New Leys Equestrian & Country Feeds

02/11/2025

🐴 How Much Hay (forage) Should You Be Feeding?

I’ll be honest — I’m still fairly new to the idea of actually weighing hay, and it’s something I personally don’t plan to do, as it’s not an approach I fully agree with 🤦‍♀️

In over 35 years of owning ponies and horses, I’ve always fed based on feel rather than figures as my amazing mum was very strict on how my pony’s were looked after.
My rule has always been simple: make sure they’ve got enough so they’re not left standing for hours with nothing — long before I even knew what gastric ulcers were (back in my pony days, I’d never even heard of them!)

Over the years, I’ve tried just about everything to suit the individual horse in front of me:

• Ad-lib off the floor
• Large-holed nets
• Restricted small-holed nets (even double or triple netted!)
• Mixing straw with hay (around 25/75)
• Soaking hay when needed
• Pretty much every type of hay/Haylage — Timothy, meadow, seed, rye… you name it!

But one thing I’ve never done is leave them with not enough forage overnight to last them. After all, how do you really know when your horse runs out?

Why? Because I truly believe that stabled horses should always have access to something to nibble on. While weight-based charts can be a useful guide, I think they can sometimes be too rigid — horses aren’t just numbers on a page.

Of course, metabolic and health conditions absolutely need careful management. But if a horse is regularly left without forage for long periods simply to control weight, it might be worth looking at the bigger picture — diet, turnout, exercise, and general management. In some severe cases, it may even raise questions about quality of life and welfare.

Forage really is king (or queen 👑). It’s the foundation of every good feeding plan. Sometimes we have to adapt — like soaking hay in the freezing cold 😩 — but keeping their natural need to trickle-feed at the centre of your management is so important.

Every horse is different, and that’s perfectly okay. Feed the horse in front of you, not the number on the chart — and always keep their welfare at the heart of every decision.

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Feel free to share or debate 😀🤣

01/11/2025

Open every Saturday 9am to 12pm for walk-in’s so just pop down

Fully stocked with lots of different bedding options & plenty of feed on the shelves

I also deliver so if your wanting your feed delivered to your door just let me know your location to see if it covered

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26/10/2025

🐴 Ragwort Awareness: Protecting Horses from Hidden Danger in Hay and Pasture

I feared this might happen — and unfortunately, it’s likely to become a common issue this year with people worrying about whether something is ragwort or not.

With hay supplies under pressure, many producers are sourcing bales from wherever they can, which means quality and plant content can no longer be guaranteed. Ragwort contamination is appearing more frequently, and even small amounts can pose a serious risk to horses.

In some ways, spotting it in your hay is a small advantage — at least it can be picked out before feeding. Larger round or square bales tend to show whole stems, whereas smaller bales often chop the plant too finely to detect.

This situation makes it more important than ever to know where your hay comes from and to ask your supplier whether they can guarantee it’s as ragwort-free as possible. A little extra vigilance now could prevent devastating consequences later.

25/10/2025

Something a little different for me this afternoon but something I highly recommend

I was pretty apprehensive about doing this as in all honesty I didn’t think I would enjoy it plus I feared it would show up all of my bad habits which it did but not in a negative way 🤣 it highlighted how I drop more weight through my right leg, drop my right shoulder plus I ride defensively which all makes sense to how Shammy goes.

I do highly recommend Lucy, she was great and picked up instantly what my issues were and how to correct them as I honestly didn’t think I was quite so wonky 🤣

https://www.lucymcwilliam.com/

Lucy believes in improving the rider to improve the horse. Roo the Riding Simulator is a perfect training aid to achieving a better understanding between horse and rider.

22/10/2025

Thursday deliveries ☔️ 🌧️

Please bear with me on Thursday as this weather isn’t looking great for loading or delivering especially paper feed bags 😩

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18/10/2025

17/10/2025

I’m open Saturdays 9am to 12pm for all your horses feed & bedding needs

I have plenty of bedding including:

- pellets (wood & straw)
- Chopped rape straw
- chopped wheat straw
- Shavings
- Shavings/sawdust mix
- Woodpulp

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16/10/2025

Luckily I spotted this lovely lady checking out my van earlier. She very nearly came on a road trip with me 🤣

16/10/2025

Rug washing

Please note due to a high demand in rug washing I’m working on a 1-2 week turnaround depending on numbers and locations

Collections can be slightly quicker but I cannot guarantee this but feel free to ask.

Repairs:

Repairs are taking anywhere between 2-4 weeks depending on damage. This is taking into account washing them.

No guarantee can be given regarding timings so some may take longer and some only a few days so again while I do my best to turn rugs around quickly due to volume I sadly cannot guarantee this so the above is an estimate only.

‼️‼️Any repairs moving forward must be photographed and sent to me prior to me collecting or being dropped off s@top fanswhat needs doing ‼️‼️

If you want a pre quote before any work is carried out please let me know in advanced otherwise it will just be sent off and work carried out.

Many thanks for your understanding

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09/10/2025

As cats are also my top 3 ❤️ I think this is important to share and I ask everyone to share if in the Wellingborough area as this is a terrible virus for cats to get 😔

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17EQBV8WC7/?mibextid=wwXIfr