Natural
Solutions for Horse Wellbeing this Winter
As winter approaches it’s important to consider how your horse’s needs will change in the colder months, and what you can do to support them.
Quality Nutrition
Due to the low
nutritional content of grass in the winter, you will likely have to adjust your
horse’s diet, and it is also widely recommended to give your horse a vitamin
and mineral supplement or a feed balancer. Transitioning
your horse or pony to new forages, feeds or supplements should be done over a
few days, if not a week. This helps the gut bacteria adjust as well maintaining
wellbeing during these changes in routine.
When choosing a supplement, it’s important to make sure it contains high quality active ingredients. Orego-Stim Equine, is Anpario’s 100% natural oregano essential oil. A unique production process protects its active properties to ensure a high quality, consistent product every time. Herbal (or “phytogenic”) supplements are proven to improve the bioavailability of essential nutrients in the diet, particularly beneficial in winter when nutritional content of feed/forage is low and getting the most out of it is vital. Phytogenics naturally contain numerous active compounds that support metabolic and physiological functions.
Key Benefits:
- Orego-Stim has a characteristic herby aroma
which can improve the palatability of feeds and encourage your horse to settle
on their winter diet.
Maintains gut motility and dropping consistency.
Supports nutrient absorption, helping to obtain the most from feed, through proper feed breakdown, nutrient use and absorption, supporting their top line condition.
Powerful antioxidant properties provide natural, long-term calming support beneficial for helping manage stress levels through the change of season
Keeping Condition
It’s important to keep
your horses joints active and supported over winter as their activity level
transitions. Cold weather combined with prolonged standing in stables can make
joints stiffer, and keeping your horse moving is essential, so continue riding
and turn them out as much as possible. Good hoof management reduces joint
strain, as does weight management, as extra weight on the joints should always
be avoided. Supplements can also be beneficial for extra joint care.
Optomega Liquid is a leading Omega-3 fatty acid supplement containing 100% high quality fish oil. An excellent source of energy for all horses and ponies.
Key Benefits:
- Omega-3 fatty acids are known to support joint
mobility through maintenance of joint health.
Helps to maintain skin and coat health, ideal for the energy intensive coat change at year end.
Due to winter diets containing less fresh forage and more hard feeds, omega-6 consumption is increased. When metabolised, excess omega-6 can induce inflammatory processes, negatively affecting health, fertility and condition. Adding a source of Omega-3 to the feed can help to mitigate the negative impact of Omega 6:3 imbalance.
Supports natural defences and maintaining immunity.
Hydrated Happy Horses
It’s critical to
maximise the amount your horse is drinking throughout the year to prevent
dehydration and colic. During the summer, lush pastures contribute massively to
your horse’s water requirement, as they contain 60-80 percent moisture.
However, dried winter feedstuffs such as hay and grain have a moisture level of
less than 15 percent.
If your horse isn’t
drinking enough in the colder weather, they may start to eat less and be prone
to impaction colic, and less feed means less energy to help them tolerate the
cold. Check troughs daily to ensure the water is clean and hasn’t frozen.
Stable Management
While
we want our horses’ staying hydrated, we need our stables to remain dry. Now
the nights are longer and wet weather is more regular, your horse is likely to
spend more time in his stable, and damp conditions can lead to mould and fungi
growth.
Now is the perfect time for a deep clean, and using a disinfectant such as Credence is the perfect easy to use solution. Credence is an effervescent tablet which is ideal for all surfaces around the yard. Verified to be effective against a wide range of known viruses, bacteria and fungi; it will help kill moulds and spores in the environment alongside other pathogens which could cause general health, gut and respiratory issues.
However, relying
solely on disinfectants is not always sufficient in ensuring a bacteria free
environment. Anpario also offers another solution to remove unwelcome excess
moisture from your stable.
Our natural, drying sanitising powder Clean & Dry, is
formulated with a blend of natural minerals and essential oils with enhanced
absorption to help provide a dry bed in the stable, yard or horse box. It can
absorb twice its weight in liquid, ensuring removal of excess moisture in the
environment, which could lead to unwanted bacterial growth. Moisture absorption
can also help reduce ammonia levels in the environment, which aids respiratory
health and supports better air quality.