Consumer Services and Food for Ponies - Assignment Example

ASSIGNMENT, OTHER EQUINE HUSBANDRY By: Introduction It is important to highlight that this paper delves in the discussion of the consumer services and food and dietetics that that are offered to ponies that are of two categories:  two four year old Thoroughbred/Irish Draught crosses just starting work and two 14.hh working show ponies.  The paper has therefore highlighted the daily routines, the diet that they will be feeding on or the food ratio as well as the bedding that the horses will have in the yard (Graham and  Weese, 2011). 1. a. daily routine 7.00 am.  feed the horses for half an hour as i go round feeding, i check previous nights feed has been eaten, check legs and see there are healthy droppings. 8.00 am. Start mucking out, taking of top night rugs where needed and preparing first horses to go on walker, this means changing rugs and putting on boots. 9.00 am – 2.00 pm.  Riding horses until 2pm  3.00 pm.  general tidying of the yard, tacks, wash bays, emptying and re-filling the washing machine, folding cooler rugs used in the morning. 4.00 pm. Back on the yard to start grooming unused horses putting on top rugs, skipping out and taking round the hay trolley. 5.00 pm. taking round the evening feeds and hay. The trolley is re-stacked for the morning 5.30 pm.  levelling the arenas and washing the floor  9.30 pm. Late night check, a fast look round to see if all the horses are okay. b. The choice of the routine is quite important because it assists and gives time for conducting various activities for the better welfare of the horses and the owner. Starting from giving room for the feeding of the horses, preparing all the riding equipment that are needed for horse riding, riding session, cleaning time as well as time for relaxing or resting by both the horse and the owner (Graham and  Weese, 2011). c. bedding choices and benefits or the importance of a dust free environment. It is important to highlight that when choosing the type of bedding for a horse, there are a number of factors that are considered. Cost of the type of bedding, how free rom dust and other foreign particles the bedding is, the palatability of the bedding, how porous is the bedding to allow for effective drainage and absorption and finally the palatability of the bedding. It is important to reiterate that the bedding chosen should be a material that the horse cannot feed on. Below are therefore the various types of beddings that are used for horses (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Straw:- this is a good type if bedding that is obtained from the cereals such as wheat or barley among others a d it should be used when all the grains are removed or harvested completely. This is a measure to prevent the horses from feeding in the bedding. Straw is a good type of bedding because it gets so clean and dry if there continuous picking of manure from the environment. However, there are various disadvantages that are attached to this kind of bedding. It becomes mouldy whenever it gets rained on and also allows for the seepage of urine to the floor unless the bedding is made deeper and thick thereby covering the floor (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Hay bedding:- this is done after the letting the blue grass to acquire some manure, then it is cut and later on balled. It does not lead to compaction compared to the straw (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Wood products:- these include the products that are obtained from the sawmills during the processing of lumber. They include sawdust; chips and also shavings.to make good bedding from the wood products, it is therefore quite important to focus on shavings. This is because they are very soft and makes insulated bedding that is good for the bedding as opposed to the sawdust. Sawdust because of their fine nature that could in the long run turn to be dusty when the horse walks in the stall thereby churning a lot which later enters the eyes and the nose (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Hamp:- this is a type of bedding that is quite effective in the absorption of ammonia and is as well dust free. This type is commonly found in Canada. Another advantage of this is that the horses cannot eat it (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Shredded paper:- this is the most adsorbent type of bedding. Adsorption of bedding is quite effective since they reduce the ammonium content in the stall that can be so irritating to the eyes of the horse (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Type of bedding Merit Demerit Straw Gives good drainage Not very costly to cereal dominating areas Can be dusty Not a good adsorbent material Shredded paper Is free from dust A highly adsorbent material Can be quite costly Hay The used ones can be used for feeding cattle High price that are charged have led to scarcity of hay Sawdust/ Wood Shavings A good adsorbent bedding Can be economical depending on the location therefore can be delivered in large quantities Can as well be dusty Can get into the eyes of the horses Dust free area is conducive for the horses because they will safe from the respiratory problems and even allergies. It is also important to consider the health of the owner or attendant who may be allergic or suffering from asthma (Graham and  Weese, 2011). 