Focus on Forage for Healthy Horses
Haylage is a versatile forage that can be fed to any horse or pony. No longer is haylage a rich forage that is only suitable for hard working horses! Devon Haylage produce both a Ryegrass Haylage that is suitable for all classes of horse and pony, and a lower energy, higher fibre Timothy Grass Haylage, which is ideal for good doers and horses and ponies who have, or are prone to, laminitis.
Feeding horses correctly is simply about feeding plenty of forage, then adding other feeds or supplements to add nutrients missing from the forage. If possible, feed ad lib forage (free choice) unless this would cause unwanted weight gain in your horse. Horses in work that are not greedy can often be fed ad lib forage and this provides them with a healthy, natural diet.
Horses and ponies should never be left without any forage or feed for more than 4 hours, because a fast of this length increases the risk of stomach (gastric) ulcers. Stabled horses need to be given enough forage overnight so that they don’t run out more than 4 hours before they are fed the next morning. Using small holed hay nets will help extend eating time.
Devon Haylage provides all the energy and protein most horses require if fed in adequate quantities, so there is no need to limit the haylage and then feed bagged compound feed. You might well find that once you are feeding Devon Haylage, you no longer need to feed ‘hard’ feed. You will, however, need to feed your horse a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement to make up for the mineral shortages of UK grass. Clare Macleod Msc RNtr.
Advice for feeding your horse or pony is always available.
