Dengie help you keep your horse fit and healthy
Can you easily see your horse’s ribs? Does he lack topline? Is your golden oldie not looking as good as he used to? If any of these apply to your horse, then it’s time to take action. The team at Dengie are here to suggest key areas to consider
Tip top teeth
Having difficulty chewing is no longer an issue confined to older horses. Whatever the reason, diastemata (gaps between the teeth) seem to be an increasing issue for horses of all ages. In a Dengie funded study, horses with poor dentition consumed about two-thirds less hay in the same time as horses with normal teeth, and so it’s no wonder horses with poor teeth often lose weight. However, the horses with poor teeth were able to consume the same amount of a soaked mash product, in this case Dengie Alfa-Beet. Providing fibre in a form your horse can chew is all that is needed to promote weight gain in many cases and Dengie Alfalfa or Grass Pellets are ideal for this, alongside Alfa-Beet.
Top nosh
Forage makes up at least half of most horses’ rations and so, if it’s not very good, it’ll have an impact on your horse’s condition. Its quality is also largely determined by how digestible it is – there are different types of fibre found in feeds, ranging from the very digestible pectin to the less digestible cellulose. High levels of lignin, an indigestible substance that gives a plant structure, significantly reduces the digestibility of a forage. The older and taller a plant gets, the more lignin is present, which is why hay is less digestible than dried grass that has been harvested when the grass is young, such as in Dengie Meadow Grass with Herbs. Late cut forage will be less digestible than that cut earlier, so if you are looking for weight gain, find a soft, leafy, early-cut forage, which will be easier for your horse to digest. Poorer quality forage will mean you need to feed more in the bucket, so it’s worth investing in the right forage.
Healthy on the inside
Horses are herbivores and their digestive systems are healthier on a high-fibre
diet. Although it seems counter-intuitive, reducing the amount of cereal-based feeds may help your horse to gain weight, especially if you’re feeding more than a scoop of cereals in each feed. As the digestive system becomes less acidic, the digestion of other feeds becomes more efficient. You may find adding a digestive supplement, such as Dengie Digestive Health Plus, helps the transition to a more fibre-based ration. Using highly-digestible fibre sources, such as sugar beet, which is included in Dengie Alfa-Beet, can make a significant contribution to your horse’s energy requirements, but if fibre isn’t enough, you can add feeds that are high in fibre and oil, such as Dengie Alfa-A Oil, to increase the calorie intake.