, salt, and movement.
Yes, movement.Horses depend on movement not just for digestion, but mental health a nd good hoof mechanism-in other words, being allowed to be horses
Okay to treat them with some form of a ‘mash’, but the place to really start, is the forage.
Horses are designed to eat medium quality forage almost all the time, thus never having stomach on empty. They secrete HCL all the time, and not jut at meals like we do. Horses are designed to be able to move constantly
Yes, they have a capacity to adapt, being confined part time, but we must always be sure to never exceed their ability to adapt-as vises like cribbing, stall weaving, ect,a re directly related to confinement, as are health issues such as colic and ulcers
I used to stall horses a lot more than I do now, but , do you know which of my horses had the most incidences of colic? Yup, those that are stalled for periods of time. I have horses on full turn rout, that have never coliced over many, many years of life
I do stall horses before shows, and during shows. I am fanatical then on making sure that they don’t get impaction colic by not drinking enough
None have heaves, but I water the hay for any horse that is stalled. I also feed sloppy wet beet pulp, with salt added
Movement, is one of your best defense against impaction colic-that and open water
[QUOTE=JB;7873170]
With hot water, I find it takes literally 2-3 minutes to soak well enough. Of course, if you’re adding more water, it takes longer for them to plump up. My ratio is about 3c shreds to about 2c water. In the Winter that’s “tap hot” water, and by the time it takes me to fix the 4 buckets, it’s pretty hydrated. 10 minutes would be really plump and fluffy, but still the same amount of water.[/QUOTE]
lol 10 minutes is about what it takes to get back around to feeding it for me. Especially since said ancient pony corners me when the door opens and makes me hold his hot water while he drinks it and then proceeds to attempt to escape. I re-fill the bucket, finally make it to hanging it after more cornering and drinking (I would like to note he usually has a FULL bucket of water, he just wants the hot water). I’m also usually making about a scoop and a half to 2 scoops of beet pulp that gets split among the horses after soaking (about a 3 quart scoop, so I don’t mind letting it soak a little longer just for good measure).
But 10 minutes, yes, it is VERY plump.
ETA: I would not suggest just throwing in beet pulp on the cold days, I would suggest it as a diet addition.
[QUOTE=KIloBright;7873222]
Horses are designed to eat medium quality forage almost all the time, [/QUOTE]
Finally, someone said it outright 
So much talk about free choice high quality hay for all horses. It just doesn’t work like that. So many horses would be fat, since most horses do not work hard enough to take on high quality hay at all times. Yes, high quality is the best if the horse is in hard work and really needs the calories and the nutrients. But medium quality is just fine for most horses, thankfully since that’s usually what’s available, and it’s easy to add some calories and nutrition with some hard feed. Just don’t go extreme and feed crappy hay and make up a big deficit with lots of concentrates.
[QUOTE=yourcolorfuladdiction;7873248]lol 10 minutes is about what it takes to get back around to feeding it for me. Especially since said ancient pony corners me when the door opens and makes me hold his hot water while he drinks it and then proceeds to attempt to escape. I re-fill the bucket, finally make it to hanging it after more cornering and drinking (I would like to note he usually has a FULL bucket of water, he just wants the hot water). I’m also usually making about a scoop and a half to 2 scoops of beet pulp that gets split among the horses after soaking (about a 3 quart scoop, so I don’t mind letting it soak a little longer just for good measure).
But 10 minutes, yes, it is VERY plump.
ETA: I would not suggest just throwing in beet pulp on the cold days, I would suggest it as a diet addition.[/QUOTE]
I have to hide my hot water bucket from my young horse as he will do anything to get to that bucket (doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold water, he just loves that little 8 quart bucket!). If I set it down and the little gray fluffernutter kitty is around, I have to wait for her to drink from it lol
And yes - beep all the time, or don’t use it. Of course, a cup or 2 isn’t going to harm, any more than 1/2lb of bran suddenly tossed is likely to, but a couple cups beep isn’t going to absorb significant water anyway, so hardly worth it.
