Stubbs

Product Information

The tighter the feed pellet then the longer the soak time will be needed. Use your eyes and perhaps your fingers to feel if the products have soaked enough. Always use a large volume of water. Weight in kilograms of old horse feed (Stubbs Scoop)

The suggested feeding levels are intended as a guide only. Always adjust your horse's feed ration to suit his temperament, the environmental conditions, his body condition and work load. If your horse is resting why not try one of the Dengie Hi-Fi products How Hard Are You Working Your Horse? If you can’t test, then understanding the effect soaking has on hay and choosing to soak for short periods of time, will preserve the nutrient status of the hay. It is important to use a protocol which will not leach high levels of water-soluble nutrients from the hay. The classic sign of ineffective chewing is quidding – the formation of balls of partially chewed hay that are too large to be swallowed and drop out of the mouth when the horse tries to eat. However, quidding is a rather advanced sign and may not always appear to start with. Elderly horses often drink less. This could be due to arthritis or mouth pain, cold weather or when they are bullied by other herd members. Decreased water consumption increases the risk of impaction colic. To avoid choke we suggest opting for a range of high-fibre and high-calorie feeds that can be soaked and fed as a wet mash. This mash can be more soup-like for horses that are prone to choke.Our research into the effect soaking has on hay has revealed that high amounts of water-soluble nutrients, which are critical for horse health and hard to replace, are washed down the drain. 10. Protecting an old horse in the herd Under-feeding means the horse or pony is missing out on essential nutrients. This is one of the reasons that balancers have been so successful for many horses and ponies – the balancer is correcting nutrient shortfalls brought about by under-feeding a balanced feed that is being fed incorrectly. If your horse or pony doesn’t need the full amount of feed, topping up with a balancer or supplement is fine because it provides the additional vitamins and minerals required for a balanced diet. However, if too much is fed of certain vitamins and minerals, they can cause toxicity problems – just because “some” is good, it doesn’t mean that “lots” is better!

A high specification of vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins. Additional magnesium and calcium are included to help maintain optimal digestive health

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Ageing can be associated with reduced production of saliva, the normal lubricant for food. Digestion also starts in the mouth with special enzymes that are contained within the saliva, so a reduction in this means the digestive process can be compromised. Less saliva also means less buffering of stomach acid which in other species has been documented as being low in elderly animals. 3. How can stomach acid affect an old horse? The use of chaffs can mean that old horses swallow this feed without it being ground by the teeth or having enough saliva to lubricate and start the digestion process. Chaffs are not a substitute for the crushing, mashing and mixing with saliva that normal chewing accomplishes. The decision to soak hay should be made on the health of the horse. An old horse with COPD may need hay soaking or steaming for a very short time. A laminitic horse may need hay rinsing and soaking for a short time to lower the simple sugars in the hay to prevent insulin levels from spiking.

Ideally hay replacers should be fed ad lib although this may not be practical for good doers. Equally, weighing your horse’s ration, at least to start with, is a good way of ensuring you are feeding enough. As a general guide, 1kg of hay replacer can be used to replace 1kg of hay. Total forage intake should not be restricted to less than 1.5% of current bodyweight per day on a dry matter basis.In practice, this equates to around 8.5-9kg of hay replacer for a 500kg horse with no grazing once you've accounted for the water content (all forage and forage replacers contain some water which doesn't count towards the horse's forage intake). However, these are minimum amounts and some horses and ponies will need more than this - speak to a nutritionist for more advice. SPILLERS hay replacers When Lauren brought Paddy, he weighed more than the weigh tape would allow her to measure – around 710kg on the weighbridge. Alfalfa is an excellent feed for horses and can be chosen to feed an old horse, but its high calcium levels mean that it causes problems with balancing the major minerals. In addition, some horses do not tolerate alfalfa in their diet. Problems can range from worsening hoof sensitivity and laminitis, skin hives, to oedema in the legs, sheath and udder. There is little research to suggest why this is. In general, we would always encourage owners to avoid soaking hay if possible. Where a horse has COPD then spraying and damping the hay should be sufficient. The latest research into steaming hay suggests that protein quality may be affected, so if steaming is carried out, additional protein may be required to compensate for this. When Kim brought Roxy she suspected gastric ulcers and when looking at different feeds to promote digestive health and condition she decided on Healthy Tummy. Now all her horses are fed Healthy Tummy!