Mansfield Produce & Pet Supplies

16/07/2025

15/07/2025

It seems we are having network issues with both telephone and internet.
Apologies if you are unable to connect with us

07/07/2025

Beat the frost with a well-timed feed 🐴

When the temperatures drop, in order to keep warm during the cold, horses will burn energy to maintain their body temperature through thermoregulation.

Your horse relies on more than just a rug — their digestive system becomes a natural heat source.

By feeding fibre-rich hay like our MultiCube Hay Cubes or Compressed Hay in the late afternoon or evening, you're helping kickstart microbial fermentation in the hindgut right when they need warmth the most.

This slow, steady breakdown of fibre produces heat from the inside out, making evening feeding a smart strategy during winter.

Tip: Want to boost the warmth? Our lucerne cubes offer an extra hit of protein, generating even more heat for those harder keepers.

To find a MultiCube stockist visit: https://www.multicube.com.au/stockists/

14/06/2025

🥶 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗜𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿?

❄️ This is the time of year where we start to see a real change in weather which generally involves temperatures dropping and ugly tracksuit pants being pulled from the back of the closest (or is that just me?).

🐴 What we must keep in the forefront of our minds, is that this colder weather makes our horses less inclined to drink adequate amounts of water. I see plenty of people assume that because it is no longer hot, or because their horse is no longer sweating during the day, they no longer need to supplement salt.

🧂 Why is this a dangerous decision? Because horses need sodium to trigger their thirst reflex. They don’t feel thirsty because they are hot, sweaty, and they especially don’t feel thirsty if it is cold and raining, so we must offer a source of sodium to kick the drive to drink into gear.

🌾 Winter months generally see a decline in pasture quality and a subsequent increase in the amount of hay we are feeding, which is important for digestive health and body temperature regulation, but it also means an increase in dry matter being ingested, and a higher risk of impaction colic if the horse is not drinking enough to keep the digestive tract hydrated and chugging along.

🐎 I prefer adding loose salt to a daily meal so that I know my horses have received their base requirement each day, but it’s also a good idea to leave loose salt out for them to help themselves to. Loose salt is easier to consume and kinder on teeth and tongues than blocks are in my experience.

💧As always, horses should have access to clean, cool (but not freezing!), and fresh drinking water at all times. Make sure water sources are in areas that are frequented often, and make sure the water is not too hot or cold for the horse to consume comfortably.

10/06/2025

There’s a temporary change in packaging for a poultry product you know and love. 💕

Did you know…58 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer every day. At Green Valley Grains, we believe in giving back to the community that supports us.

With our Pink Edition Open Range Poultry Mix, we’re donating $1 per bag to the National Breast Cancer

Foundation to help fund life-saving research. Together, we can make a difference—one bag at a time.

Find a store near you & join the movement.

🌾

06/06/2025

⏰ 𝗛𝗮𝘆 𝗢’𝗖𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸

🥶 Brrrrrrrrr…..

🌾 I am regularly asked what the best time of day is for a horse to be fed, and the answer is generally ‘whatever time is most convenient…’ however during winter, what time of day you feed hay in particular can be an important management tool for weight loss prevention and temperature regulation.

🔥 In order to keep warm during the cold, horses will burn energy to maintain their body temperature through thermoregulation. What is interesting, is that a horse has a built-in fermentation vat inside them known as the hindgut or large intestine. The predominant purpose of the hindgut is to break down fibrous matter and convert it into energy and nutrients that can be utilised by the horse. This biological process is called microbial fermentation, and a by-product of fibrous matter being broken down is… heat.

🐴 Food moves rather quickly through a horse’s stomach and small intestine (1-2 hours on average) however, it can remain in the hindgut for up to 36-72 hours during the microbial fermentation process. Food produces more heat in a horse's hindgut when it first enters as this is when the most active breakdown of fibrous materials occurs, releasing a significant amount of heat. As the food material continues to move through the hindgut, fermentation decreases, and by the time it is ready to exit, most of the fermentable material has been processed, producing less heat.

🌡️ With that mini biology lesson out of the way, how does this information influence the most appropriate time to feed hay during winter? Given temperatures are generally lowest overnight and in the early mornings, it makes physiological sense to provide a horse with hay of a late afternoon or evening, so that by the time it reaches the hindgut, it can ignite an internal fireplace to help keep the horse warm during the coldest part of the day.

🌱 As an additional bonus, legume hays such as lucerne (alfalfa) will produce even more heat during microbial fermentation in comparison to grass hays as a result of the higher protein concentrations. Lucerne can be a really handy ‘extra’ tool for the harder keeping horses during colder months.

06/06/2025

From Tuesday 10th June we will transition to winter hours on weekdays. 0830-5pm thanks for the understanding.

06/06/2025

Yes we are open Saturday and closed Monday for 🤴🇬🇧holiday.
Tuesday we begin our winter hours 0830-5pm

26/05/2025

There is a planned NBN outage 27/05/2025.
We should still have eftpos available and one computer operating.
We appreciate your understanding if issues arise.

21/05/2025

Internet is back online
EFTPOS is back online!
Many thanks for your understanding today