Friday – Energy
Horses are able to get energy from any type of feed we give them including just grass. Obviously grains have a lot more digestible energy than that of grass however grass still has an energy content of 8-12Mj/kgDM (average digestible energy megajoules/ kilo of Dry Matter). It is important for us to remember that that the pasture and roughage that we are feeding still contains energy for our horses. I often see a lot of cases where the horse has more energy than what the rider can handle but refuse to lunge it prior to riding due to the fact that they are not receiving a concentrated feed type. An easy way to tell if your horse is going to have some built up energy prior to riding is if they are maintaining their weight or are putting weight on then they will have energy stored up. If you are not in a situation to deal with or handle the excess energy it is advisable to lunge your horse prior to riding to avoid any mishaps.