Posted: 7th September 2018 | Back to news feed
Following a long and hot summer, crops of forage have been excellent quality this harvest but the extremely dry weather means that a lower volume has been produced in the second cuts due to the lack of grass growth. This also meant we saw horses and ponies as well as other livestock having to be fed extra forage to supplement their grazing, which normally wouldn’t be required until later in the year. So due to the increased earlier demand for forage, if we happen to have a long, cold or wet winter which sees our animals being kept inside for longer, this demand for forage will increase, as some supplies which had been put by for winter are being used earlier, so it makes sense to look at your horse or pony’s feed now to see how you can add some extra fibre to their diet alongside their forage.
In the wild, horses and ponies will graze for up to 18 hours a day, covering many miles in doing so. They are natural ‘trickle’ feeders and have evolved to utilise a high fibre diet, using bacterial fermentation in a highly developed large intestine. Low levels of fibre, or poor quality fibre in the diet puts horses at serious risk of problems so ideally there should be a continuous flow of fibre coming through to help protect the stomach from digestive disturbances.
The Mollichaff Complete range offers three fibre-based complete feeds: Mollichaff HoofKind Complete for horses and ponies prone to laminitis; Mollichaff Calmer Complete for nervous or excitable horses and ponies; and Mollichaff Condition Complete for encouraging weight gain and condition.
When fed at the recommended amounts, these complete feeds can be used as the sole bucket feed as they each contain a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement and only require good quality forage to be fed alongside. Being fibre-based feeds rather than cereal-based, they are a much more natural way of feeding. A fibre-based feed will weigh a lot less than cereal and so the recommended feeding amounts may seem like a lot, but it’s important to ensure your horse or pony is getting the correct amount in order for him to get all the vitamins and minerals he requires.
In addition to the complete feeds, the Mollichaff range of high quality chaffs in six tasty options is perfect for adding extra digestible fibre to your horse or pony’s diet and making your feed go further. Our chaffs are dust-extracted and have an open texture, unlike some heavily molassed chaffs which can be sticky and lumpy. By stimulating the production of saliva and slowing down the passage of food throughout the gut, Mollichaff can help maintain a healthy digestive system. In particular it will satisfy a stabled horse’s psychological need to chew, requiring up to 8000 chews per kilo to eat compared to as few as 1200 for concentrates.
For more information please call the HorseHage & Mollichaff Helpline on 01803 527274 or visit www.horsehage.co.uk
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