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.
Behaviour
Stress
Feeding
Is your horse acting normal?
Is Your Horse Acting Normal? Do you ever observe your horse in the pasture, paddock, or in the stable? What do you look for? And what stands out to you? Do you know what is 'normal' for your horse? Small deviations in a horse's behavior can be signs of early discomfort, illness, or social issues. Therefore, make it a habit to regularly observe your horse. As a horse owner, you want the best for your animal. Therefore, it is important to have an idea of what behavior is 'normal' for your horse. I...
Behaviour
Weight
Feeding
Why a retirement horse also needs to keep moving
Many people are familiar with the saying "use it or lose it", but you only truly understand the meaning when you have been inactive for a while or literally unable to move. As we age, we start to experience more difficulties if we don't keep moving. When you ask older, fit, and agile people what they do, the answer is often: 'Eat healthy and walk'. Moving becomes more challenging as you get older, but you can still keep moving, as long as you don't just stop. Horses can experience this...
Behaviour
Others
Feeding
Natural horse keeping is the goal, but look at your horse!
Our goal is to bring horses closer to nature. Therefore, our aim is that horses are kept as naturally as possible. Of course, it is important to consider your horse and its specific needs. Not all horses thrive on being outside 24/7, just like not all horses can handle being in a stall for a few hours. So, don't focus solely on the idea that your horse must live naturally, but pay close attention to your horse. Here are some tips to keep your horse natural. Tip 1: Thin/poor quality roughage to a...
Behaviour
Stress
Can a horse unlearn a stable vice?
Stable vices arise from stress. A stressed horse will exhibit stereotypic behavior more often than a horse that is comfortable in its own skin. Behaviors such as weaving and crib biting are soothing and addictive for a horse. But as an owner, if your horse has a stable vice, you naturally want your horse to stop this behavior. Unlearning is actually not possible, due to the addictive nature of these behaviors. What can you do instead? Address the underlying reasons for the stress. A stable vice,...
Cannabinoids
Behaviour
Clove
Stress
Fireworks! Nine tips for a stress-free New Year's Eve for your horse
The end of the year is approaching and in many places in the country that means: fireworks! This can cause stress, for horses and their owners. Can a horse get used to fireworks? And how can you make the New Year's Eve and the days leading up to it as stress-free as possible for your horse? Horses are flight animals, who naturally prefer to run first before they look to see what is going on. It is therefore to be expected that horses are afraid of fireworks. Also carbide shooting will not be ver...
Behaviour
Magnesium
Stress
Vitamin E
How do you prevent mental overload in a young horse in training?
How to prevent mental overload in a young horse in training? When a horse comes out of rearing and starts working, it brings a lot of changes. Not only because suddenly everything is expected of him, but also because the circumstances in which the animal lives change. The horse often spends fewer hours in the herd, sometimes in a stall at night, and comes into contact with people and 'strange' situations much more than before. Most people know that in the training of a young horse, you should ta...
Cannabinoids
Behaviour
Clove
Magnesium
Stress
Black cumin
Do you know if your horse is in pain?
"If only they could talk" is something that horse owners often say to each other. Because sometimes there is something wrong with your horse, but it is not immediately clear what exactly. Is he just having a bad day? Or is there something more going on? How easy would it be sometimes to just ask! Horses don't talk, but they do give off signals about how they feel. We humans just have to learn to understand those signals... Researchers have been studying for years to find out what signa...
Behaviour
Minerals
Silicon
Do horses lick sand because of the mineral silicon it contains?
Especially in the autumn and winter, you see it regularly: horses licking sand and sometimes even digging pits in the paddock. Often this is a sign of a mineral deficiency, especially the mineral silicon. Could it be that horses lick sand because of the mineral silicon in it? Why is silicon so important for horses? And what can you do to stop the sand licking?. The main cause of sand eating in horses is a mineral deficiency. Sand consists largely of silicon, a mineral that plays a major role in the building of tendons, ligaments, cartilage, collagen, joint fluid, and even in bone formation. Silicon is an essential mineral for horses and other mammals. Horses try to intake this important substance by licking sand. Eating sand is dangerous But… eating sand is of course not good for your horse. The sand can accumulate in the cecum and colon and cause coli...
Behaviour
Minerals
Silicon
Digestion
Feeding
6 causes why horses lick sand
Mainly in the winter you see more horses licking sand. The shortage of the mineral silicon is one of the most common causes, but of course there are more. We have listed six causes of sand eating in horses. If you see your horse licking sand, do not ignore this, because licking sand provides information that something is not right in the diet or management. In addition, too much sand in the intestines can have unpleasant consequences such as colic. Read the six reasons below!. Sand eating is part of nature Naturally, horses also eat sand, or at least soil. Black soil is rich in various minerals and also contains the roots of many plants. Actually a very nutritious addition to the diet if you purely look at the minerals in black soil. It is therefore not strange that horses lick/eat soil, it is a natural need. Often you see that this need increases during the shedding period, in this period horses have an increased need for minerals to be able to make the new coat. Of...
Behaviour
Clove
Stress
How to prevent box walking in your horse?
In the winter period, many horses are back in the stables. The pastures/paddocks are too wet to keep horses outside all the time, but it may also be necessary to stall horses individually in the winter due to supplemental feeding. During this period, we receive many questions on customer service about box walking/restless horses in the stable. Do we have a supplement that can help with this? Let's start by saying that horses need as much free movement as possible and that stable time should always be kept to a minimum. In this blog, we want to explain why a horse may box walk and whether it can be remedied/prevented.. Box walking happens for a reason Most horse stables are 3m x 3m. This is a relatively small space for horses, especially if horses were used to staying outside 24/7 in the summer and having plenty of room. Additionally, the feed suddenly changes from grass to hay, the horse no longer has a choice in what it eats, everything is wet, and there may be a horse next to them that they wouldn't choose to be with in the pasture. These are all reasons why a horse can feel overwhelmed and stressed. The tr...
Behaviour
Hormones
Stress
Stress and hormones in your horse: What can chaste tree do?
Chaste tree is well known among many horse lovers. It is mainly used as a supplement for mares who suffer greatly from their heat. However, this herb, and its extracts, can be used more broadly. Chaste tree acts on the hormonal balance and the regulation of stress in *all* horses. It can make your horse more stable and ensure that he or she has enough energy to work properly.. Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus), also known as chaste tree, originates from the Mediterranean region. Chaste tree is a medicinal plant. It has traditionally been used to regulate women's menstrual cycles and alleviate symptoms. Mares that become very heated and also show signs of pain, behavioral changes, or even lameness often benefit from chaste tree. But this herb can also help geldings and stallions manage (extreme) hormonal reactions. Hormones and stress An imbalanced hormonal system cause...
Behaviour
Hormones
# Mares are allowed to be temperamental, it is nature
Mares do not have a very good reputation in the horse world. They are often immediately associated with bad behaviors, annoying temperaments, and being witches of horses. But the majority of mares have a normal temperament and are not at all difficult, so the reputation is not fair. Besides, temperamental behavior is simply a part of nature. In many cases, we therefore do not recommend trying to change this. Read more about mare temperament in this blog.. What is mare temperamental behavior exactly? During the temperamental phase, the mare shows her fertile period, as ovulation occurs at the end of the temperamental phase and there is the greatest chance of fertilization. Mares typically have a cycle of 21 days (some slightly shorter, some slightly longer) and the temperamental phase lasts about 5 days. During the temperamental phase, mares urinate more, the urine is often different and smells stronger. Some mares are a bit dreamy during these da...