LucieNuts & PuraBeet - Horse Feeds of the Month January 2015

06 January 2015

Did you know that 30% of the horses in the UK are aged over 15 years? We did a quick survey of 60 of our customers’ horses and found that 25% were over 20 years. This means we are taking good care of our older horses and keeping them healthy for longer. All too often, the one thing that lets them down is their teeth. Even with the best car e in the world, the teeth will be suffering the effects of age from about 20 years on and by 30, most horses will be losing teeth. If a horse cannot eat enough forage, the guts as well as the whole horse will suffer.

Old horses with dental issues in effect need pre-chewed forage. Horses with perfect teeth chew their food down to around 2mm so it makes sense to provide a food that is just that.

Lucie^®Nuts are 10 – 12mm pellets are made from a coarser grist than most other pellets and soak to form a fine chop which horses find much more acceptable and is better for their gut function too. With lots of natural vitamins, minerals and trace elements, no additives along with low sugar and starch, this feed is safe for just about all horse and ponies. Combine it with our PuraBeet soaked to soft, succulent pieces, and you have an economical, nutritious and palatable alternative to hay or haylage for your dentally challenged equine.

Signs of dental issues: quidding, weight loss, hollow flanks, smaller and drier droppings, long pieces of fibre visible in droppings, pulling weird faces, eating less hay, food stuck between the teeth, starting to eat hungrily then stopping, getting grumpy, colic, lethargy and ability to eat short grass but not long grass.

Suitable for: all equines including those prone to laminitis and those with metabolic issues.

Also good for: post surgery, diastema, abnormalities of the oesophagus, difficulty eating.

Ideal with: Total Eclipse balancer, or for those requiring support for joints, Flexi Balance

Feeding rate suggestion: Lucie^®Nuts: up to 1% of correct body weight; PuraBeet, 0.5%.