Viewing of the VDL horses – jumping the height of the standards.
Week 9 began with Tuesday’s viewing of VDL Stud’s exciting young jumper prospects, which had been flown in from The Netherlands several days previously. Seventeen horses were presented under saddle individually, each shown at the trot and canter and over jumps. The exuberant jumping and feisty behaviour by some of the horses was very entertaining – many eager jumpers were leaping as high as the standards! Two horses being sold as hunters were also in the group and were shown over a hunter type course of lower jumps.
Wednesday’s WEF young hunter classes were filled with entries – 33 in the Low Hunter 2’6″, providing stiff competition as they get more mileage over the past few weeks. One after another, ridden by experienced pros, cantered beautifully around the courses, making the judges’ job of placing them difficult.
“Understanding Forage, the Foundation of the Equine Diet ” was Thursday’s Lunch and Learn topic, sponsored by Nutrena and Pennfield Feeds. Abby Keegan discussed the importance of informed owners regarding the feeding of their horses. Horses get most of their food from fibre and food spends 48 to 72 hours in the hind gut. Because good ‘bugs’ break down soluble fibre and produce energy, it is important to choose feed that has live viable organisms to better digest the fibre we are feeding. For a 1,000 pound horse, 2% of his body weight should consist of hay, i.e. 20 pounds per feeding per day. A simple fish scale is recommended as the most important tool when feeding your horse. When feeding flakes of hay it is important to weigh flakes regularly, since the type of hay at a barn usually changes, as it can come from different sources and be cut at varying times of the year. Some hay flakes may be more compact and dense and other types may be course with more stems,etc. Every time hay is changed, new ‘bugs’ are introduced into the gut.