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ChaffHorse Feed
Chaffis basically cut up and dried grass or forage and with a molasses coating commonly added to it. It’s mainly used to bulk out a feed, and is a great source of the fiber and slow releasing energy they need. It also encourages chewing, a slow consumption and healthy digestion.
Sugar BeetHorse Feed
A by-product of the sugar extraction industry – it is a great source of fiber for your horse. Providing slow releasing energy, and a healthy gut. A product such as Speedi Beet is best served soaked in water for up to 10 minutes, this is so the composition has a chance to break up.
AlfalfaHorse Feed
Alfalfa horse feed is similar to chaff, and can often be used as an alternative. Again, it is cut and dried, and also offers a lot of the same benefits. It also has it’s own benefits, such as added protein and calcium. Alfalfais used to bulk a feed, and should be fed with other feeds and never really on it’s own.
Straight Horse Feeds
Straights is a name for single ingredient horse feeds. These typically include cereals such as oats, barley, bran and maize. They are fed to the horse as a source of energy, and should really be fed in line with other feed.
Purpose Horse Feed
Conditioning Horse Feed
The purpose of a conditioning feedis to help your horse gain weight. This would generally mean muscle instead of fat – it would tone and build muscle mass. There are different kinds of conditioning horse feeds used for different purposes, for example a Topline feed will add muscle and conditioning to the top of the horse’s neck. You can get a conditioning feed in either cubes or a coarse mix (we’ll get onto these next).
BalancerHorse Feed
A balancer is recommended as a feed to be served in small quantities, as a single concentrate or as a top-up or complementary. The high nutrients are beneficial for overall health including digestive and stomach health. They are a low energy and calorie option, therefore will benefit a non-working horse.
CubesHorse Feed
Cubes are where the composition and the ingredients are compressed into more a of a pellet shape (I think some people are a bit surprised when they don’t see actual cubes!). As mentioned, a conditioning feed such as Heygates Conditioning Cubes can come as a cube, and is basically all the ingredients compressed together and bounded by an ingredient called molasses.
Coarse MixHorse Feed
A coarse mix is basically the same ingredients and composition as the cubes, but is in a looser form – like a muesli. TheHeygates Conditioning Mix, is similar to the conditioning cubes, and is also bounded by molasses.
Horse Feed Supplements
Linseed for Horses
Linseedis a great all round supplement for overall health for your horse. It covers health issues such as joint support, digestion issues, weight management and coat health. It is also suitable tohorses or ponies prone to laminitis. Linseed is completely digestible, and can be mixed in with your horse’s regular feed.
Molassesfor Horses
This is a by-product of sugar, and as mentioned earlier is commonly used for binding nutrients in horse feed. It is also used for energy release and palatability. In a coarse mix, this will give it an almost sticky texture.
Soya Oilfor Horses
This is an alternative binding supplement used for horse feed. It is usually said to be better for the horse than molasses because of the low sugar. This will give a coarse mix a drier texture.
As always, there are going to be certain horse feeds and ingredients more suited to your horse and their needs. So be wary and take time to know your horse. Also, take into consideration feeding amounts to make sure your horse is getting the right amount of food for their age, breed and size.Hopefully, this blog will have provided a decent start to your understanding of the different types horse feed, visit our online store to view more of our range and buy horse feed online! For anything else or to speak to one of our equine experts, please feel free to contact Farm and Pet Place.
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