New Year, New Goals: Evaluating Your Horses' Nutrition | Equine Science Matters™

With the New Year often comes new goals, aims and expectations. While we would always encourage being realistic when setting new goals, having something to aim for can be a great motivator. While we may not always achieve that goal (horses are horses after all, and love nothing more than throwing us a curveball or two!), we can still use it as a platform for progression in some way or another. 

Loving the process as much as the outcome is part and parcel of equestrian life, but sometimes moving towards a goal can seem a little daunting, especially as progress is rarely linear. Motivation can wane if the goal is a big, far-reaching one, and we can often feel derailed by life events. This is where a structured plan can help. Having a goal-focused plan with smaller mini-goals along the way can help keep motivation high, allow us to see how far we’ve come with every step, and better notice our accomplishments along the way. Adaptability is key with any plan, but having a structure means we can have the flexibility to adapt while still knowing we’re making progress. 

Reverse engineering is a phrase often used in relation to human athletes, and it is every bit as applicable in equestrian sport at any level. It is the process of setting a goal, then working backwards, thinking about what skills and physical attributes will be required to achieve it and the types of training that will need to happen to acquire those.  

1. Define your goal 

It could be something like a certain dressage score at a local show, completing your first 3-day event clear, or your first solo hack. (Top tip: when focusing on a competitive goal, try to avoid winning or placing as goals, and focus only on your own performance. There will be things you can’t control on the day, and you certainly can’t influence how other people perform. If you don’t win but do achieve a personal best, that’s a huge accomplishment, and you don’t want that overshadowed by not winning when that was not something you couldn’t control anyway.) 

2. Break down the performance required 

For example, competing in a one-day event requires a high level of fitness and stamina, explosive power, focus and concentration, and a high level of trust and understanding between horse and rider. 

3. Identify the strengths and weaknesses 

You may find that your horse has a huge engine and is capable of jumping the moon, but lacks the stamina to complete all three disciplines in one day, or vice versa. Perhaps your horse is great at staying focused, but can lack trust and bravery when asked bigger questions or when something is out of his comfort zone.  

4. Structure the training 

Once you’ve worked out your horse’s (and your own) strengths and weaknesses, you can structure a training plan to address both aspects. A key point is to give yourself and your horse enough time at each stage of training to make sure you have a solid basis on which to build. This may seem like slow progress, but it is likely to result in better performance over time and also reduce the risk of injury. Gradually building fitness, endurance, and skills reduces the likelihood of a fatigue or mistake-based error that could be costly in the long term.  

As your horse’s workload increases, the energy intake from feed may need to increase to accommodate the additional energy demand. Remember that we need to feed for the work that the horse is currently doing, not for the work they will be doing, so increasing the feed while they are in the early stages of fitness work, or when the training is predominantly skills-based rather than cardiovascular or muscle recruitment, will likely result in weight gain. 

If your horse is a good doer or needs to lose some weight, this is an ideal opportunity to shift a few extra kilos. Increasing the workload before increasing feed or forage will help them use more calories, and therefore use up their energy stored as fat. 

Conversely, if you have a horse who is a poor doer and you know is likely to lose weight, increasing the energy of the feed as soon as they start increasing their workload would be prudent. If your horse already has a large feed, it would be worth considering adding energy density to the feed by giving oils such as linseed. This will increase the calories in the bucket without adding significantly to the volume. 

Doing a bi-weekly 9-point body condition score and recording the results can be really helpful in spotting any changes and fluctuations in bodyweight and condition, and is the most reliable method of judging whether or not you need to increase your horse’s feed. 

Remember that if your horse is having less than the recommended intake of a mix or cube, they are likely to need a balancer or vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure they are having a balanced diet to help them cope with the increasing workload and recover from harder training sessions.