27 August 2008 09:42
I’ve just moved to the UK with my Spanish x Arab mare, who had never been out at grass or had haylage. She was on the road for a week and when she arrived, she’d lost weight. She gradually started to eat grass and put on weight – however, she has started to lose it again. She gets Happy Hoof and two nets of haylage a day. How can I help her bulk up for the winter?
Answer
By Your Horse
Nutritionist Katie Williams advises:
Travelling and a change of routine all cause disruption or stress to the digestive system, affecting how efficiently the micro-organisms in her gut function. Here are some ideas to help you:
● Feed a supplement to promote digestive health, such as Dengie XP Triple Action or Feel Good 30 Premium Digestion. They contain probiotics, prebiotics and yeast, which top up beneficial bacteria and improve fibre digestion. Give them a few months to take effect and then, if you want to use one longer-term, try straight yeast, which is more cost-effective.
● Ensure she has ad lib haylage – her current diet isn’t very high in calories so let her have as much haylage as she will eat. It contains more water than hay, which dilutes the nutrients it contains.
● The Happy Hoof will have a low energy content, so you could try something based on alfalfa and oil such as Doctor Green Alfalfa Oil or Dengie Alfa-A Oil.
● Try feeding two or three kilogrammes of a conditioning compound feed like Baileys No 17 Top Line Conditioning Mix or Spillers Conditioning Cubes, which contain cereals to provide quick-release energy.
● Consider feeding soaked sugar beet, a highly-digestible fibre source with more energy than a pasture or cool mix.