Keeping horses healthy, happy and looking their best this winter *Promotion*

Promotional Feature with Dengie

Winter isn’t without its challenges, and this includes keeping your horse healthy, happy and looking their best, despite all the mud.

Feeding for condition can mean different things to different people, so it is important to understand what you are trying to achieve. For some, feeding for condition means feeding for weight gain, while for others, it is all about the horse’s overall appearance, including topline, skin, coat and hoof condition.

Feeding for weight gain

Winter can be a daunting time with many owners concerned that their horse may become over-exuberant as a result of an unpredictable workload, which is amplified when feeding for weight gain.

The key to managing over-exuberance is to base the diet on good quality forage and use digestible sources of fibre and oil that supply slow-release energy in the bucket feed before reaching for traditional, cereal-based conditioning feeds. Dengie Alfa-A Oil combines alfalfa with a rapeseed oil coating and at 12.5MJ/kg digestible energy provides as much energy as a conditioning mix or cube, but with between eight and 10 times less starch.

Dengie Alfa-A Molasses Free, combining chopped and pelleted alfalfa with a rapeseed oil coating, mint and fenugreek, was used in behavioural research that found horses fed a fibre- and oil-based ration were more calm and consistent in their behaviour compared to those fed a cereal-based concentrate of the same energy level.

An additional challenge this winter is the increased cost of feeding.

Keeping track of the cost of the amount of feed you use, along with the energy supplied determines the value for money of the ration. A cheaper feed may look appealing, but its true cost can only be determined by the cost for the amount fed.

A higher calorie level for those that need help to maintain weight is more cost-effective long-term than using a lower cost, lower calorie feed that you have to feed more of.

The table below gives an example of a fibre-based conditioning feed compared to a lower cost traditional coarse mix. Note that the starch level is far lower in the fibre-based feed, so not only is it more conditioning but it is also less likely to create fizzy behaviour.

Managing the fussy feeder

Fussy horses and those with limited appetites can be tricky to feed for weight gain in the winter. Products that contain naturally sweeter raw materials, like grasses and added molasses, can help improve palatability and get the horse eating.

Dengie Cool, Condition & Shine is a high-fibre fusion of chopped and pelleted fibre, including grasses, alfalfa and straw, with a light molasses and oil coating with added spearmint and vitamins and minerals. The natural sweetness of this feed can help tempt fussy feeders and when fed at the recommended quantity, no additional vitamin and mineral supplementation is required.

Of course, there’s nothing like a warm mash for tempting some fussy feeders and Dengie Grass Pellets, Alfalfa Pellets and Alfa-Beet can all be fed soaked to a mash with hot water.

For those that have limited forage appetites, offering multiple fibre sources can help. A bucket of Dengie Pure Grass or Meadow Grass with Herbs & Oil left in the stable alongside the usual forage ration can help encourage foraging behaviour and a greater forage intake which in turn can aid weight maintenance.

Feeding for topline, skin, coat and hoof condition

To build topline a horse needs to be a healthy weight, have sufficient good quality protein in the diet and be exercised at an intensity sufficient to build muscle.

Alfalfa-based feeds supply good levels of quality protein, but a feed balancer is an even more concentrated source.

For those on a forage only ration or those fed less than suggested of a feed fortified with vitamins and minerals, simply top up with Dengie Performance+ Balancer. As well as providing a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals to balance the ration, Dengie Performance+ Balancer supplies prebiotic for digestive support, glucosamine for joint support and biotin at the level you would find in a hoof supplement, plus linseed as part of its formulation which promotes fantastic coat shine.

For friendly feeding advice contact the Dengie Feedline on 01621 841188 or visit www.dengie.com

Research reference

The effects of a high-starch or high-fibre diet on equine reactivity and handling behaviour – Enlighten Publications (gla.ac.uk)

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