Benefits Of Feeding Your Horse From The Floor

Haynets, hay racks and over-door buckets are a common site on the yard, designed for off-the-floor feeding.

Horses in the wild will spend 16-18 hours a day grazing, mainly with their heads down to eat grass.

As a Veterinary Physiotherapist, I often explain to owners that there are a number of physiological benefits when feeding off the floor.

1. Freedom of the jaw

When in a grazing position, the mandible is able to move up and down, from side to side, and forwards and backwards. When feeding from a higher position, such as a haynet, this position causes the lower jaw to slide backwards, altering the teeth alignment and chewing pattern.

So, this means that the teeth are better aligned when the head is down, and the jaw can move more accurately.

2. Longer chewing

A horse with its head down is more likely to chew for longer, and will more likely chew more thoroughly.

The more a horse chews, the more saliva they produce.

Saliva acts as a an acid buffer in the stomach, reducing the risk of gastric ulcers. Therefore, meaning an overall healthier digestive system.

3. Cleaner airways

A lower grazing position also encourages airway drainage.

This helps to reduce the inhalation of dust and feed particles.

4. Movement increase

If you watch your horse when they are grazing outside, they move a step forwards every few mouthfuls. In the wild, horses can move a number of kilometers whilst grazing during the day. This plays a huge part in terms of gas and dropping removal.

Movement helps to keep food and gas moving through the digestive system and this can play a part in colic development when a horse is suddenly put on box rest.

5. Muscular discomfort

Watching horses graze can indicate whether or not they are symmetrical and comfortable within their musculoskeletal system.

Horses are comfortable and symmetrical will not need to lift their heads up and will graze evenly with both their left and right front legs evenly.

Horses who are asymmetrical and in possible discomfort will graze in a position that is comfortable for them, for longer periods of time, before lifting their head to find another spot to graze.

These horses may also graze with their forelimbs wider, or a preferred front leg forward for longer periods.

So, let's look at the pros of feeding off the floor:

• Better alignment of the spine and cervical vertebrae encouraged

• Keeps the pharynx, oesophagus and trachea open and straight, improving their function

• In a low head position, muscus removes dust from the air passages in the nose

• Encourages saliva production and better digestion

• Enables efficient chewing, benefitting the horse's digestive system

• Teeth are better aligned so have more even wear

• Nuchal and supraspinous ligaments support the weight of the back and abdomen with little effort from the muscles, reducing muscular tension

Feeding from haynets:

Horses who are asymetrical might benefit from having their haynets at chest height. This stops them from having to spread their front legs and instead, encourages them to stand square in front.

When a horse's head is held in a higher position, it encourgaes them to more evenly distribute their weight between the front and hind legs. This means that weight isn't being pulled onto the forehand.

However, there are disadvantages to feeding from haynets:

• Encourages poor posture - head held high and back hollowed for longer periods - this causes the spaces between the spinous processes to become smaller, increasing the pressure on the ligaments in the spine and musculoskeletal system

• High head position stimulates the sympathetic nervous system - associated with anxiety, tension and fight response

• Jerking movement when pulling hay out of the net can cause the back muscles to contract, developing the back muscles that create back extension - not ideal for ridden horses

• Haynets that are tied fairly high can cause the horse to pull to one side with a twisting motion of the head - if the haynet is always positioned in the same place (i.e on one side of the stable), it is common for the horse to always pull to that one preferred side.

What changes can you make to feeding from haynets?

• Split the daily hay amount into 2 nets and tie on either side of the stable OR change which side of the stable you tie the nets each day

• Feed some hay on the floor and the rest in a net

• Alter the height of the net so it is around chest height rather than higher up

So, in conclusion, feeding from haynets and off the floor have their benefits as well as disadvantages.

Each horse will have a routine that works better for them, so it is important to consider how they are impacted from both methods.