Feeding Horses that are Hard Keepers

Much like teenage boys, some horses seem to be able to devour every bit of feed in sight, and still not gain weight. Unlike the teenage boys, however, and unfortunately for the owners of these hard keepers, this generally isn’t just a stage that the horse is going through. So, what is the best way to feed a horse to increase weight gain to the desired level, and then maintain it there?

First, start by taking a Body Condition Score and determining the current weight of the horse, and tracking those two elements over time, so you can know for sure if you are making progress or not. It’s easy to fall in to the trap of trying to remember what the horse was like a couple months ago, so a tracking program will help give a fact basis to your feeding program.

Second, weigh both the hay and any grain you are feeding your horse. A bathroom scale can do the trick, or especially handy is a fish or luggage scale that you can hang a bucket from. Every barn has a different scoop, from the old reliable coffee can to a plastic scoop purchased at the feed store. Weighing the scoop, then weighing it with the feed in it, allows you to mark your scoop so you can see where to fill it to for various feeds & weights of that feed. Note that not all feeds weigh the same, either, so measure each one independently.

Third, ensure that the horse is receiving enough forage in the diet. This is the base of any feeding program, and a good target is to be feeding 1.5% of body weight in forages. For a 1000 lb horse, that means at least 15 lbs of hay. Weigh a few flakes of hay and see just what a flake is from your supplier. Not all small square bales are created equally!

Fourth is the grain portion of the diet. A key thing to look at in evaluating feeds for hard keepers is the “Crude Fat” content of a feed. A basic corn/oats/mineral sweet feed mix will likely run around 2.5-3.0% fat, since that is what is naturally present in a lot of grains. These are fine for easier keepers, but many active horses need more – there are a variety of horse feeds on the market today that are in the 6-7% fat range, and a few horse feeds even reach up to the 12% fat range. Remember to feed within the guidelines printed on the tag, so that you get the nutrition portion of the diet correct. Start your horse on a higher fat diet slowly to allow them to adjust to the increased fat, and work up to a level where the weight starts to come on. Once you’ve reached a desirable weight and body condition, you can begin to back off the amount fed until you determine the amount of feed that will help maintain your horse for the long haul.

How to Choose Good Quality Wheat

Wheat is mainly utilized for consumption. Wheat is transformed into flour so that human can consume it through various methods. Wheat is mainly utilized for making bread and also other bakery items. Owing to its high rates, the utilization of wheat is limited for animal feed and industrial purposes. Today wheat is grown throughout the world. It is adaptable to diverse elevation, climates and soils. But when it comes to select good quality wheat then it should be selected on the basis of quality aspects mentioned below.

Wheat quality mainly has two aspects. The foremost is the physical quality, which refers to freedom from foreign matter, soundness of wheat and cleanliness. The second is the processing quality, which means suitability for diverse uses. These aspects should be considered while selecting good quality wheat. However, wheat is categorized according to the protein content and the texture of the endosperm. The way the grain breaks down while milling depends on the texture of the endosperm. The property of the flour and its suitability for diverse uses depends on the protein content.

The endosperm texture may be vitreous or mealy. The mealy or vitreous character is hereditary, but is not affected by the environment. Therefore, einkorn wheat, emmer wheat and macaroni wheat are some wheat with vitreous kernels, whereas club wheat and bread wheat are mealy. Vitreous kernels are translucent and look bright under strong light while mealy kernels are opaque and look dark under similar situations.

Wheat types are mainly categorized as soft or hard and as weak or strong. Vitreous wheat is strong and hard in nature while the mealy wheat is weak and soft however the association is not invariable. Hardness is related to the degree of adhesion between protein and starch. Softness and hardness refer to the way in which the endosperm breaks down while milling. World wheat's are arranged to their degree of hardness as extra hard, hard, medium and soft.

The strength of wheat relates to its baking quality. Strong wheat can be used to create good crumb structure, big loaf volume and high-quality keeping qualities. This type of wheat is rich in protein. Hard wheat is used to produce flour that we use in our day to day life and to produce bread. The weak wheat possess low protein contain and this kind of wheat can only produce small loaf that too with coarse crumb structure. This kind of wheat is perfect for manufacturing cakes and biscuits but they are unsustainable for bread preparation.

Whole wheat is ground for individual use by the families. Whole wheat is mainly utilized for the production of unleavened bread across the globe. It is estimated that very less nutrient loss occurs in such type of production. Typically, every consumer prefers to purchase the variety that caters their requirements in regards to performance. You will not find loads of information about the performance of diverse varieties in indigenous wheat preparations. Consequently, selection is completely based on experience and personal knowledge of the consumer.