Horses are often overfed, causing obesity

To make matters worse, not only do owners often overfeed their
horses
, but what is fed them is frequently genetically altered
grass meant for food animals. “The paradigm is that we feed horses the same
grasses we are feeding food animals,” Johnson said. “The genetically designed
grass we feed horses was designed to fatten food animals
quicker.”

Fat storing
The genetics of horses, as in
many species, allows for the extra storing of fat in preparation for winter,
when there is typically less food available. In nature, horses would eat less in
the winter and lose the weight by spring, noted Johnson. Under human care,
horses are fed generously year round and never lose the extra weight.
“Horses
need to be exercised daily in meaningful ways,”
said Johnson. “It’s not enough
to ride your horse twice a week for 20 minutes.”

Related
website:
University of
Missouri-Columbia

To receive free animal feed news, subscribe
here.

(Source: newkerala.com)