In addition to providing honest advice, we at AskHELTIE believe it's important to have a wealth of information available for horse owners. This way, you can expand your knowledge and help your horse to the best of your ability. Together, we ensure that horses come a little closer to nature.
Others
Tendons
The effect of substrate on the tendons of horses
During a lameness examination, attention is always paid to how the horse moves on a hard surface and on a soft surface. Sometimes, a horse may limp on a hard surface but not on a soft one. This can provide a lot of valuable information for a veterinarian! The surface on which a horse walks has an impact on its body and also affects it.. Susceptible to injury Horses are prone to injury, especially when it comes to their legs. It is not uncommon for a horse to stumble (during training), land incorrectly after a jump, bump itself, slip, overstretch, or experience chronic overloading. This can lead to injuries, especially to the tendons of the horse. In addition to their legs, and tendons in particular, being injury-prone, the surface on which a horse walks also has a certain influence on the tendons. Therefore, it is important to...
Feeding
Pasture
How do you get your horse used to grass?
Spring is on its way! As the ground warms up again, the grass starts growing. And when the grass has grown strong enough, your horse can go back to the pasture. Naturally wonderful. But how do you ensure the transition to pasture grazing goes as smoothly as possible so that your horse can get used to the grass?. Grass starts to grow when the soil temperature is between 5°C and 8°C. Grass growth is optimal between a soil temperature of 12°C and 20°C. When the soil temperature exceeds 25°C, the grass temporarily stops growing. So, a soft and moist spring is optimal for grass growth. Transitioning Diet If your horse has not been on grass during the winter, the switch to pasture grazing can be quite drastic for the digestive system. Going from a diet of dry hay to juicy and sugary grass is a big change for...
Guest blog
Pasture
# Guest blog Horse & Habitat: everything about sowing your pasture
Spring is a good time to start sowing. Sowing has several advantages. You can fill in bare spots with plants you want to have there, which inhibits the growth of unwanted plants such as ragwort. You can also improve the composition of your pasture by sowing grass species that are lower in sugar than English ryegrass.. When sowing, you naturally want the germination of your seed mixture to be as good as possible. You have invested money and time in the seed mixture and sowing. The success of the germination of a seeded grass mixture depends not only on the quality of the seeds. In fact, seeds must meet certain quality requirements and actually only deteriorate if stored for a long time (longer than a year). The success of the germination of a seed mixture mainly depends on the type and conditions of your soil....
Guest blog
Feeding
Guest blog Bart van Heesbeen: Prevailing beliefs about nutrition in equestrian sports
In my previous article for HELTIE horse® I wrote about natural nutrition in sports. In this sequel, I would like to discuss prevailing beliefs in the equestrian world and whether they are accurate. In equestrian sports, there are often many different beliefs regarding nutrition. 'He needs a lot of energy' or 'he will gain weight from too much concentrate.' Maybe you can think of more. What's interesting for me is that I can understand these opinions very well, as I also come from the world of sports. Therefore, I want to start with my own belief; 'Everyone always does it with good intentions.' Within his/her knowledge, everyone has the best interest of their horse in mind. As long as we hold on to this belief, we can have a respectful conversation with each other.. To get a good context, we need to understand where certain beliefs come from. In the past, horses were used for work in the fields. Initially, they were fed generous amounts of grain. Primarily oats were used for this, and sometimes barley as well. These are the two grains that were originally the easiest for horses to digest. The horses had to work all day in the fields, which naturally had a huge impact. Concentrate feed was needed to endure this. Due to the work, the negative effects of grain...
Others
The best start for your foal
After eleven months of waiting, the time has finally come, your foal is born! Of course, we all want our foals to grow up into strong, healthy, and happy horses. How do you ensure that your foal gets the best possible start in life?. First day When your foal is just born, the most important thing is for it to receive enough colostrum. In the first six to eight hours, your foal should ideally have ingested one to two liters of this thick milk full of antibodies. It's difficult to see if your foal has actually consumed enough colostrum. Even seemingly active and playful foals sometimes lack enough antibodies. Therefore, have your veterinarian perform a quick test, preferably between 12 and 24 hours after birth. This can be don...
Others
How to read a label of a horse supplement?
Etiketten, what a drama sometimes to clearly understand what exactly is in there. It's full of legal obligations and with that the "sales pitch". But even that sales pitch is sometimes very cryptically described. So how should you actually read a label?. Labels of horse feed and supplements are different! We always emphasize that you should carefully read the labels of a feed bag so you know exactly what the ingredients are and also review the analysis. Because that information says a lot about how good this feed is for horses. For horse feed, for example, you don't want it to be full of just grains and you want the sugar and starch percentage to be nice and low. Unfortunately, this knowledge about labels of horse feed is not completely applicab...
