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Reducing the risk of impaction colic in cold weather

When the weather turns cold, horses are less inclined to drink and coupled with sudden changes in management, such as more time spent stabled or eating more hay, this can increase the risk of impaction colic. Ensure that exercise remains part of your daily routine for stabled horses. Walking out in hand helps to keep the gut moving, reducing the risk of impaction and generating warmth in the process.

Encouraging drinking is important to help reduce the risk an impaction occurring. Here are few tips to help keep your horses hydrated...

Frost and the increased risk of laminitis

Many of us have seen hard frosts this morning and snow has even been on the cards for some parts of the country. This has the potential to increase the risk of laminitis, especially for our good doers.

When it is frosty and sunny, the grass can still make sugar but then cannot do anything with it as it is too cold for growth. Sugar levels increase and that is why there is an increased risk of laminitis in frosty weather. Also, when temperatures are sub-zero, the grass releases sugars to act as anti-freeze. Clever plants!

Itchy horses MalleMash Mallenders Sallenders Cobs

Feeding the itchy horse

Itchiness can be caused by a variety of factors; some within our control such as those affected by diet or management and some beyond our control i.e. environmental factors such as the weather or pollens. Soaps, sprays and detergents can also irritate sensitive skin and some horses do appear a lot more sensitive than others!

Itchy cobs may have underlying conditions such as Mallenders or Chronic Progressive Lymphoedema (CPL) whilst native breeds can often be prone to conditions such as sweet-itch.

There is little scientific evidence for 'best practise' but it is usually important to keep sugar and starch levels low and remove common irritants such as cereals and their by-products, also soya, molasses and artificial additives or bulkers.

Simple System Horse Feeds at the Horsemanship Showcase

We're exhibiting at the Horsemanship Showcase | 25th & 26th November

Simple System Horse Feeds are exhibiting at the Horsemanship Showcase on 25th & 26th November at Bury Farm Equestrian village. The event promises 2 Days of Horsemanship education and inspiration!

Simple System Horse Feeds will be ready to discuss forage feeding and our key ingredients - including our much loved forage legume, sainfoin.

We'll have exclusive show offers across our limited edition Christmas range and forage Brix.

Managing changes in routine during winter

In winter it can be hard to strike a balance between horse ownership and day-to-day life; less daylight means many horses spend an increasing amount of time indoors and may also have less interaction with their owners who are dashing back home to thaw out!

Some horse’s enjoy their “home comforts” - a deep bed, a pile of hay and a warm mash of soaked Lucie Nuts, but for others, spending more time stabled can be stressful and take some getting used to. Similar to changing their feed, management changes should also be introduced gradually, so if you know your yard restricts turn out from 1st December for example, start stabling them for short periods now.

If your horse doesn’t cope well with being stabled for longer, there are lots of things you can do to help:

Feeding the poor doer feeding advice from Simple System Horse Feeds

Feeding the poor doer in winter

Winter can be a challenging time for our poor doers; grass quality declines offering much less nutritional value than in the warmer seasons and the cold weather makes use of energy stores for generating heat and staying warm, on top of daily maintenance requirements and fuelling any work.

Over winter, the majority of the diet may be made up of hay or haylage which can be of varying quality and some horses may struggle to consume enough calories through hay alone. Some owners turn to high calorie cereal mixes, but with a high cereal inclusion comes a high starch level and when undigested starch passes into the hindgut, it causes a rapid drop in pH. This can lead to a disruption in the sensitive microbiome and digestive discomfort. Starchy feeds can also cause “hot” or reactive behaviour. This is why feeding large, starchy feeds, can be counterproductive for weight gain or cause secondary problems. If we make use of higher nutrition, forage-based feeds we can feed generously but keep starch levels at a minimum to support good gut health.

How much linseed is safe to feed my horse?

"How much linseed can I feed?" is a question we are often asked. Start with 20g per 100kg of the horse's ideal weight, for example 100g for a 500kg horse. If needed you can increase up to five times this amount. Build up gradually, taking up to 4 weeks to increase to this level.

Instant Linseed is nature's finest source of plant derived, essential omega 3. It is high quality with 42% oil compared with 38% in other sources of linseed. It is always a great addition to the feed, but especially with hay or haylage, as omega 3 is lost in these. During the autumn moult, additional Instant Linseed aids and hastens moulting, ensuring a healthy, shiny coat. As a natural anti-inflammatory, it is helpful in any inflammatory condition.

Back in stock | Red Bag Grass Pellets

Our Red Bag Grass Pellets are back in stock and available to order online or from your local Simple System stockist.

Providing all the goodness of spring grass, Red Bag Grass Pellets are the feed of choice for high performance horses, racing, eventing, jumping or breeding high value foals early in the year. The energy is released a little more steadily than that from cereals, so horses should settle more quickly to their work and have more stamina. 100% pure and free from all binders.

HayCare Ingredient Spotlight: Timothy Grass

HayCare, is our best selling hay replacer for horses - made from premium high fibre Timothy grass. HayCare is 100% Timothy grass, with nothing else added. This means, like all Simple System's Feeds, it is free from molasses, straw, cereals and their by-products, soya, additives and preservatives.

Native to Europe, Timothy grass (Phleum pratensis) can grow over 1m tall and is distinctly characterised by its long flowerhead. It flowers from June until September, turning a purple colour as it matures.

Timothy grass has excellent nutritional value for horses and is commonly used to make hay. The Timothy used to make our HayCare is grown specifically for us. It is tested to ensure that sugar levels are suitably low and the feed value correct. Through careful management of harvesting date and time, our grower is able to achieve naturally low sugar and starch levels, making HayCare suitable for all horses, including those with metabolic issues.

Simple System Horse Feeds at BEVA Congress 2023 - HayCare for vets

High praise for HayCare at BEVA Congress 2023

At Simple System we are always keen to expand our knowledge and professional network. Recently we attended the three day British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Congress in Birmingham.

We manned a trade stand and had some wonderful discussions about using Simple System Horse Feeds in a clinical setting as well as all of your typical day-to-day feeding conundrums: old horses, metabolic horses and those prone to ulcers. Our HayCare Care Packs were well received.

There was a wealth of information to be gained from attending the lectures which covered a broad range of topics again, ulcers featured quite heavily with a particular focus on Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD) and there was an interesting discussion on the effects anthelmintics are having on the environment, encouraging "dung beetle friendly" paddock management.

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