The Ultimate Guide to Horse Feed, Supplements, and Nutrition by Lisa Preston

Author:Lisa Preston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2016-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Dr. Stephanie Caston Auck of Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine aboard her Akhal Teke x Appaloosa. Speed work and jumping are an increase in workload over riding the same distance slowly or on the flat. Photo Credit: Shane Auck.

An unfit horse works relatively harder than a fit horse to do the same amount of work. Also different breeds—and individuals within breeds—have variable inherent capacities for different types of work.

The National Research Council defines workload categories with figures for the exercise in hours per week, sustained heart rate, and time at each gait. (Table 10–2 in Chapter 10 offers the NRC definitions of workload, coupled with the feed requirements for the workload categories of light, moderate, heavy, and very heavy.) The NRC defines a very heavy workload as six to twelve hours per week averaging a pulse of 110–150.

Technology for assessing a horse’s effort include thermistors and heart monitors. Thermistors provide a measure of the horse’s skin temperature. Heart monitors provide the rider with a constant readout of the horse’s heart rate.

Anyone can learn how to assess a horse’s effort via pulse-checking without using a heart monitor. (Chapter 10 shows three locations to check a horse’s pulse.) NRC guidelines also quantify the horse’s work by its pulse. The horse’s respiratory rate and effort are additional indicators of how hard it is working.

Table 9–1 Equating Pulse to Energy Demand (per the National Research Council)

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