I always add some beep to the food. That lets me add more when I need to, though I certainly don’t swing it up and down on a whim or just when it’s cold - couple cups in the Summer to mix v/m and supplements, up to probably about 5c for a couple of the kids in Winter just for a bit more calories and a bit more hot water on cold mornings. It’s great for mixing in meds if I need to, but then again I don’t usually feed a regular grain, so the volume of food is pretty small, and the volume of plumped beep can be very useful
It depends on the horse, JB – my TBs get free choice second cutting orchard/alf, and the easy keepers get first cutting grass hay and not all of them get it free choice (pony wears a muzzle most of the time except when it is super cold). It’s all “high quality” as in not crap rained-on, cut-late, over-ripe stemmy stuff. I think of “high quality” in terms of niceness, not richness. I think it is important to buy hay for the kind of horses you’ve got.
The TBs could have free access to any kind of hay out there and not do themselves any harm, I am convinced. I still feed them a hefty amount of TC Senior on top of that. The pony could be fat on oat straw, she just can’t do free choice.
And I think of “high quality” as high DE, high protein, high nutrients To me, it seems that’s what’s implied when a few people say “feed the best hay free choice to all horses”, because it’s nearly always in the context of “so you don’t have to feed concentrates”.
ALL horses should have your kind of “high quality hay” - fresh, green, leafy enough, smells good, safe to eat, etc, no matter whether they are pasture puffs or high performance horses.
But you said it - buy hay that’s appropriate for your horse(s), if you can, and supplement what you need to.
The only “colic” sessions I had with the old mare is when she was/is dehydrated. So I started dampening her SR pelleted feed years ago. Added to that she never has eaten hay that well so I started adding soaked alfalfa cubes for a midnight snack. FYI - she doesn’t care for “plain” alfalfa cubes so I added a scoop of SR feed. This she gobbles up.
Last year it was so cold that she stopped drinking as much as I wanted so I added some salt to her feed.
IMO You do need to experiment with both soaked feed and warm water.
My gelding will eat his feed no matter the consistency. The mare is more picky in that she doesn’t like it soupy.
Neither really care for wet, dripping hay, tho the gelding will eat it. Both prefer “damp” hay.
My gelding adores warm to hot water, mare prefers cold water. So I add more hot water to his bucket and less to hers.
Listen to your horse, he/she will tell you very clearly how “they prefer” their feed and water.
The weather issue that catalyzed my question was not the seasonal change to colder weather.
It was a day that was below freezing, around 28 degrees Farenheit…and dry… then the next day was to be ALMOST 70 DEGREES…AND HEAVY RAIN AND WIND.
It’s the severe changes like this with major barometer shifts etc. that I’ve seen cause gastric upset and colic over the years. It’s weather situations like this that the clinics around here see the most colics…
The horse in question is getting beet pulp already, and he is boarded a ways away from me, so I was looking for input on what to ask the staff to do (they tend to be somewhat hands off with regard to management) and I wanted to be CERTAIN that he had meals with hydration. In years past I would have done bran mashes, these days just wetting feed, but was looking for what all of you do. You’ve provided some fantastic insight and I appreciate all of your responses!
There’s a senior horse on the property who can no longer eat hay due to a decline in her dental health. She can’t chew hay or even grass, though she tries (she quids it and has no history of choke thankfully - she’s a smart one that way). It’s her that I’m most worried about with regard to winter program… while she receives lots of chopped hay/dengie, she really doesn’t get too excited about it and some days eats less than other days. In turnout there’s not much we can do because she won’t eat her chopped hay outside (only in her stall, go fig), and while she gets hay thrown outside and she chews/quids it, she’s not exactly ingesting it so there goes its warming qualities. She gets beet pulp in her dinners, lots of senior feed three or four times a day, and is a little ribby but stable in that weight. I am a little worried about the coming winter though sigh :no:
OP - my mare will be 36 in January, she was actually foaled in January.
During the hot months she is a little thin for my tastes but the vets love it. The prefer she be a little “light” as that is less weight on her old bones and makes it easier for her to move about. She does eat better in the winter months and has put on weight.
