Williams Lake news. As it happens.

By Holli Smith

Horses, in general, are mild-mannered creatures. Wild or feral equines spend the majority of each day grazing and roaming the land at a sedated pace, dozing in fits and starts. As prey animals, they are prone to short bursts of speed, and play--wildly running, bucking, kicking out--when the mood strikes them.

Many domesticated horses from around the Cariboo live relatively similar lives to that of the wild horse, turned out on rich meadow-y acres of ranchland. Some, however, dwell in paddocks or stalls, making it necessary to feed them hay all year long and giving little opportunity for extraneous, spontaneous exercise. My horses fall into the latter category and, while not overtly miserable, they do tend to get bored, and always seem hungry, no matter how round their bellies get. Sometimes little things just don’t seem quite right with them. Of course they would much prefer to be out on pasture, running wild and free, but as that isn’t necessarily possible, we try to find ways to make theirs a little closer to a ‘natural’ horse life.

Finicky and complex, the equine body houses the digestive system of 'trickle feeders', or grazers. They require small amounts of food almost continuously, but like children given large bowls of candy, most cannot help but gorge themselves on the piles of hay put before them at feeding time and then spend long hours with nothing to nibble on but the wooden fence rails. Bad habits develop as they grow restless and irritable toward their paddock mates.

A solution for dealing with the feeding issue has become increasingly common of late: slow feeding. This method is a simulation of natural grazing that can be managed in stalls or paddocks and can be carried out using variety of different feeders with the same basic theory. Place hay inside of a devise that will allow horses only small bites, causing them to slow down the rate of consumption and make the same amount of feed last much longer. This allows their digestive system to work continuously rather than to work extra hard around meals and then stop for hours at a time.

According to studies, slow feeding helps regulate weight and metabolic issues, stabilize moods, decrease bad habits and give horses an increased sense of wellness. In farm settings they are also useful for winter feeding, cutting down on hay waste when feeding free choice bales. Many veterinarians are recommending slow feeding, and the method is being practiced around the world. The costs associated with slow feeding ranges from minimal to quite high, depending on the type of feeder one uses, and if they are homemade or store bought.

I recently purchased five N.A.G. Bags (Natural Alternative Grazer Bags) in two different sizes, and watched the results play out. My horses seem to thoroughly enjoy them, using them not only to eat out of but to play with as well.

(Flurry hard at work.)

My gelding, cheeky boy that he is, started playing keep-away with one of the mares, making it necessary to tie the smaller bags to fence posts just to keep him from tossing them into the neighbouring paddock. The only problem we ran into was giving free choice hay, even in the slow feeders, to our two 'easy keepers'.

They still managed to overeat, leading me to believe that they're not only easy but ahead of the learning curve as well. At this point we're feeding twice a day, using the N.A.G. Bags to quadruple the length of time the hay lasts. While it’s still too early to tell how the horses’ weight will be affected, the slow feeders have definitely proven beneficial for the horses’ digestive systems, clearing up a particularly nasty bout in a mare with chronic digestive issues.

At the end of the day slow feeding seems a very worthwhile endeavour for my paddock dwellers, giving them just a little more 'natural' of a life.