When getting your OTTB, as with any horse, they will be experiencing many life changing situations as they get accustomed to their new rider, environment
and career.
As they have been in full work and racing, their condition in most instances is lighter than desired for their off the track vocations. Therefore most owners are
looking at increasing body condition.
Fibre of course is key in any equine diet so access to pasture, and if pasture is limited, good quality hay/haylage/baleage should be the base of all rations. Adequate forage is important for gastric and hindgut health. A healthy hindgut means optimum feed efficiency and therefore your horse getting the most out of the feed he is fed.
Selecting a low starch hard feed is the ideal starting point. Low starch feeds are ‘easy’ on the digestive system as well as avoiding ‘hot’ behaviour that may be
associated with high grain diets.
Dunstan Maxim Low-GI is a low-starch, high fibre feed. It is more calorie-dense than traditional ‘coolfeeds’, with the inclusion of ‘super fibres’ and vegetable oil.
It is ideal for weight gain. Dunstan Maxim Low-GI includes a full profile of vitamins and minerals, utilising organic minerals and natural Vitamin E and the
inclusion of a live yeast to aid digestion. Due to the addition of the vitamins and minerals in Dunstan Maxim Low-GI , when it is fed at a minimum of 2.5kg daily
to a 500kg horse, further ‘general’ vitamin and mineral supplementation should not be required other than salt.
Another very popular, highly palatable feed formulated along the same lines as Dunstan Maxim Low-GI is Dunstan Breed and Grow. Dunstan Breed and Grow
is also a low starch, high fibre nut, containing a full profile of vitamins and minerals and a life yeast. Formulated originally for the young growing horse
where a low starch feed has been found to be beneficial in sound skeletal development it then found favour with sporthorses as they were more settled
and flourished on the low starch high fibre nature of the feed.
Both Dunstan Maxim Low-GI or Dunstan Breed and Grow both provide the ideal full feed and base of the ration when starting the journey with your OTTB.
The addition of Dunstan Betabeet, a super fibre, will provide a high fibre supplement to enhance digestive health as well as contribute to meeting the
horse’s daily fibre requirements. Horses require a minimum of 1.5% of their bodyweight in forage daily on a dry matter basis. As ‘super fibre’ Dunstan
Betabeet has a similar calorie contribution to Oats but is lower in starch and sugar. So, it provides a ‘cool’ calorie source which is ideal for the early education
of the OTTB.
For owners wanting to add a calorie-dense supplement to their base feed there are a few options. Dunstan Extruded Rice and Dunstan Muscle n Shine are both low intake supplements that can be added to the existing ration to increase calorie contribution. Both are very calorie-dense.
Dunstan Muscle n Shine has added vitamins and minerals and is a high protein supplement providing quality protein to the ration.
Dunstan Extruded Rice has no added vitamins or minerals and is fantastic for conditioning. As a grain, it is high in starch, however as it is fully extruded,it is
highly digestible, avoiding issues that may be associated with inadequate pre-caecal starch digestion. The feed rates for both these low intake supplements vary slightly, and approximate 250grams – 800grams per day.
The final ‘go to’ supplement for you OTTB is vegetable oils. Vegetable Oils also provide a very calorie- dense supplement, are non-heating, and require the
horse to eat no more volume of feed to intake more calories for weight gain. Great if you don’t have the option to feed twice daily but want to increase the
calorie density of the ration. Dunstan Trifecta Oil is a highly palatable blended oil to include in the OTTB diet.
For more information or queries regarding feeding the OTTB, contact Dunstan Nutrition Ltd.
Gretel Webber
Equine Nutritionist Assoc.Dip.App.Sc, BBus, MSc Equine
Dunstan Nutrition Ltd