If the BO is someone you trust, my guess they are following their vets’ recommendations for the mare’s weight. While we may want to handle her feed somewhat differently, “we” don’t know the full story. As I noted my mare won’t eat just plain soaked alfalfa cubes - I have to add SR feed to get her to eat. However my gelding will gobble them up dry or soaked. Just one example of the problems feeding any horse.
I do applaud the BO for feeding her SR feed multiple times a day. My guess is the old girl feels more comfortable eating the chopped hay/dengie in her stall for her reasons.
While I understand your concern, unless this is your horse and you are prepared to take on her care mind your own business. My guess is the BO is doing the best he/she can do with this horse. Just as I am with my old girl. She is old because she does have a mind of her own and lets me know what she does and does not like in the way of feed, water and blanketing.
I make my horses feed into soup with hot water from fall to spring. I also give electrolytes to keep them hydrated as they can get very dehydrated in winter which a lot of people do not realize. I also give them warm water with the evening meal. Studies have shown that horses will consume more water if it is warm in the cold weather.
Unfortunately, there’s not a thing you can do about those problems caused by barometric pressure changes like that 
It’s killed more than one horse, including ones who couldn’t have been managed any better. Those pressure changes can cause gas bubbles and depending on the horse’s internal conformation, perhaps cause the problems that occur, with things shifting, getting trapped, looped over, whatever. It sucks
Have you done alfalfa pellets - smashed and well-soaked, for the old girl? I realize she’d have to have that while she’s by herself, but it’s smaller particles, usually, than the chopped hays I’ve seen, and might perk her up and get her to eat more?
Chiming in…
My hard keeper TB always gets a mash 2x a day fall through spring of Ultium grain (pellets), shredded beet pulp, his supplements (in the morning), and a little rice bran. I mix it all up and soak it in hot water for about 5-10 minutes until it’s fluffy (he won’t eat it soupy). He won’t eat enough of his Ultium “dry” to keep weight on, and won’t touch his feed with rice bran or supplements in it if it isn’t all mixed up and soaked. So that’s what I have to do with him to make sure he gets what he needs. I also like knowing that he’s getting additional fiber and water. He does have access to warm water, free choice salt, a nice bedded stall (plenty of windbreak) with access to his field 24/7, and free choice grass hay (plus alfalfa hay meals) but sometimes he’s fussy and after he had impaction colic last winter from refusing to drink and having ulcers, I do all I can to keep him happy. I also add loose salt to his mash if we have a sudden drop in temperature and notice an increase in his water intake.
My IR pony also gets a warm beet pulp mash twice a day (year round), otherwise he won’t eat his supplements. He loves it and of course, added water never hurts them. He gets loose salt added too, when I think it’s a good idea, and I notice he will drink more water.
Lastly, I have a fussy older horse that isn’t a hard keeper nor an easy keeper exactly, but is very sensitive. If it’s too rainy/windy, he doesn’t want to stand there and eat. He rarely touches the salt lick and he doesn’t like the heated water buckets. He won’t eat hay or touch his water if he’s locked in a stall. He would rather try to smash through the frozen trough outside than drink the clean, warm water inside. Last time we had a big temperature drop, a couple weeks ago, I noticed very mild signs of colic. Still had an appetite for his grain, still passing manure, but the way he was standing, breathing, and not drinking from the trough after his meal signaled some discomfort there. In that case, after he seemed better with some banamine and monitoring, I did add salt to his meal and mixed his grain with a small shredded beet pulp then soaked it in hot water (after consulting with my vet) for the next few meals so I knew at least some water was getting into his. Aside from that, I add salt when it gets cold and that seems to help some with encouraging him to drink.
So those are my three different cases/uses of soaked feed. I don’t think it’ll ever hurt to make their feed a warm mash in the winter, if they like it! May not make a significant difference unless you add a LOT (and they actually will eat/slurp/drink it) or unless you add a decent amount of soaked beet pulp/hay cubes/hay pellets that will soak up a good bit of water. It definitely makes a difference to the hard keeper/picky TB I have though! And if you commit to it and make it part of their daily feed, I think it can be very helpful!
