Winter presents a livestock owner with particular challenges and our response
From page 29 signal intentions to the horse . A gentle rub down , a pat on the shoulder , a vigorous massage in just the right place — these are all ways of saying , “ I ' m your friend ” to a horse . Sometimes , if you ' re lucky , you ' ll get a similar tactile message in return . Horses are “ inter-pressure ”. They respond to pressure so when you move into the horse , with your shoulder to its flank , for example , you will get reverse response . Horses respond to touch all over the body but especially around the head . Ears and eyes are especially sensitive areas . They don ' t like their ears pulled . The upper lip and muzzle are very sensitive to tactile stimulus , and are equivalent to our fingers . The whiskers that grow from the muzzle and around the eyes are like an insect ' s antennae . They are especially useful in low light conditions when the horse is nosing around . You should not cut them off ! Horses have a “ point of balance ” behind shoulder and in centre of head like cattle . ❑ Taste . Horses are attracted by sweetness , so sugar , molasses , water melon rind , peaches and even beer are relished . You can use molasses to entice horses to eat crushed medicine . After a period of time , however , don ' t be surprised if they wise up and refuse that medicine treat . We also use molasses to enhance the flavour and nutritional value of dry , poor quality hay . They ( especially foals ) reject salty , sour and bitter tastes at about the same level of acceptance as humans . should not be haphazard . Addressing the special nutritional , environmental and health needs of livestock in the winter will help ensure optimal animal welfare and performance . Preventing problems is more economical than is treating them so the concept of prevention will never grow cold . Our animals ' nutritional requirements increase significantly during cold weather . For most smallholder livestock , the predominant energy source during the winter months is veld grass . However , just when the animals ' energy needs are increasing , the quality of the grass is decreasing . Grass quality is considered low when the crude protein content drops below 7 %. As grass matures , the fibre content increases , while the
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LIVESTOCK
Plant to beat poor quality fodder problems
HORSES leaves and protein content decrease . Grass also becomes unpalatable and at the same time , forage intake and subsequently total energy intake declines . During autumn and early winter months the protein content of veld and some summer grass pastures is nearly always inadequate to sustain healthy animal production . So one should
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