Minerals
Rosehip
Vitamin E
Keep broodmare resistance high for childbirth!
Did you know that foals are born with virtually no immune system? Only a small part of the necessary antibodies is already present before birth via the placenta to the foal. All other antibodies they need to be able to deal with viruses and bacteria are obtained from the mare's colostrum. That is the first milk produced immediately after birth.. So colostrum is incredibly important for the foal! A foal that does not receive enough colostrum is very vulnerable and can deteriorate quickly. But the foal not only needs to drink enough colostrum, the quality of that colostrum is also very essential. The mare can only produce good colostrum when her own immune system is in good shape. And as an owner, you can help her with that. Vitamins and minerals for resistance broodmare A growing foal in the womb requires a lot of minerals, vitamins, as...
Behaviour
Magnesium
Others
Silicon
Is rearing the best place for foals to grow up?
Most foals go to a special place for rearing after weaning. Here they usually spend about two to two and a half years. But does a foal actually have to be in rearing? What does good rearing look like? And what are the alternatives?. Because we don't have a lot of space everywhere in the Netherlands, you often find affordable rearing locations for foals in the more rural provinces, or even abroad. As the owner of a young horse, you usually don't have daily visibility. This makes choosing a good rearing location quite difficult. Important aspects to consider in your choice are herd composition, feeding policy, and exercise. Behavior specialist chooses mixed herd Dr. Machteld van Dierendonck of the Faculty of Veterinary Medici...
Vitamin E
Better fertility of mares and healthy foals thanks to vitamin E
Vitamin E plays an important role in improving fertility in mares. This has been known for humans for some time. But this vitamin also has a positive effect on horses. Vitamin E is often used together with other antioxidants. It increases the fertility of mares and stallions and ensures better resistance in breeding mares and their newborn foals.. The effectiveness of vitamin E in people with fertility problems has been well researched. There have also been a number of scientific studies done in horses. Vitamin E deficiency Vitamin E is an incredibly important vitamin. Not only for fertility, but also for your horse's muscles and nervous system. It is a powerful antioxidant. Because horses do not produce vitamin E themselves, it must come from their diet. Grass contains a lot of easily absorbable vitamin E, so horses that spend all day in...
Nettle
Rosehip
Prevent resistance dip in horse? Choose nettle and rosehip!
At the end of winter/in early spring, many horses experience a dip in resistance. Horses are shedding their winter coat and preparing themselves for spring. This is also a period where there can be significant temperature differences, with frost at night and temperatures above 10 degrees during the day. But how can you prevent a resistance dip in your horse?. Liquid rosehip for extra antioxidants and vitamin C Rosehip is a fruit known for being very good for overall resistance and many horses find it very tasty! Many horse owners give these fruits in dried form, and it is a delicious treat for horses. But if you really want to use rosehip for its medicinal properties and truly boost your horse's resistance, always choose a liquid rosehip tincture. Through a tincture, more medicinal substances can be extracted from the fruits, making the effect much s...
Feeding
Roughage for horses: there is more than hay!
When we ask our customers what roughage their horse gets, the standard answer is (pre-cut) hay. And this is logical, because this is also the largest source of roughage for horses. But there are several types of roughage that can provide more variety for your horse and even make it possible to keep (almost) all horses on unlimited roughage! In this blog, we will gladly explain to you which types of roughage there are, in addition to unpackaged hay/pre-cut.. But first: what we prefer. We are gradually seeing a shift towards unpackaged hay and we are extremely happy about that! Even large stables are increasingly opting for unpackaged hay and that is so incredibly nice to read. Our preference is really for unpackaged hay. Pre-cut/silage always undergoes a fermentation process because it is wrapped in plastic, which results in, among other things, a different pH. This disturbs so much in the body, causing overall resistance to decrease, minerals to be...
Vitamin E
What feed and supplements for optimal fertility of breeding stallions?
Just like broodmares, breeding stallions may sometimes need some extra support. Especially if they are also used in sports or do a lot of breeding. Of course, not everyone has a KWPN breeding stallion in the stable, but there are quite a few people in the Netherlands and Belgium who breed with, for example, Shetland ponies or their own crosses. What should you look out for in the nutrition for optimal fertility of a breeding stallion?. While stallions do not carry the foal and therefore do not need to receive the building blocks for, for example, the skeleton of a foal like broodmares, they still have special nutritional needs. These are mainly related to fertility. Optimal fertility of breeding stallions You want a breeding stallion to be as fertile as possible. This is to prevent disappointments and a lot of effort, energy, and costs for veterinarians and travel for both the stallion owner and the mare owner. In some breeds,...