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.
Minerals
Feeding
Additional minerals healthy for many horses
Minerals are of great importance for all horses. And when a horse sweats a lot, exercises, grows, or has a foal at its side, additional minerals are often needed. Dutch roughage has become increasingly poor in minerals over the last few decades. A horse that only gets hay or hay and a little concentrated feed can therefore develop a deficiency in essential minerals.. Minerals Are Important for Horses Minerals are crucial for the skeleton, nervous system, and digestion of horses. All mammals require various minerals, even if sometimes only in tiny amounts. Sport horses that use their bodies more intensively and sweat more have a higher mineral requirement than horses that only perform light work. They especially need more sodium, chloride, and often potassium. These minerals can be found in electrolyte products. Growing horses and lactating mares also have ab...
Feeding
Why it is best to switch balancers every six months
Many horse owners feed their horses roughage and a balancer pellet. This is an excellent choice for most horses that are ridden recreationally or in basic sports. Roughage is the foundation, and a balancer ensures that your horse gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs daily. However, we do recommend changing the brand every six months!. English: It's obviously very convenient to always use the same balancer. You already know that your horse likes this product and you see that it looks healthy. Nothing more to do, right? It's a bit more nuanced than that… Different Compositions There are many different balancers on the market. Most of them adequately meet your horse's actual daily needs. So, that's not the issue. However, each balancer has a slightly different composition and different ingredients. This depends on the choices ma...
Feeding
Starch: is it the same as sugar for a horse?
You often hear or read that it's not good for horses to consume a lot of sugars. This also applies to sugars from concentrated feed with a lot of grains. The digestive system and metabolism of horses are not well adapted to this. But what about starch? Is it different in this case?. The short answer is "no," it's not different. Starch is essentially viewed by the horse's body as sugar and is therefore just as bad. When looking at the ingredient list of a bag of concentrated feed, it's important to consider both the sugar content and the starch content. For a more detailed answer, let's delve deeper into what "sugar" actually is and how a horse processes it. All Carbohydrates Sugar, starch, and glucose are all forms of carbohydrates. Here's a brief explan...
Feeding
Concentrate feed or mineral balancer for horses, do you know the difference?
Concentrate feed became the standard in horse feeding in the last decades of the previous century. Concentrate feed contains vitamins and minerals, to which fillers have been added. The idea behind it is to provide horses with their daily needs. From a different perspective, 'the new feeding,' mineral balancers have been introduced to the market in recent years. But what exactly is the difference between concentrate feed and such a balancer? We have listed it for you.. What is a balancer? A balancer is a pellet containing minerals, vitamins, and trace elements. There are no additional substances such as starch, grains, or fillers. That's why you often only give 100 to 300 grams of a balancer per day. That's enough because the concentrations of vitamins and minerals are high. All essential elements are in that small amount of balancer. Furthermore, your horse only needs roughage. The invention of balancers is related to the desire of many horse owners to feed t...
Feeding
No influence on your horse's roughage?
By no means everyone has the space and opportunity to keep horses at home. Many people therefore have their horses at another horse owner's house or at a boarding stable. This saves work, time and maintenance, but it often also means that you yourself have little or no influence on the roughage your horse eats. In this case, what can you do to optimise your horse's ration?. For many boarding stable owners, it is not possible to store different types of roughage. And while many people prefer to feed unpacked hay, that also requires a large covered storage capacity and often more labor than large packaged bales. That is not always feasible or affordable. Therefore, many Dutch horses are given pre-packed haylage in plastic. Packaged Hay Haylage, also known as packaged hay, is an intermediate form between hay and silage. It is lightly fermented. Lactic acid bacteria fr...
Feeding
Hay is hay, right?
A horse needs to eat hay. Every horse owner knows that, of course. But what exactly is hay? What are the differences? And which type of hay is good for which type of horse? You'll find out in this article.. Roughage comes in various types and sizes. For horses, hay is the most suitable, preferably unpackaged. Many horses in large stables receive pre-dried hay, packaged in large bales. Additionally, there is silage, which is more suitable for dairy cows. Meadow Hay What most people understand as hay is technically called 'meadow hay'. This is the hay that comes from 'normal' grasslands, with a small variety of grass and clover species. Most Dutch meadow hay comes from pastures with grass and clover,...
Feeding
Pasture
A pasture full of sugar cubes, what now?
