ULCERS - Feeding strategies for prevention and care ️
Did you know that one Western Australian study found that 53% of horses had ulcers? Ulcers can lead to pain, reduced appetite, decreased performance and more. Here are some important feeding strategies that can help with prevention and care:

✅Saliva helps to buffer the acid and protect the gut, and the more they chew, the more saliva they produce! Offer plenty of ad-lib forage and fibre, day and night to keep them producing saliva and their gut functioning. 💡𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄: Horses only produce saliva when chewing.

✅ Provide ad lib forage and try to keep time without available feed to a minimum. If you are worried about weight gain, limit the quality of roughage, not quantity.

✅ Look for feeds that are high in fermentable fibres and low in starches and sugars. Our Lupin Fibre Boost and Lupin Fibre Cubes are both very low in starch and high in fermentable fibres so suitable for horses with ulcers.

✅ Split your hard feeds or concentrates into as many small feeds per day as you can. More smaller feeds are better for their stomach than few large feeds.

✅ Ensure they are always well hydrated.

✅ Avoid riding on an empty stomach. Offer a small feed of lucerne hay or chaff immediately prior to riding to help prevent acid splash.

✅ Provide lots of turnout time and grazing if you can – turning your horse out helps to decrease stress, especially if they have other horses around them. Grazing also helps horses to keep producing saliva which helps to buffer the stomach.

If you suspect your horse has ulcers, please seek veterinary advice. The sooner you seek help, and your horse gets treatment, the sooner your horse can return to optimum health.

Looking for an ulcer-safe feed? Lupin Fibre Boost, Lupin Fibre Cubes and Calm Care Plus are all low in sugar and starch and safe for horses with ulcers.

#tiptuesday #ulcers #horseulcers #ulcercare #lowsugarandstarch #horsefeed #horsecare

HOOVES - How does feeding influence hoof health?
No hoof no horse! Hoof health can be influenced by 3 key things – GENETICS, ENVIRONMENT and NUTRITION. What you feed can make all the difference to keeping your horse`s hooves strong and functioning, and here are a few reasons why:

✅ Balance is key! A balanced diet that provides the right levels and ratios of amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals for meeting their daily requirements.

✅ Protein – hooves are mainly made up of a protein called keratin, and proteins are made up of amino acids. Methionine is an amino acid that is believed to be important for hoof quality, but balance is key.

✅ Quality Fibre - when bacteria in the hindgut ferment fibre, they produce essential B vitamins (including biotin) and vitamin K which are known to benefit hoof and hair growth and structure.

✅ Biotin – biotin has been widely researched for its influence on hoof growth and is believed to influence hoof integrity. Supplementation of biotin alone though isn’t enough for hoof health; it must be part of a balanced diet.

✅ Zinc – zinc influences the keratinisation of the hoof – what does that mean?? It’s the process by which the cells become keratin, and are ready to form a strong, protective hoof. Zinc is essential in this process.

✅ Fats – fats in the diet can be a help to your horse’s hooves. They can help to form a barrier that protects the hoof from fungi and bacteria.

✅ Calcium and Phosphorous – Calcium helps with cell attachment and cohesion in the hoof which is vital for hoof strength. It must be feed in the correct ratio with Phosphorous though to avoid issues with calcium absorption.

✅ Selenium and Vitamin E - these antioxidants (prevent cell deterioration) help to protect the cell membranes. A key sign of selenium deficiency is actually cracked hooves. But like all the others, balance is key to avoid selenium toxicity.

If you are worried about your horse`s hoof health, make sure their diet is balanced, and they are receiving their daily nutritional requirements. Need help? Send us a message, we`re happy to assist.

Our original mash, Lupin Fibre Cubes are simply fibre and simply excellent. Keep your horse`s fibre diversity high for a healthier microbiome and all the benefits that follow:

🟡 A highly digestible fibre source, made from 100% lupin hulls with no additives
🟡 Ultra-low in starch and sugars - NSC 5.3% and maximum starch 0.7%
🟡 High in super fibres and natural pectins (prebiotics) to assist with the growth of healthy gut bacteria
🟡 Perfect for boosting the healthy fibre in their diet
🟡 Cool source of energy
🟡 Quick-soaking mash, ready in under 10 minutes
🟡 Flexible! Can be fed with concentrates, grains or supplements as needed
🟡 Healthy proteins and amino acids contribute to conditioning, topline and coat shine
🟡 Wallet-friendly and more cost-effective than other fibre supplements
🟡 Low in iron to suit Western Australian horses, who have a high exposure to iron through water, pastures and hay

#lupinfibrecubes #lupinfibremash #horsemash #mash #lowsugarandstarch #ulcersafe

Energy in v. Energy out - have you got the balance of energy right for your horse? Energy balance in your horse`s diet refers to the amount of energy that they are consuming against the energy they are using.

Energy is life. All horses and ponies need energy to fuel basic daily functions, cellular functions, daily activity and maintaining health. When you add athletic performance, growth or reproduction on top, their energy requirements change, so it is important to achieve the right energy balance to meet the needs of your horse or pony.

There are three main categories for energy balance:

➕ Positive energy - the diet is providing more energy than they would need to maintain weight.
This is used when they need to gain body condition, grow or recover from exercise.

🟰 Net Zero energy - the diet is providing energy that meets the requirements of daily activity, so they maintain body condition.

➖ Negative energy - the diet is providing less than the horse needs. This may be used for overweight horses needing to decrease their body condition score.

Regular Body Condition Scoring is an important way of monitoring whether your horse`s energy balance is right for them, and adjusting energy balance is not about overfeeding or restricting feed.

Horses and ponies need to be getting enough fibre and forage to meet their needs (minimum 1.5%-2% of their body weight daily in forage, so adjusting energy intake can be more about adjusting energy density of feeds or changing the amount of energy they are using through exercise.

#tiptuesday #horsefeed #horseenergy #horses #horsecare

DID YOU KNOW? Horses and ponies have the smallest stomach in relation to body size of all domesticated animals. The average stomach size (volume) for a horse is only 10L, and a pony`s stomach is even smaller! How big is 10L? It`s about the size of a small jerry can or the average household bucket 🪣

It`s important to know this, because when you are putting your feeds together, you need to consider volume and not overfeed. The MAXIMUM volume you should offer in any single feed is 2/3`s of their total stomach volume.
That is:
➡️ 8L for a 500kg horse
➡️ 3-4L for a 250kg pony
This volume includes NO MORE than 2kg of grain or pellets (for a 500kg horse).

WHY?
When a horse`s stomach gets full, it actually starts to push undigested feed out into the small intestine, where the starch and sugars won`t be properly digested. This then travels to the hindgut where it can cause changes to the bacteria, lactic acid build up and lead to acidosis.

#factfriday #horsehealth #horsefact #horsefeed #horsefeeding #horsecare #horses