October 2024 Issue

Page 16 October 2024 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Back on Track: How Welltex ® Technology Supports Horse Health The health and wellness benefits of these proven products, often called "The Back on Track Effect," speak for themselves. But the benefits of Welltex aren't lim- ited to horses and their humans. Far infrared energy can help all people and pets with joint discomfort, sore muscles, and swelling. Back on Track offers dog coats, clothing, bedding, braces, and more Welltex® prod- ucts for your entire family, two and four-legged. Visit backontrackusa.com to learn how Welltex technology works and how Back on Track products can help your horse prepare, perform, and recover. (Continued from page 14) Pastured horses need access to a clean, safe, consistent source of water. Bar-Bar-A Horse and Livestock Drinkers offers a non-electric automatic water source for horses, cattle, sheep, goats, bison, deer, elk, and hogs. With 35 years in the business, they provide clean, safe, fresh water on demand. The waterers eliminate stand- ing water that can attract rats and provide a breeding area for mosquitoes. They do not need electricity to keep from freezing in the winter. “We are firm in our belief that animals, water, and elec- tricity do not mix,” said Mar- keting Director Dave Anderson. “We have seen many times Give Your Pastured Horses Clean Safe Water Year-round where an electric automatic waterer has been the sad reason in either killing an animal or making them sick because of dehydration. Some electrical currents are not detectable to the human hand or current me- ters but are very noticeable to the animal’s nose and delicate nervous system; causing them to stop drinking. Our units are not only free of these worries but are easy for the animals to learn to use and low mainte- nance for the caretaker.” Water stays cooler in the summer and warmer in the win- ter. Horses drink more because the temperature is always palat- able. The waterers are low main- tenance, so you can take that wor- ry off your list, and self-cleaning as well. Bar-Bar-A drinkers work in barns as well. Call 800-451- 2230 or visit horsedrinker.com to purchase. See page 42 for details. Not a print subscriber? Join the ongoing mailing list for just $20. FREE Classifieds for print subscribers! King's AgriSeeds: Feeding the Insulin Resistant Horse Pasture grass is a major source of sugar in the horse’s diet, but carbohydrate content varies with soil type, climate, hours of sunlight, species, season, and time of day. Access to pasture should be carefully restricted for horses with insulin resistance. Species lower in sugars that allow for longer grazing times include timothy, brome orchardgrass, bermudagrass, and teff. Avoid ryegrasses, meadow fescue, and cereal hay, such as wheat and oats. Alfalfa is a good source of both protein and less-digestible fiber and can meet or exceed horses’ calcium and protein requirements. Cool season grasses accu- mulate more starches, sugars, and fructans and are higher in total energy content. Although alfalfa hay is higher in total energy content than grass hays, most of the energy is from pro- tein and fiber. Avoid grazing any pasture grasses that are growing rapid- ly or going through a dynamic phase – like after a summer rain, or entering dormancy in late fall. Horses should be limited to 2 percent of their body weight in feed. Hay should be fed before animals are released onto pasture – one good scenario is to feed hay all night before turning animals out early in the morning, when sugar levels are lower. Given a choice, horses will consume lush pasture grasses before hay every time. Soaking hay in cold water for 30 minutes lowers the sugar content. Keep horses off weedy pastures, since weeds can have a greater concentration of iron than forage grasses, potentially lead- ing to elevated insulin and can be higher in sugar. In spring, when grass is lush and growing rapidly, horses will want to consume more. Muzzles can also be used to limit intake. Frost can greatly increase fructans in the plants within a few hours. And, hay can run the risk of higher sugar content if it is cut in bright sun.