41. OTT Horse Nutrition: The First 12 Months Off The Track

Feeding an Off The Track (OTT) in the first 12 months can be a worry inducing juggle… appetite, behaviour, ulcers and those classic “why won’t you hold weight?” situations. In this episode of the Happy Horse Nutrition Podcast, Dr Nerida shares her practical approach to feeding OTTs in their first year off the track so they can settle, digest fibre properly, and become easier to keep long-term.

Nerida explains why many OTTs arrive with gut health issues. Racing routines and high-energy feeds can increase gastric ulcer occurence and shift the hindgut microbiome away from the good fibre-fermenting microbes. And when the gut isn’t right, it often shows up as a fussy appetite, tricky behaviour, and slow weight gain in OTTs. The episode breaks the first year into two phases: months 1–6 focus on gut rehab with forage first, fibre diversity and balancing vitamins and minerals the focus; then months 6–12 shift to weight and muscle development, with one big caution… weight gain diets change behaviour, sometimes dramatically.

Listen to discover how to feed your OTT in the first 12 months off the track for brilliant results… setting your OTT up for a lifetime of health, happiness, calm behaviour and brilliant performance.

🌟 Follow the Happy Horse Nutrition Podcast so you don’t miss the upcoming episode unpacking Allay’s microbiome data with Dr Belinda Chapman.

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📱 Want to check your OTT’s diet is balanced while you adjust feed for behaviour and condition? Try MyHappy.Horse (iOS) with a free 7-day trial:
https://apps.apple.com/app/myhappy-horse/id6633422324