Big Sky Horse Resource

Big Sky Equine Marketing and its affiliates post forum contents as a service only. We do not promote nor are responsible for its content in any way. Dr. Getty’s February Tip: Hay Belly—A Lot of Hot Air Ever been told that your horse has a hay belly and needs to lose weight? Well, relax! He’s not fat, he just has gas! In fact, gas production is normal and healthy. It indicates that your horse is getting enough hay for hindgut microbial fermentation to occur. A distended abdomen is often referred to as a “hay belly” to describe an overweight horse, even when the rest of his body is normal, but fat does not accumulate extensively on the horse’s lower abdomen (belly). Horses do accumulate fat in specific areas: neck, withers, back, ribs, shoulders, and tailhead. In 1984, Dr. Don Henneke, of Texas A&M University, developed a “body condition scoring system” that categorizes horses’ condition based on the amount of fat stored in these six areas. This system is still the mainstay for equine health professionals. Instructions for using the Henneke system are in Dr. Getty’s comprehensive book on equine nutrition, Feed Your Horse Like a Horse. Horse owners who deliberately limit hay consumption and replace it with cereal grain to avoid a hay belly are doing their horses a disservice, and increasing the risk of colic and laminitis. Forage should be the foundation of any horse’s diet. It is vital for the health of the hindgut microbes, and hence, the health of your horse. Looking for more advice on optimal nutrition for your horse? For more than 20 years, Dr. Getty has taught and consulted on equine nutrition; she is a popular speaker at horse expos and fairs across the country. Her comprehensive book, Feed Your Horse Like A Horse: Optimizing your horse’s nutrition for a lifetime of vibrant health, is available in hardcover and CD-ROM through her website or at Amazon.com. At www.gettyequinenutrition.com horse owners and managers will find a library of helpful articles, an online store, and a calendar of appearances, teleconferences and interviews. Dr. Getty also offers a popular (and free) monthly e-newsletter, “Forage for Thought”; sign up through the website. Contact Dr. Getty directly at (970) 884-7187 or gettyequinenutrition@gmail.com. Dr. Getty will be speaking at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo in Denver, CO, March 11-13, and at several other horse expos and fairs this year. Find her 2011 schedule, including topics, on her website.

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The Montana Horse Welfare Council has been in existence for less than a year. Today, the group met in Missoula to brainstorm ideas to prevent horse about in Montana."Montana Horse Welfare Council is basically a coalition of a lot of people coming from across the state with a goal of helping Montana horse owners get through whatever hard times they may have,"said project manager Kathy Luedtke.The council is open to the public and has five committees, modeled off the Oregon Horse Welfare Council. The committees are: administration, education, adoption/foster, hay bank/vet, and law enforcement."Well we're hoping to get enough people involved, get our committees to grow so that when there's a crisis in a community, law enforcement or horse owners can call us and we can help, wherever that is in Montana,"said Humane Society State Director Wendy Hergenraeder.More than 500 horses have been reported as abused in the last two months in Montana."Whatever happens when horses are in crisis, you know that people have been through crisis as well, and so there is a level of empathy and to try and work towards a better, for both the people and the horses,"said Luedtke. This was the third meeting, and the next one is scheduled to be in Billings sometime in April. By Shaun Rainey for Montana NBC News