Equine Weight Solutions

24/02/2023

Can’t not share this as it is a vital message for anyone with horses or ponies prone to laminitis.

ERROR ALERT FOR LAMINITICS 🧐😖☠️

Oh help!

One of my ENLC members asked me about this forage and I'm so glad they did, because it gave me the chance to clear up a BIG error.

For laminitics it is WSC (sugar plus fructan) and energy (calories) NOT just starch and sugar (ESC) in forages, that you need to worry about!

WHY?
> Starch is consistently low in UK forages at around 2%
> Sugar and fructan (which together make up WSC) are HIGHLY variable so you really do need to worry about them both!
> Fructan DOES affect a laminitic, both in terms of insulin response (there is some evidence for this and you can read about it in the ENLC), gut health and body fat levels
> Never rely on just carb (sugar, starch, fructan) levels in forage because energy (calories) are AS important.

If in any doubt, or you don't have forage analysis, then soak your hay to reduce calories and WSC (or dilute with straw, if you follow straw feeding guidelines).

Always, always use your horse or pony's health and condition (body fat levels) to determine if a forage is suitable for them, NEVER rely 100% on a statement like this saying 'perfect for those prone to laminitis' since all horses and ponies are different.

And always remember that even a low sugar hay can cause fat gain which in turn could cause laminitis!!!

Please ask below if you are concerned and I will try to get back to you.

And please help by sharing this post (thank you) 🐴🍏

09/02/2023

I hope everyone is coping this winter, we’re over the worst 🫣🤞🤞so time to start thinking about the coming spring and summer.

Do you have a good doer or EMS/Cushings/Laminitis prone horse or pony? If so then the approaching spring and summer is likely to fill you with dread 🫣

Fear not! The first thing to do is understand what you’re dealing with and then get a plan in place of how to tackle it. The start point is an accurate weight and, as importantly, body condition score for your horse. From there we can plan how to best managed feeding, exercise and workload for the season ahead.

Even if you’re lucky enough for your horse or pony not to suffer from metabolic related disorders then having an accurate weight and body condition can be vital especially if your horse has any of the following issues:

Joint problems
Poor gut health
Poor performance
Breathing problems

All of these can be exacerbated by your horse carrying extra weight and while you spend a small fortune on supplements to try to alleviate the problem without tackling the real issue, it’s just money down the drain.

I’m now based just outside of Bury St Edmunds so covering Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex please get in touch if you would like a simple, uncomplicated and importantly unbiased weight and diet assessment for your horse.
Happy to do larger yard weigh ins or individual consultations, please do get in touch. I’m looking forward to getting out into the countryside and start finding my way around.

Pm me for more details 😎

14/11/2022

This is SO relevant. Even though it is November the grass is still growing and it’s still warm BUT I am seeing lots of horses in rugs, many of them being cobs which are pretty large.
Horses need to lose weight over winter, it rebalances their systems, allows them to enter spring and summer with the physical capacity to gain weight. So many horses don’t lose weight and every year they are getting fatter and fatter and their owners are wasting money buying supplements for breathing or joint issues, feeding increasingly higher calorie feeds as their horse lacks energy and metabolic issues because their horse is too fat🤓
Winter is FREE, use it and hit the reset button

L👀K AT YOUR HORSE, NOT THE DATE!

This autumn/winter in the UK is a great example of this guideline, which I talk about a lot.

It's almost mid-November It's been 16-18 degrees C here and the grass is growing much more than it did in the summer!

Horse owners often adjust their horse's management and diet according to time of year, or date.

I recommend instead to observe and monitor the horse - and environment - in front of you.

In this way you can keep your horse healthier and their management more appropriate.

Who else is still strip grazing?!

Feel free to share
🐴🍏

20/10/2022

This is very important especially when forage is vital for our horses central heating.

WATCH OUT FOR FORAGE WEIGHT!

Intake figures for forage are based on dry matter so don't forget to adjust!

If you are going to weigh out your horse's forage based on percent bodyweight (BW) intake please remember that the figures we use - usually somewhere between 1.8% and 2.5% BW per day - are based on DRY MATTER (DM) not fresh weight!

This means that 10kg fresh hay is around 8.8 kg DM and 10 kg haylage is about 6.5 kg DM.

You can drastically underfeed if you forget that recommended intake figures are in dry matter, especially for wetter forages like haylage.

Feel free to share 🐴🍏

13/10/2022

If anyone would like their horses or ponies weighed and checked in the coming weeks then please get in touch as soon as possible.
Some of you already know that I will be relocating the business to Suffolk towards the beginning of December so have a few weeks to get round to see everyone that needs me.
I’ve got space in the diary to fit you in so if you’d like to get your horses weight and condition checked for winter (especially worming) then let me know 😎

06/10/2022

This just about sums it up 🫣Lots of horses are back to wearing rugs overnight but sadly many of those end up still wearing them half way through the day when the temperatures are rising to high teens. Horses are very capable of managing their temperature and most really don’t need rugs at all the moment, unless to keep the rain off. They are far better off risking (maybe) being a tiny bit chilly for an hour during the early hours rather than being too warm for several hours from 5pm to 8am. Every horse is different but it’s worrying with the obesity crisis that as soon as WE start to feel a bit colder we instantly reach for the rugs……..

08/09/2022

RIP Queen Elizabeth II ❤️