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.
Weight
Hooves
Insulin resistance
Organs
Digestion
Feeding
Why can horses get laminitis from grass?
In spring, at the beginning of the grazing season, it is always advisable to start slowly with grazing. Your horse's intestines and digestion need to adapt to eating grass before your horse can spend whole days in the pasture. In addition, there is the risk of laminitis. For some horses, this danger remains present throughout the entire grazing season. How does this actually happen? What does grass do in your horse's body? And which horses are at increased risk of laminitis?. Grass is the most delicious thing for most horses. 'Nibble-step' all day through the pasture; there is no greater pleasure for them. However, it is not always healthy. This is due to the way in which sugars from grass are processed in the horse's body. Sugar metabolism: fast and complex carbohydrates During the grazing season, grass is the main source of carbohydrates for many horses. Carbohydrates can be divided into complex carbohydrates and water-soluble carbohydrates. The latter are the 'fas...
Electrolytes
Minerals
Feeding
Replenishing Minerals: Balancer, Electrolytes, or Mineral Supplement?
When it's hot, your horse loses a lot of salts and minerals through sweat. But how do you best replenish them? Aren't minerals also present in hay, grass, concentrate feed, and balancer pellets? Is an electrolyte supplement really necessary? What about horses that need to eat a low-sugar diet, for example, due to laminitis, sweet itch, or EMS?. Horses need a wide range of minerals to function properly. Some of these minerals are required in larger quantities (macro-elements), while others are needed in very small amounts (trace elements). Minerals cannot be stored as reserves in the horse's body for long periods. This means that these important substances must be supplied through food. Whether it is through grass, hay, concentrate feed, balancer pellets, or supplements. What are the most important minerals? The most important minerals,...
Electrolytes
Skin
Minerals
Feeding
Why are electrolytes important for horses?
If you train in the summer months, your horse can sweat a lot. You often hear that you should give electrolytes. Why is that? What are electrolytes actually? When should you give them and what is the most absorbable form?. The official description of electrolytes in chemistry is as follows: they are ions of salts, acids, and bases that are in liquid form in the body. Sounds complicated, but what it comes down to is: they are soluble salts. The most important electrolytes for mammals are sodium, chlorine, and potassium. Sodium chloride is also known as table salt. In addition, magnesium and calcium are also important electrolytes for the functioning of the nervous system and muscles of both horses and humans. Elect...
Guest blog
Feeding
Vitalbix guest blog: Does your horse still have energy when you feed grain-free?
Many horse enthusiasts believe that a sport horse always needs grain-based concentrate feed for sufficient energy. That a horse becomes sluggish or unable to perform without the grains and sugars from concentrate feed. That's not true. Horses don't naturally derive their energy from grains, which form the main component of many types of concentrate feed. We discussed this with Madelief Jambroes from Vitalbix. What's the exact situation with energy, vitamins, and minerals in horse feed?. Madelief is the "Manager Nutrition & Education" at Vitalbix. She provides daily nutritional advice to horse owners and is jointly responsible for product development and knowledge dissemination. Madelief says, "I have a degree in nutrition and initially worked in human nutrition. Horse nutrition has always been of interest to me, and partly thanks to my own horse, I got involved in this field." What is a balancer? Often, you hear that it's best to provide a horse with suf...
Feeding
Roughage 2.0: What should I feed my horse?
he opinions on feeding horses have changed significantly in the last few decades. When horses were still working in the fields, it was important that they could quickly absorb a lot of energy and pellets were considered ideal. Furthermore, horses often received the same roughage as dairy cattle. But a horse is not a cow and not a human either. Horses have a unique digestive system. It is wise to take this into account when choosing roughage. Feed 2.0 it is!. To start with, a cow has four stomachs and is a ruminant. This means that a large part of digestion already takes place before the food reaches the intestines. A horse, on the other hand, mostly digests in the hind part of the digestive system: in the cecum and colon. There, fiber digestion takes place with the help of millions of bacteria and other microorganisms. Horses derive their energy mainly from fibers, which are converted into volatile fatty acids. Fibers are mainly found in roughage, n...
Guest blog
Minerals
Feeding
Guest Blog Femke Dölle: Mineral buffet: choice menu for your horse
Femke Dölle is a holistic instructor and welfare advisor for horses. She always gives her horses a choice of different minerals, like a buffet. Femke: "I started doing this because in nature, horses eat a variety of plants in addition to grass. This is necessary to get all the necessary minerals and trace elements. Since I couldn't provide my horses with such a diverse diet, but still wanted to meet that need, I came up with this idea.. Femke explains: "I started offering minerals in water. First with two buckets and then I would switch them out. At my new stable, there are now six buckets hanging on the wall, like a buffet. Each bucket contains different minerals." As needed "I believe that horses in nature can choose for themselves, they know what they need and engage in self-medication. This is called zoopharmacognosy. You can see with horses that have the choice, that they eat specific plants in certain perio...
