Posted: 10th May 2018 | Back to news feed
From science to stable - Haygain confirm their spot as industry leaders in horse health
Mark Todd, William Fox-Pitt, Ben Maher and Andrew Hoy are just some of the world-renowned Olympic equestrians who rely on Haygain to keep their equestrian partners in medal-winning form. The products from the Haygain range aren’t just for the elitist as many every day riders understand the benefits of their revolutionary collection.
American Show Jumper Lauren Hough confirms, “without our horses, we are nowhere. We want to give them the very best that we can.” That sentiment is shared with owners and riders across the globe - regardless of industry, discipline or the level in which they compete.
Olympians understand the importance of ensuring their horses have the very best stabling conditions and forage to enable them to perform to their very best. Professional riders often cite the plethora of benefits witnessed when horses are fed on Haygain steamed hay or are kept on the ComfortStall flooring system.
Healthy solutions for happier, healthier horses
Solving horse health problems is the core of Haygain’s origin story. The hay steaming process resulted from a quest for forage that’s free of respiratory particles, irritants, bacteria and spores, things that are prevalent in even the most expensive bales of hay.
A study conducted in Europe throughout 2013 and 2014 by Dr. Julie Dauvillier and Dr. Emmanuelle van Erck-Westergren found that feeding Haygain steamed hay significantly reduces the risk of finding fungi in horses’ airways by 72%. Horses that have fungi in their airways are 3.8 times more likely to develop Inflammatory Airway Disease so minimising this risk is of utmost importance.
The importance of REM sleep
The ComfortStall flooring system was developed to provide unprecedented cushioning and support, whether the horse is stood or lying down, and to solve the bacteria-laden petri dish that is so often present with rubber matting. Studies have shown how important REM sleep is, not only for the competition results but even from a safety aspect, particularly for jumpers and eventers.
REM sleep can only happen in the horse when lying flat, because the muscles will relax completely. This should promote glycogen uptake in fatigued muscles – known to take twice as long in horses as humans. Also, REM sleep allows memory processing, and so the ability to learn. In support of these findings in horses, a study in show-jumping has found performance declined significantly (slower rounds with significantly more jumping faults), when horses spent less time the nights before in Slow Wave Sleep. This was for low-level competition, and the researchers hypothesise the effect may be even greater in high-level performance horses.
Horse health
Horse health and wellbeing are at Haygain’s laser focus. They’re continually working with their team of scientists and nutritionists to ensure their data, research and studies are as current as possible, with the health of the horse at the forefront of their work.
For more information please visit www.haygain.com.
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