The title of this article may sound a bit strange, but let us explain. Analyses show that Dutch grass has recently contained an enormous amount of sugar. So much so, that it is actually not healthy for horses. Especially if the animals are sensitive to obesity, EMS, laminitis, insulin resistance or summer eczema. The hay that comes from those grasslands often has a high sugar content as well!. The sugar content in hay is determined by a number of factors. These include a combination of weather conditions, the moment of mowing, fertilization, and the types of grass used. What can you do about those fields full of sugar cubes? How can you make the pasture healthier for your horse? Types of Grass Many horses in the Netherlands are still on former cattle pastures. And Dutch hay often comes from these grasslands as well. Cows need a lot of energy because they need to produce as much milk a...
Minerals
Feeding
Pasture
Copper and zinc deficiencies in pasture and roughage
Today, it is often heard that some soils have insufficient levels of copper and zinc. This could have implications for the nutritional value of grass and hay. Does the shortage of minerals in Dutch soil have consequences for our horses? And what can you do about it?. According to Pavo's roughage monitor, grass and roughage in the Netherlands almost always have low concentrations of the trace elements zinc and copper. These minerals are involved in important bodily functions. They do not need to be present in large quantities in the diet, but it is important that your horse gets a little of both. Since Dutch soil is often rich in iron and manganese, horses rarely have a deficiency in those elements. Peat Soil and Sandy Soil On soils with high phosphorus, high...
Minerals
Others
Feeding
Uhm... my horse suddenly doesn't use the mineral buffet anymore ?!
You must have been very enthusiastic about setting up a mineral buffet for your horse. You found the right method for hanging or placing the buckets, purchased all products, and filled the buckets with enthusiasm. The horses were also very excited and the buckets are quickly empty. Until after a few weeks, you see that the horses are no longer interested and the water in the buckets becomes dirty. What now? Was it not a good idea after all, did the horses only find it fun for a while? And most importantly, what should you do now?. The first time choosing can cause confusion Often, when a mineral buffet is placed for the first time for horses who are not familiar with it, it can go two ways. Either they don't understand what to do with it and completely ignore it, or out of enthusiasm, the buckets are immediately emptied. But both are a sign that horses are not consciously choosing to drink a specific water. And that's quite logical because our current horses are far from their natural state of being. They are fed and give...
Feeding
# Horse feed: do you listen to marketing or read labels?
Social media is an ideal platform to introduce new products, including horse feed. The most beautiful photos and stories are seen there with the most stunning user experiences and beautiful packaging. A muesli for stable digestive function, feed to support overweight horses, feed for horses with a sensitive stomach, a muesli for horses with itching/summer eczema, and so on. All slogans are used to persuade you as a horse owner to buy that feed for your horse (with a condition or health problem).. But do you listen to this marketing or are you as stubborn as us and always read labels first before drawing your conclusion? Marketing vs. Reality There is fierce competition in the horse feed industry, with so many brands, so many types, and also so many customer preferences. You rarely see a standard basic pellet nowadays; there are now various types of pellets, muesli, and slurries available for different types of horses with various conditions. The marketing held for this feed is enormous,...
Mites
Feeding
Good horse nutrition is important for mites
When your horse is bothered by mites, it is useful to tackle that problem through multiple routes at the same time. The brushes, blankets, and environment of your horse need to be clean, your horse needs to be treated for mites, skin and resistance can use support, and it is important that your horse eats as healthily as possible. You can read about that in this article.. The health of a horse is largely dependent on the health of its gastrointestinal system. Digestion is one of the most important bodily processes for horses, and they are therefore very sensitive to disruptions in the digestive tract. A healthy bacteria population in the small intestine, cecum, and most importantly the colon of your horse is essential. Microbiome The bacteria, fungi, and yeasts in a horse's intestines are called the microbiome. That name indicates that it is actually a whole ecos...
Weight
Feeding
How to keep a thin horse at a healthy weight in the winter?
Usually we receive questions about overweight horses and the best way to help them lose weight. But there is also a group of horses that easily lose weight and become thin quickly, especially in the winter season. And helping a horse gain weight, in a healthy way, may be even more challenging than helping a horse lose weight.. In this blog, we want to give you tips on how to keep a thin horse at a healthy weight! Losing weight in the winter is okay! Remember that it is normal for horses to lose weight in the winter, it is part of nature and actually very desirable! In nature, horses become overweight in the summer due to the rich nutrients in the grass, but in the winter they lose weight because there is less food available. This is also a natural detox for horses and is actually beautiful when it happens! As horse ow...