Complement Grain Feed for Horses
Lucerne Farms’ complement grain feed for horses can help horses feed more easily when mixed with forage. Grain can also provide added energy and nutrition when required. When used wisely, grain is an excellent addition to your horse’s diet—but consider the following information as well!
Healthy saliva production in your livestock is a necessity. It can promote better digestion and enable horses to pass food more easily without losing nutritional value. Complement grain feed for horses is a pleasant addendum to horse food. Mixing Lucerne Farms’ forage at a 3:1 ratio with complement grain feed for horses ensures your animal’s digestive process gets off to a running start.
Some horses require the extra nutrients and other materials offered by grain feed. While hay is enough for many breeds, some horses need a little something extra in their feed. This can be brought on by the state of their health, their activity, or the availability of grazing and forage. Grain can provide 1.5 times the energy that hay can offer. While grain should be offered to horses in moderation—too much can lead to stomach ulcers, colic, and other conditions—a little bit can go a long way. Horses that may require the extra impetus of complementary grain include racehorses in the midst of training, nursing mares, and horses with health issues when ordinary forage isn’t providing the energy needed to function. Speak with a trained vet or equine nutritionist if you need more information about what your horse should be eating.
Grain needs to be balanced with the hay horses eat as well as whatever they can gather themselves while grazing. Don’t offer grain in one big feeding. Spreading out smaller meals is a better way to offer complement grain feed for horses. This way, horses can do a greater job of digesting their food and distributing its nutritional value. Start small and figure out what works best for your horse. Make adjustments according to their level of activity, and you’ll see positive results before long! Contact us with any questions you may have about this or our other products.
Grain Complement
Mixing Lucerne Farms forage at a 3:1 ratio with grain can help increase digestibility and performance of grain and supplements, making sure your horse’s digestive process gets off to a running start.
Here are the Benefits…
Saliva Production
Horses produce double the amount of saliva when they chew forage versus grain. Saliva is an essential element for proper digestion. It helps moisten the feed to ease the passage from the mouth to the stomach, protects vital amino acids from the gastric acid in the stomach, and aids in the digestion of carbohydrates.
What This Means for Your Horse
- Less chance of choke and bolting of grain
- Improved digestion and absorption of feed
Longer Chew
Horses chew forage up to four times longer than grain. This increased chew time increases the time during the day a horse is eating. Because a horse’s stomach continuously produces gastric acid, it is important horses have access to forage every two to three hours. By increasing the time it takes to consume grain, you’re reducing the amount of time your horse spends hungry due to the continuous production of stomach acid.
What This Means for Your Horse
- Reduces the risk of injury to the upper portion of the stomach lining
- Eases behavioral issues that stem from hunger
Fewer Dental Issues
Horses change the way they chew depending on the form of their feed. There are a lot of movements involved in a horse’s chew and these movements change depending on what they are eating. When horses are chewing grain for example, the sweep of their jaw in shortened and doesn’t fully grind the outside of their teeth, which can lead to uneven tooth wear and dental issues. Horses chewing forage have a more extended chew, which is why pasture-fed horses have fewer dental problems.
What This Means for Your Horse
- Less quidding
- Fewer behavioral issues caused by discomfort and uneven wear in the mouth
- Lower chances of dental issues with regular checkups