2 a. Poster on Digestion in the Horse and it Considers structure, function and metabolism in the gastro intestinal tract of the horse Digestion begins from the stomach as explained: Stomach In the stomach, the food is mixed with pepsin that is used in the in the digestion of proteins a hydrochloric acid that is used in reduce the ph. The stomach of a horse has 3 sections: saccus caecus located at the entrance to the stomach the food begins to produce lactic acid because of the soluble sugars that are released. The hydrochloric acid then mixes to lower the Ph as the food moves down, the fundic region where the pH is lowered to 5.4. Pepsin and stomach acid makes the digestion and breaking of lipids and amino acids. The pyloric section is the point where stomach joins the small intestine (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Small intestine The digested food (digesta) comes to the ileum which is 28% of the digestive tract. It is in 3 sections; the duodenum, ileum and the ileum. The papcreatic acid produced assists in the breakdown of the food whereby carbohydrates digest sugars and starches; proteases break proteins down into amino acids; lipases and bile from the liver is added to emulsify (break into smaller units) fats and to suspend the fat in water. Bile constantly flows into the small intestine from the liver (Graham and  Weese, 2011). It is important to acknowledge one major fact when discussing the equine digestive system. These are herbivores that are adapted to the feeding of forage diets of majorly grass and other plant materials that are taken in in the course of the day. They have small stomach but the intestines are very long. This is to enhance the steady continuous movement of nutrients (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Hind gut The hind gut consists of the caecum, and the colon. Generally horses eat 9kg of food in a day and drinks approximately 42litres of water in a day. One major feature again in horses is that they can digest cellulose which is a major constituent of grass and this digestion takes place in the cecum. And after that the food is taken to the colon (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Tight rope It is important to highlight that the equine gastrointestinal tract can only perform well when all the factors and conditions are favourable (Graham and  Weese, 2011). b. the advantages and disadvantages of feeding a range of difficult forages to the horses/ponies Advantages of using forages i. Forages help in the prevention of constipation in the digestive tract of the horse owing to the fact that these are fibres. ii. A good source of nutrients used in the digestion as they add bulk onto the food substance. iii. Fresh forage gives a lot of vitamins to the horse. Disadvantage i. If not carefully used while feeding horses, the horse can suffer from colic which causes most of the deaths for the horses. It is important to top up the forages with some concentrates because they are rich in ingredients that have been added during the preparation. This therefore gives a balanced diet to the pony. Some of the concentrates that I would focus on include straight cereals such as wheat, soya, grass meals and vitamin or mineral pellets. More concentrates are very ideal in the checking and balancing of the bodyweight of the horse (Graham and  Weese, 2011). 3. Prepare two daily feed rations for two of the categories of horses/ ponies i) Ration 1 - using compound feeds Morning Mid-morning Afternoon Crude protein 2.1kg, 5% calcium 0.5kg, crude ash 0.9kg, water 11litres Forage 1.2kg, water 15litres, crude fats and oil 2.0kg. Crude protein 1.4kg, 2% phosphorous 0.9kg, crude ash 1kg, water 16litres ii) Ration 2 - using straights  Morning Mid-morning Afternoon Barley 1kg, water 12litres, full fat soya 1.1kg, maize 1.8kg Water 20litres, sugar beet pulp 3.2kg, linseed 1.4kg Water 10liters, oats 1.4kg, bran 1kg. Choice of feedstuffs, the daily feeding regime and explain how you will monitor the cost and appropriateness of the rations. In a day the horses feed as show in the table above and that cost $ 35. This s quite economical owing to the fact that most of the feeds used are not commercial ones. The cost will be monitored by using the old feeds as stock for sale to the farmers with mushroom farms who use them as manure. Other farmers as well can chose to use them and this will be a way of reducing expenditure. The droppings that the horses give can as well be used for farming purposes as manure and this will help in the reducing cost further if sold to the farmers. The appropriateness for the ration will however be monitored by calling the veterinary officers who have a lot of knowledge to assist where necessary in a span of every two weeks (Graham and  Weese, 2011). Reference Graham M.,and  S. Weese, Equine Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Reproduction, CRC Press, 2011  Read More