Health

Health and Nutrition

This page is to help you to research and understand the needs of your horse. If you have some thing of interest please forward to simon@marvalstables.com

Treating Founder (Chronic Laminitis) Without Shoes.

If founder is a problem for you then try this site, mind you before you start get a glass of wine with cheese and crackers as there is plenty to see and read. Also read Laminitis in Horses

High-Carbohydrate Diets Affect

Cushing’s Disease and Equine Metabolic Syndrome

Many horses are under exercised and over fed, thus leading to obesity which in turn has clearly been linked to laminitis and Cushing

click hear to read about low carb Bermuda Hay Pellets

If you are interested in purchasing Bermuda grass hay pellets Please email to simon@marvalstables.com

The hand feeding of horses is a popular past time of amateurs, but something you'll rarely see done by professionals. Horses are mouthy by nature, since their sense of touch, smell and taste all help them to categorize objects, making them constantly wanting to place their mouth on things. Hand feeding treats teaches horses to put their mouth on you and leads to a lack of respect from the horse. A submissive horse in the herd would never consider placing his mouth on the dominant herd leader. Horses are prone to nip and bite already, by hand feeding them treats, we only encourage this behavior. More than one individual has lost a finger this way. Your horses will be just as happy to eat his treats from a bucket; he will enjoy them just as much and it will not lead to rude and dangerous behavior

With regard to the paragraph about not hand feeding horses, I completely disagree! I believe that if you are going to put that out there you should also put the opinions of those, like me, who do not believe there is a problem with giving your horse or horses food from the hand. Usually when I see a horse being disrespectful with hand feeding it is because, either the person is inexperienced or is not the lead horse to their horses. Does not matter how much experience or what the person thinks. It is how the horse views the human who cares for them. I have 3 horses, each as different as night and day. They do not grab, nip, bite, shove or do any of those actions considered disrespectful or dangerous. Yet, I will give them food from my hand without a second thought. I had 2 geldings in the past, each very different from one another and from the horses I have now. Same thing, hand feeding without issue.

So, please, if you are going to print the ‘don’t hand feed’, please, also, print the ‘do hand feed’.

I have read several articles on the subject of hand feeding your horse. Both Linda Parelli and John Lyons hand feed their horses and recommend it. It helps you bond with your horse. BUT, it should be YOUR idea of when and how often to give your horse a treat, and the horse should not ever expect a treat on a regular schedule. Give your horse a treat not every day, not even every week, and not at the same time, so no pattern is set. Also, not every “rule” applies to every horse and every owner. Each horse/owner relationship is different.

Linda Mowry C