As we enter into March it can prove harder for some horses and ponies to maintain condition. Forage makes up the mainstay of our equine’s diet and just prior to the spring grass growth, the grazing in our pastures can be somewhat depleted. In our latest blog Scientific Nutritional Products takes a look at management and supplementing the equine diet to compensate.
Firstly and most importantly offering your horse or pony ample, good quality hay or haylage in both the stable and field can help make up for depleted grazing. The quality and palatability of the forage can determine how much to provide. A high quality forage will have more nutrients whereas a lower quality hay may need to be fed ad-lib to meet your horse’s nutritional requirements. For fussier types or older horses a hay replacer such as a high fibre grass pellet can also be beneficial.
Increasing concentrate feed can help too, within safe parameters. If you are increasing the amount of concentrate feed you provide this can be optimised by spreading out the feed into more frequent, smaller portions.
For the diet to be balanced it should contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals are important as they play a multitude of roles within the body including supporting the immune system, bone and teeth structure, benefitting eyesight and assisting nerve and muscle functioning. Horse & Pony Multi-vitamin Supplement from Scientific Nutritional Products includes over 25 essential horse Vitamins and Minerals providing everything our equines require for health and well being as well as being a great addition to the diet. A great way to support and maintain Health and Vitality.
Finally with nighttime temperatures still feeling cold management factors such as the use of rugs can be helpful for equines that are clipped, thin skinned or that have lost condition. The appropriate use of a sweat rug or fleece is also important after exercise when your horse or pony has been sweating allowing their temperature to reduce gradually and regulate to equilibrium.
Horse & Pony Multi-vitamin Supplement is part of the equine and canine supplement range from Scientific Nutritional Products and is available from www.horsesupplementsdirect.co.uk or by contacting a member of our team on freephone 0800 032 7774
