Posted: 1st June 2017 | Back to news feed
Supplementing Grazing with HorseHage
As the summer continues, the weather becomes drier and the nutritional value of the grass drops during the months between the two main growing periods of spring and early autumn. There is also much less nutritional value in the grass throughout the dormant winter season when it is very slow growing. So although you may have grazing in your paddock, you need to be aware that the nutritional content will not be consistent throughout the year. Most horse owners are aware of the first flush of spring grass being very rich due to the high levels of soluble sugars and non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) and so not good for horses and ponies prone to laminitis (and this can also happen in early autumn, too), but you need to remember that the value of your grazing will not be as nutritionally high during the dry, mid-summer and, of course, the winter, so grazing may need to be supplemented with good quality forage.
This is especially important during the winter because as the temperature drops, your horse or pony will need to consume more calories to maintain his body temperature. These extra calories should, ideally, come from forage as the horse’s system has to work harder and longer to digest fibre, thus creating more warmth. In fact, 70-100% of your horse or pony’s diet should be provided by forage. Fibre in the horse’s diet is extremely important. Horses have evolved to utilise a high fibre diet, using bacterial fermentation in a highly developed large intestine. A good quality, high fibre can help maintain a healthy digestive system.
Ideally you should choose a high quality, branded forage, such as HorseHage, that is dust-free, consistent and has BETA NOPS FEMAS certification to ensure that it has been manufactured to the highest standards. Forage should never be dusty or have any signs of mould on it. It should have a sweet, pleasant smell and be a nice, green colour.
When HorseHage is fed as the main forage source it can enable you to reduce your horse’s hard feed by up to a third. It contains no chemical additives, mould inhibitors, flavourings, molasses or inoculants and due to its fermentation process, the sugar in HorseHage is considerably lower than in other forages. It is more digestible than other forages too and allows more efficient utilisation of the available nutrients and retains much of the value of fresh grass.
For further information please call the HorseHage Helpline on 01803 527274 or visit www.horsehage.co.uk
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