JB, I may try soaked alfalfa pellets again. I have tried giving that to her…and she was NOT impressed. Part of the problem, I think, is that she’s not crazy about wet food, in general. And even though she is super careful about dropping food she can’t swallow, or quidding hay if she gets some, with alfalfa pellets I think it may be more risky… true?
In any case I may try them again. I’m trying to decide what would be the best thing to perhaps MIX them with, for the best chance of her eating it. The soaked cubes? Her Senior feed? Beet pulp? It may be trial and error. Indeed, this would all be easier for me to determine if I didn’t have to board her and rely on others to bother with this type of thing!
Crown Royal, about your fussy older horse…wow, that is a lot of turning down of things both feed and liquid. He sounds ulcer-y? Has he ever been treated with a full course of Gastrogard?
I feed all their meals as a mash year round. Warm in winter, cool in summer. Sometimes I add a little beat pulp in winter since they don’t get a lot. They love it.
[QUOTE=Iride;7874785]
Crown Royal, about your fussy older horse…wow, that is a lot of turning down of things both feed and liquid. He sounds ulcer-y? Has he ever been treated with a full course of Gastrogard?[/QUOTE]
The TB or the sensitive older horse? The TB that is a hard keeper AND super picky did have ulcers and did a full course of Gastrogard after a stay at the Marion Scott duPont Equine Center. But in general he’s just very particular…I think more diva than anything. 
Sensitive to all things and he will take treats and various grains (not that I throw random feed at him) but gets uninterested quickly or only wants to pick at it. I also don’t want to watch him waste supplement after supplement while he decides if he’s going to waste his feed with supplements mixed in until he develops a taste for them, or just decides he hates it and refuses his feed. Just easier to mix it and soak it.
The other horse isn’t picky about feeds and has a fantastic appetite 95% of the time, but is very very sensitive to his environment. He’s an Arabian cross that was badly mistreated previous to us buying him a little over 10 years ago. He’s not fussy about the taste of the feed, but is very sensitive about his environment. He is only comfortable in the stall to eat his small meals and otherwise prefers to have the door open (we keep stalls open to the field) and will stand with his head out of the door so he can see everything. He doesn’t like to hang out long in the stall for munching on forage or drinking. I doubt this one has ulcers and we manage him in a way to keep him from getting stressed.
[QUOTE=Iride;7874781]
JB, I may try soaked alfalfa pellets again. I have tried giving that to her…and she was NOT impressed. Part of the problem, I think, is that she’s not crazy about wet food, in general. And even though she is super careful about dropping food she can’t swallow, or quidding hay if she gets some, with alfalfa pellets I think it may be more risky… true?
In any case I may try them again. I’m trying to decide what would be the best thing to perhaps MIX them with, for the best chance of her eating it. The soaked cubes? Her Senior feed? Beet pulp? It may be trial and error. Indeed, this would all be easier for me to determine if I didn’t have to board her and rely on others to bother with this type of thing![/QUOTE]
You might look at pre-soaking the pellets, then letting them dry out a bit, or just playing with as little water as it takes to get them to break down without actually making them “wet” when it’s all said and done. The little pellets I get - rabbit food size, not the huge ones - don’t take much water to break apart. You could lay them all out in a pan, add a little water, wait a couple minutes, add a little more, etc, until they are just to the point of having broken down. They won’t be wet, and you can then mix with whatever food she does like.
All year long my horses get soaked feed , running water and have access to either pasture or a netted round bale 24x7. I really believe if you keep their gut moving like it should, it takes care of many problems that could crop up. If you are able to soak the food and let it sit somewhere temp controlled for a bit, it will soak up and sort of dry out when it’s all plumped up. You just have to play with the amount of hot water to get it like that. Then it’s more like oatmeal than “wet” food.
Thanks JB, I will try again.
What brand do you use?
I’ll probably look for Standley. This horse will ONLY eat Standlee cubes. lol
I’m not sure what brand mine is - I get mine from Southern States though I don’t think it’s an SS brand but it might be. Just look for whatever brand has small pellets, as those usually are not as hard as, and don’t take as long to break down, as the big fat ones. I know Purina makes some.
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