Division of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e- Kashmir University of Agril. Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar-190006
*Present Address: Assistant Professor, Division of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-K, Shuhama, Alusteng, Pin-190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Email: dinamanimedhi@gmail.com
Online published on 19 December, 2013.
A study was carried out in two tehsils of each three districts of Kashmir valley viz, Srinagar, Anantnag and Ganderbal regarding existing feeding practices of cart pulling horses during winter minths. Most commonly used feeds and fodders offered to the animal were wheat bran, rice bran, crushed maize, oat hay and paddy straw. It was observed that all the farmers fed concentrates three times a day. Mostly the farmers used to prepare homemade concentrate mixture by blending locally available concentrate ingredients such as wheat bran, rice bran, crushed maize etc. Feeding of oil seed cake was not a common practice and no farmer was found using the mineral mixture in the ration of their horses. It was also observed that cart pulling horses in the valley got sufficiently higher nutrients than their NRC recommended levels in all the districts of the valley.
Feeding practices, cart pulling horses, nutritional status, Kashmir valley
