Posted: 26th September 2019 | Back to news feed
Protecting your horse against a threat that is invisible to the naked eye can seem like an impossible task. One of the key difficulties in identifying the risk of mycotoxins is that they can be present without the presence of mould on feed or hay and equally, not all mould growth indicates the presence of mycotoxins.
Mycotoxins are toxic chemicals produced by some types of mould growth under certain conditions and can occur in growing, harvested or stored cereal and forage crops.
As we head into winter, horses will be relying on dried forage and concentrate feeds to maintain weight and condition but do you ever consider the quality of what you feed your horse or how it is stored? After all you are what you eat!
Here are our top three tips on how to reduce your horses’ risk of exposure to mycotoxins this winter.
- Store hay in a dry, well-ventilated environment and ensure that you feed old to new. Always thoroughly inspect hay or haylage before feeding.
- Pay attention to the use-by-date on feed bags, particularly if they contain oil or molasses and store in rodent proof bins. If rodents are allowed to chew holes in feed bags this will expose its contents to the elements.
- Properly empty feed bins and clean them our prior to refilling. Old feed stuck at the bottom of a feed bin is a breeding ground for mould.
Horses cannot avoid exposure to mycotoxins but with good management practices it is possible to significantly reduce potentially harmful effects.
Forage Guard®, the supplement from Alltech, is a natural feed material produced from yeast cell wall and micro-algae, which specifically binds mycotoxins and removes them from the gut. The active ingredient in Forage Guard® has a substantial and broad-spectrum capacity to rapidly bind multiple mycotoxins.
A 5kg tub of Forage Guard® retails at £45 and contains a 100 day supply.
For further information please visit www.lifeforcehorse.co.uk
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