Alfalfa is a widely recognised ingredient for promoting digestive health due to its natural buffering properties Icon, a 4-year-old Welsh Sec D owned by Jude Raywood was diagnosed with grade 3 ulcers in March 2023. Jude’s vet suggested changing Icon’s feed to Dengie Healthy Tummy to support his overall digestive health and as part of his on-going management. After making the changes to Icon’s ration and following the vet’s treatment plan Icon scoped clear of ulcers 4 weeks later! Horses vary in how wet they like their soaked feeds. Some like them just moist enough to barely crumble, while others will eat/drink their feed in soup consistency. As a general rule, the more water the better. This makes the feed similar to pasture, improves digestibility, helps protect against choking and keeps an old horse well-hydrated. Good hydration stops food from moving slowly in the guts and reduces the risk of spasmodic or impaction colic. How long will it take to soak old horse feed?

The tighter the feed pellet then the longer the soak time will be needed. Use your eyes and perhaps your fingers to feel if the products have soaked enough. Always use a large volume of water. Weight in kilograms of old horse feed (Stubbs Scoop)As a guide, a Stubbs scoopof short chopped fibre weighs approximately 300-500g whereas the same scoop of a pelleted option (such as grass nuts or alfalfa pellets) weighs approximately 2kg. Healthy Tummy provides everything Lewi needs to support his recovery from ulcers. He has never looked so well – I wouldn’t feed anything else!

The absolute best way to avoid colic in the old horse, that you adore, is simply to understand the risk factors and try to control them where you can. Karyce realised she was going to have to make some drastic changes to the lifestyle of Della her Welsh Section C mare – she had to lose some weight as she was at risk of getting laminitis. Elderly horses often drink less. This could be due to arthritis or mouth pain, cold weather or when they are bullied by other herd members. Decreased water consumption increases the risk of impaction colic. For example, a large Stubbs scoop of Alfa-A Originalweighs 400g whereas the same scoop of Cool Mix would be about 1.25kg. This means that, to get the same weight of feed, three scoops of Alfa-A Originalwould need to be fed. Both feeds would provide the same amount of energy because both feeds contain 10MJ/kg DE, but horses and ponies will get a lot more chew time from the Alfa-A Original, which is ideal for keeping them occupied when stabled and their digestive system healthy. Weigh your horse before you weigh your feed to ascertain his bodyweightAdequate chewing is absolutely critical for exposing the interior of hays and cereals to digestive enzymes.