Weight
Insulin resistance
Minerals
Feeding
# How can you keep your horse at a healthy weight in the summer
Many horse owners find themselves in a dilemma every summer. How do you keep your horse or pony at a healthy weight during the grazing season? How can you allow your horse to enjoy a bit of grass without it having adverse effects on its health? Read on in this blog, we are happy to give you some tips!. Depending on the stable Not everyone has their horse/pony at home and the ability to take various measures regarding grazing. Most horses are kept at a boarding stable where there is a certain policy in place. This makes it difficult for many horse owners to make the right adjustments for their horse. We understand that as a horse owner, you may sometimes feel frustrated because the stable's policy does not benefit the health of your pony/horse. In some cases, you are unfortunately dependent on...
Nettle
Digestion
Feeding
How do you prevent disruptions in the horse's intestinal system?
Slack manure, diarrhea, gas formation, esophageal obstruction, stomach ulcers, or other digestive complaints. Perhaps the most common problems in horses are related to the stomach and intestinal system. The intestinal system of horses is very complex and also extremely sensitive. Read in this blog how you can prevent disturbances in the intestinal system.. Digestion = resistance The intestines can be seen as the most important part of the horse. If the intestines/digestive system are in order, then the resistance will also be in order. The resistance and the intestines are closely linked. That is why you often see that when horses have a resistance problem, it also affects the digestion. A well-functioning intestinal system will optimize the resistance of the horse. It is therefore extremely important to carefully deal with the stomach and intesti...
Others
Silicon
Feeding
Can I prepare containers with liquid supplements for my horse?
Many horse owners whose horses are at a boarding stable do not always have the opportunity to be with their horse daily. Additionally, feeding is often centrally organized at fixed times in many stables. This can make administering supplements a challenge. Can you prepare containers in advance with supplements included? And if so, how far in advance can you do this without losing effectiveness? Keep reading, we'll explain it to you!. Preferably not set up in advance Liquid supplements are ideal to use because they are so easy to dose over the feed. For example, horses don't blow them out of the bucket, so you have minimal waste. However, liquid supplements can dry out, which can potentially decrease their effectiveness. It is therefore always preferred to add supplements to the feed at the last moment. We understand that it is not possible for all horse owners to arrange this daily. Boarding stable owners also do not want to...
Minerals
Silicon
Feeding
Does giving silicon have any benefit if I am not with my yearling every day?
Silicon is an important mineral for building bones, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, and muscles. Especially in winter, when horses have limited access to fresh grass, it is advisable to give your horse a supplement of liquid silicon. This is especially important when your horse is still growing. However, many people do not visit their young horse in the rearing facility every day. Does giving silicon still make sense?. A young horse needs good nutrition and plenty of exercise to grow big and strong. Silicon is essential for this. This important mineral contributes to collagen formation and bone formation. Often, young horses in the rearing facility receive additional foal feed or other supplementary feed in winter, but giving liquid silicon is not yet a common practice everywhere. Giving silicon a few times a week is also useful Many young horses are in the rearing facility and it is not always close to their...
Joints
Magnesium
Minerals
Silicon
Feeding
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How can you strengthen the physique of your young horse?
Horse owners are always looking for what is best for their horse. Often this concerns adult horses or even seniors. The young horse is often "forgotten", while with the right guidance it can make an extra good start. Therefore, read in this blog how you can support the physique of your young horse.. What is a young horse? Actually, horses are late bloomers, all growth plates are only fully closed around the age of 6/8 years. Therefore, you can say that up to the age of 7 years, the horse can be considered young. Especially the first 5 years are important for the development of the physique. The horse then goes through many growth spurts, which challenges the skeleton. But even after this age, horses continue to grow. Many horses are only fully grown around their 7th year. Movement, movement...
Joints
Others
Silicon
Feeding
From what age can a young horse start working?
There are few topics that spark as much debate among horse lovers as starting with young horses. From what age can a horse start working? How do you actually define work? And how can you ensure a healthy start to the 'working life' of your young horse in general?. As an owner and trainer of a young horse, your most important task is to ensure that the animal is physically and mentally prepared for its life as a riding horse. You want to give the horse a solid foundation and ensure that it develops trust in humans. The horse should be physically capable of functioning as a riding horse in the future, and it should continue to enjoy the work and be mentally capable of handling it. That's quite a laundry list and a responsible task, indeed. When do horses' g...