With better diagnostic tools and techniques, ulcers are being more widely diagnosed. There are basically three types of stomach ulcers and horses can also get hind gut ulcers which are much harder to diagnose as they are out of reach of any endoscope. The stomach ulcers can be squamous, which occur in the upper part of the stomach that is not protected against acid. These may be a result of working a horse on an empty stomach. Mucosal or glandular ulcers occur in the lower part of the stomach and these are more associated with stress. Pyloric ulcers occur near the pyloric valve, between the stomach and the first part of the small intestine. These are more likely when the horse has been fasted for several hours. Read more

Congratulations to Charlene Goudkuil who has had a fantastic 2019 polo season. Read a write up of Charlene and her ponies' season below:

Following a successful 2018 and my debut for the Netherlands Ladies Team in Italy 2018, 2019 exceeded all expectations and has been another great year. I played both mixed and ladies polo in the UK and finished the season with 3 super ponies. Dorado (bright bay with small white star), Picosa (dark bay mare with white face) and a new addition 5yo Ricardito (palomino). Small and Fernet both moved on to two great new homes. In all the ponies have been on amazing form this season and continue to be fuelled by Simple System Horse Feeds for energy and stamina the natural way. Read more

Autumn can be a tricky time for horses and ponies prone to laminitis. Mild temperatures and wet weather provide ideal conditions for grass to start growing again after going dormant over the hotter and drier summer months. The cooler months can bring a flush of lush grass high in sugars.

Horses and ponies that are overweight, older or have existing metabolic issues will be more at risk. It is important that your horse not be allowed to gain too much weight – cresty necks and fat pads on other parts of the body are an indicator that the balance of hormones is getting out of kilter and the risk of laminitis is greater. Read more

🌟 WIN 🌟 To celebrate our new season crop of Timothy Chop we have 3 bags of Timothy Chop to give away to 3 lucky winners!

Timothy Chop is made from?
1) 100% pure timothy grass
2) 100% pure straw
3) 100% pure lucerne

To enter:
1. Like Simple System Horse Feeds Facebook page.
2. Comment on the competition post answering the question.

Competition closes at midnight on Monday 12th August 2019. One winner will be picked at random. The winner will be contacted directly, if we have not received a response from the winner in 24 hours the prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be chosen.

Good Luck! Read more

This green stuff is confusing! Here are my horses up to their armpits in lush green grass. I thought they would for sure get the scours when I took them off of the very short grass they were on – with all the rain coming they would have turned that paddock into a ploughed field and it would never grow decent grass again! But actually, their droppings went from green and sloppy on the short grass to golden brown and formed on this new grass, more like hay fed horse droppings. It might look like a nightmare about to happen, but in practice, it is actually much better for them than the short grass was. It is higher in fibre, probably lower in nutrients and undoubtedly takes a lot more chewing! Food for thought? Take home message – long grass might actually be better for horses than short grass. Or did we not know that already?

Jane van Lennep, Director of Nutrition Read more