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By Walter Murphy


Feeding your horses with forage is essential for their health. However, you must know the right way to feed your favorite animals. When it comes to slow feeding, a horse should eat in small portions for an extended period. The digestive system of equines is designed for constant uptake, and regardless of the kind of food you are giving your equines, it is vital to ensure they are taking it in the right way. Using slow feeders for horses is a perfect way to ensure the animals are feeding in the right way. Here are ways that a horse will benefit from using the feeders.

The occurrence of stress that is associated with their feeding is common with these animals. As such, equines that go through this stress produce hormones called cortisol. When the hormone is produced in large amounts, it results in increased levels of insulin, making their bodies to store excess fat. This, in turn, leads to obesity. Utilizing this program for feeding is an appropriate way of avoiding your horse becoming obese.

Feeding slowly helps in the prevention of ulcers. This is because it activates the production of saliva. The saliva is an alkaline that buffers the gastric acids produced in the stomach. With the food present in the stomach, the acids cannot reach the walls, and this is the right way of preventing this condition.

For food to be adequately digested, enough time is required. Through this program, this factor is highly appreciated and put into consideration. With proper digestion, cases like constipation will not occur, and the general health of the horse will improve. Continuous feeding is a suitable way of making sure that there is a balance between the harmful and beneficial bacteria inside the stomach of the animal.

Food is the main focus in equines. If the equines feed for a long time, it alleviates boredom, and the equine is unlikely to develop vices. A horse can sleep for not more than twenty minutes at a time. This means that it is awake most of the time. Without food around, it is more likely to develop bad behavior like stall kicking or cribbing due to boredom. Hence, this explains the importance of having these feeders.

The wind can disrupt feeding if it blows away the hay all the time. Furthermore, hay left uncontained can be trampled on such that equines cannot eat it. This will cause a lot of wastage. Hence, having feeders helps in eliminating wastage. This is because the hay is contained all the time.

Since these creatures are animals of prey, they highly depend on their seeing and sound senses to detect their predators. Locking them up for long may, in turn, make them feel unsafe, causing a negative effect on their feeding behavior. Since the feeder is usually placed in open places, these animals feel safe while they are eating. It will also ensure your animals are feeding appropriately, improving their health.

These animals are aggressive when eating. Thus, the dominating equines may prevent others from eating if you put their food in one place. Feeders allow you to set the hay in several locations so that all the equines can eat peacefully. If you have an equine that needs additional calories, you can give them a feeder with wet hay and allow it to join the rest later.




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