Diet Planning - Top Tips for Feeding at Grass

Now the summer months are well and truly here it is lovely to see our horses grazing for longer making the most of the summer weather after a particularly tricky winter. Here are our top tips for summer feeding.

Top Tip 1: Grass alone does not provide your horse with everything that they need.

Although many horses and ponies can easily maintain weight at grass this does not necessarily mean that they are getting everything that they need from grass alone, especially if they are youngsters, horses on restricted rations or are working and competing regularly.

Many UK pastures are low in trace minerals some of which are important antioxidants in the horse’s diet. Although nutrient deficiency may not be immediately obvious if you want your horse to look their best long term, including coat and hoof condition, then supplementation is a must.

Dengie Field Lick is a weatherproof feed block that offers an economical alternative to supplementary feed for horses and ponies at grass. Using a Dengie Field Lick ‘tops up’ on nutrients that may be lacking in pasture and when horses are fed less than recommended of a commercial feed with added vitamins and minerals. A Dengie Field Lick will last 3 horses sharing a paddock on average 1 week.

If your horse still receives a ‘bucket’ feed, but plenty of grass means that they don’t need as much as they did over the winter months then they may be missing out on important nutrients. If you feed your horse a fibre only ration or less than recommended of a traditional concentrate then top up with one of the Dengie Balancers or a supplement from the Natural Vitality Vits & Mins range.

It is also important to remember that veteran horses and ponies also benefit from an all round balanced diet even if they are retired. Natural Vitality Senior Vits & Mins is a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement formulated specifically for the veteran horse or pony. As well as providing a broad-spectrum of vitamins and minerals Natural Vitality Senior Vits & Mins also provides glucosamine for joint support and prebiotics for digestive support.

We have 50, 7 day horse supply samples of Natural Vitality Senior Vits & Mins to give away – just send us an e-mail stating Free NVSVM sample with your name and address and we will post a sample to you.

Top Tip 2: Support your horse’s skin.

As much as we love summer so do biting midges, insects and flies all of which can be problematic for our horses. The old adage prevention is better than cure is certainly true when it comes to flies and midges. Stable and field management can go a long way to help reduce exposure.

Dengie LiteLick Garlic is a low sugar lick with added garlic that can be used in the paddock as a palatable low sugar treat and to top up vitamins and minerals. In addition the garlic in LiteLick Garlic is believed to have natural fly repellent properties. Due to the low sugar level of 7%, LiteLick Garlic is also suitable for laminitis prone individuals providing intake is monitored.

As well as supporting skin from the outside with lotions and potions it is also important to support the skin from within. Providing an all round balanced diet will help to keep your horse looking good, but despite having a balanced diet some horses and ponies may need that little extra help to get them looking their best.

If you are looking for show coat ‘bloom’ adding Dengie Natural Vitality Joint & Condition to your horses ration may help. Natural Vitality Joint & Condition is a natural oil supplement that provides omega-3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids. Natural Vitality Joint & Condition is the best non-marine source of omega-3 available for your horse. Supplying sources of omega-3 essential fatty acids is also thought to offer some support for the skin of horses and ponies that have sweet itch.

If your horse has poor coat and hoof condition then Dengie Natural Vitality Coat & Hoof may be a more appropriate option than just oil alone. Natural Vitality Coat & Hoof is formulated to be fed on top of a balanced diet and includes key ingredients and nutrients such as alfalfa, omega oils, biotin and zinc that can help to promote excellent coat and hoof condition.

Top Tip 3: Summer Sparkle?

Horses can often appear to have a much more chilled out attitude to life in the summer months especially whilst at grass. While for most this is a lovely relaxing time, for others who have to tire themselves out encouraging their horses to go forward it may be frustrating.

Being fit enough for the job in hand is very important, as no matter what you feed if your horse is not fit enough for the job it won’t make a difference. In terms of maintaining summer sparkle there are several things to check. Firstly is the ration balanced with respect to vitamins and minerals? Is your horse drinking enough and if your horse is working hard or sweats a lot are you using electrolytes to aid hydration? If the answer is yes to all of these then having a look at the type of energy source supplied in the ration may be useful.

To promote sparkle or ‘oomph’ then it is sources of ‘quick release’ energy such as starch from cereal grains that can be helpful. Dengie Naked Oats are a variety of huskless oat that are more energy dense than traditional oats. In practice this means that you can get away with feeding less to achieve the desired response.

Top Tip 4: Manage Bodyweight

Some horses look at summer pasture and pile on the pounds even if they are working regularly. If this sounds like your horse, then feeding a fibre based ration can give greater feeding flexibility.

Rather than using small quantities of a traditional mix or cube use a Dengie fibre feed as the base to the ration according to your horse’s bodyweight and workload and then top up with a Dengie Balancer or supplement from the Vits & Mins range to ensure a balanced diet. Although we put suggested feeding quantities on the fibre feed bags in practice you can feed as little as necessary to maintain your horse’s weight. For example, if you literally need a couple of handfuls to maintain your horse’s weight and act as a carrier for a balancer or supplement then that’s fine.

Despite good grazing, some horses that are busy competing over the summer months may still struggle to maintain their weight. Dengie Alfa-A Oil is pure alfalfa with a soya oil coating and has an energy level comparable to a conditioning or competition mix/cube, but without the starch. Being based entirely on slow release energy sources, Alfa-A Oil is excellent for working horses or those that struggle to maintain condition that can also be fizzy and stressy.

Natural Vitality Digestive Health Plus is also a useful addition to the ration of competing horses and ponies or those that struggle to maintain condition. Combining a prebiotic, probiotic and yeast all in one supplement Natural Vitality Digestive Health Plus can help to support digestive health and efficiency.

Top Tip 5: Limited appetite or feeling fussy?

Hot weather, hard work and filling up on grass may all be reasons for horses having limited appetites or suddenly feeling fussy. If your horse is otherwise healthy, not normally a fussy feeder and usually has a good appetite one of the first things to check is that your horse is drinking enough and receiving sufficient electrolyte supplementation as a dehydrated horse is unlikely to want to eat.

Dengie Alfa-Beet which combines alfalfa and unmolassed sugar beet with a convenient 2 hour cold soak time is excellent for aiding hydration. Used as part of the bucket feed, Alfa-Beet literally carries water in to the digestive tract and is also an easy way to mask the taste of supplements such as electrolytes.

If your horse is in work and has a limited appetite, using less of a higher energy feed rather than lots of a lower energy feed can help to ensure your horse ‘eats up’. For example if you use Alfa-A Original but your horse struggles to eat the full amount then step up to a lesser quantity of Alfa-A Oil which is higher in energy or ‘calories’ so that you can feed less. Dengie Alfalfa Pellets may also be useful in this situation as they are a more concentrated source of alfalfa. For example, 1.6kg of Alfa-A Original is approx 4 large round scoops whereas the same weight of Alfalfa Pellets is just one large round scoop.

If your horse is in light work and feeling fussy then a change in flavour may help encourage them to ‘eat up’. Dengie Hi-Fi Original with Apple is a tasty way to encourage your horse to eat. Like Hi-Fi Original, Hi-Fi Original with Apple is based on alfalfa and straw, but also includes real apple pellets and an apple flavour to tempt even the fussiest feeder!

For further feeding advice please call the Dengie Feedline on 0845 345 5115 or send us an e-mail.