Basics Of Horse Foraging

Many people expect their favorite race horses to be cooped up in some barn ready for their next race and think that that is all there is for their life. What many people are unaware of is that horses must have time to forage in the wild.

Foraging is a very basic horse instinct and the mere act of foraging is an act that horses must go through. Every horse needs to forage to satisfy an inner need. It is ideal that racehorses have access to a special area where they can forage safely and not be exposed to other elements.

Foraging makes the horse feed itself so the horse becomes stronger physically and also mentally. Foraging helps horses "calm" down and prevents anger from flaring up again. Eating through out he day is what horses are meant to do and this is something that they enjoy.

Foraging helps wild horses survive on places that have low nutritional values and a horse that is not worked off much but left to their own devices can survive on a minimal area for foraging. The heavier the horse is worked, the more it must forage. In some cases, concerned horse owners have even added hale bays and even sugar and honey cubes to supplement the nutritional intake of the horse. This s crucial especially in winter months when no grasslands are exposed and there is a scarcity for foraging.

Grass by nature is not dangerous. It is the conditions that surround grass that may pose a problem for horses. Some problems like a horse floundering on freshly cut grass. This is not a major concern for a mild toxin is produced when moisture settles in the grass. The horse would be off balance for a while but it has no serious effects.

However, owners are advised to avoid getting the horse sick on fescue poisoning which causes pregnant horses to have an unwanted abortion of mares and foals. It induces the stomach of the horse to remove all contents and it may also include the baby horse inside.

As a whole, pastures should be well maintained and not let open to bugs and foreign plants to grow within. The area for foraging should be closed of so that the horse would not run the risk of getting infected. Horses that forage in the wild are more prone to sickness and disease and race owners would rather pay for a piece of land for them to forage than leave them in any other unexplored place.