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A good year for hay making?
he hot dry weather we all experienced this summer allowed lots of sweet-smelling hay to be made, but this hay must be fed with caution especially if you have a horse whose diet must be watched for sugar content. In prolonged periods of hot dry weather, sugar will accumulate in the grass due to the lack of water and extreme temperatures acting to inhibit grass growth. When grass cannot grow, the sugars it produces as a product of photosynthesis will not be utilised and these are stored for when conditions allow rapid growth after rain. Furthermore, when this grass is cut, the hot sun would have allowed the grass to dry very quickly and so very little stored sugar will be broken down as the grass respires. The resulting hay will therefore smell divine but could have dangerous levels of sugar particularly for horses who are prone to laminitis or have other conditions such as Insulin Resistance or Cushing’s. Additionally, it is important to know what species of grass your hay predominately contains as species such as Ryegrass will naturally contain higher levels of sugar compared to species such as meadow grass, fescues or Timothy.
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The only way to know for sure whether your hay is safe to feed is have it nutritionally tested. This will then tell you if the combined sugar and starch levels are below 10% as fed or if soaking is required. At Devon Haylage, we have already had people contact us to explain that even after many hours of soaking, their hay still contains too much sugar for their horse and so have chosen to move onto our Timothy haylage which has very low levels of sugar and is the go to choice for many owners who wish to feed a consistently high quality and palatable forage. So, to be on the safe side, consider nutritionally testing any of this year’s hay and continue to monitor sugar sensitive horses by regularly checking for digital pulses, abnormal heat in the hooves and cresty necks. Our haylage is available to be delivered direct by the pallet if not available in a local store.
For more information on our haylage or to request a free sample please email
claire@devonhaylage.co.uk or phone 01404 813100.
The Original and the Best 10 Minute Quick Soaking Beet
Speedi-Beet from British Horse Feeds is a highly nutritious, quick soaking beet pulp feed with no added molasses, making it 95% sugar-free.
Made using only best quality British beet pulp, Speedi-Beet is subjected to our patented cooking process to produce a unique feed which is unlike any other horse beet.
It contains a high proportion of soluble fibre, mostly pectins, which means its fibre is more easily digested than forage, e.g. hay. This makes it a great source of non-heating, slow release energy. This versatile feed can be fed in small amounts to overweight horses as a carrier for a multivitamin and mineral supplement, or in larger quantities to a poor doer for weight gain, or to a working horse for energy. Speedi-Beet is a BETA-approved soaked fibre, suitable for equines prone to gastric ulcers, as part of a balanced diet.
Available in easy-to-handle 20kg bags and retails at around £12.50 - £13.50. Feeding High Fibre with Fibre-Beet
A super-fibre conditioning feed, Fibre-Beet is a formulated blend containing all the benefits of the original Speedi-Beet product, with added high quality Alfalfa for optimum condition and to provide quality protein for muscle tone and function.
Fibre-Beet has been carefully designed to help keep the digestive system healthy with a blend of fibre sources that provide gut fill and are easily digested when compared to forage fibre. Fibre-Beet can improve energy intake whilst keeping dietary fibre levels at an optimum providing slow release energy without the ‘fizz’. Ideal for all horses when fed appropriately, including those prone to digestive upsets and fussy eaters, Fibre-Beet has added biotin for hoof quality and is an ideal fibre source for horses and ponies prone to laminitis.
Fibre-Beet also provides a good range of minerals, trace elements and amino acids and it has a low sugar content. It can also be used as a forage replacer (up to 60% of the daily forage allowance) when turnout is limited.
Soaked and ready to feed in only 45 minutes in cold water, or 15 minutes in warm water. RRP is £13.50 - £14.50.
For more information contact British Horse Feeds on 01765 680300 or visit
www.britishhorsefeeds.com 18 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 For the latest news visit
www.centralhorsenews.co.uk
20 years of devotion to healthy forage production. The central part of your horse’s diet .
For current nutritional information and purchasing options please visit our website. Available from wide range of stockists.
devonhaylage.co.uk 01404 813100
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