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
Vitamin E
Feeding
# Why roughage alone is not enough for horses
Why roughage alone is not enough for horses If you ask non-horse people: 'what does a horse eat?' then the chances are high that they will answer 'grass'. But that certainly does not apply to all of our horses! Especially not in a cold winter, or a dry summer. What is true, however, is that horses mainly eat roughage, from grass to hay. But unfortunately, roughage alone is not sufficient to keep your horse healthy. Roughage is obviously the basis for a healthy horse. Horses depend on fibers for...
Minerals
Rosehip
Vitamin E
Keep broodmare resistance high for childbirth!
Keep resistance of broodmare 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 ver...
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 ne...
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...
Magnesium
Silicon
Vitamin E
Which supplement is suitable for muscle building in horses?
Which supplement is suitable for horse muscle building? Many horse owners would like to help their horse build muscle. For example, with young horses or animals that have been out of training for a while. Others are mainly looking to prevent muscle breakdown. This is more common with older horses or horses that have a condition or injury. How do you support your horse's muscles? Muscles consist of muscle fibers, which are fed and maintained by the body. You can build and grow muscles through tar...
Magnesium
Silicon
Vitamin E
How do you support a horse with muscle binding?
How to support a muscle-bound horse? Muscle binding, also called 'tying up' or Monday disease, is a disease. It is not just a bit of stiffness. The muscle metabolism of the horse is out of control with muscle binding. You must treat muscle binding immediately. How do you recognize muscle binding, what can you do about it, and how do you prevent this serious condition? Muscle binding usually occurs about ten to fifteen minutes after a horse has been in motion. It is a total acidification of the m...
Joints
Magnesium
Vitamin E
Why is my horse stiff?
Is this muscles or joints? A healthy horse, without problems in the joints, tendons, muscles, and ligaments, moves rhythmically, regularly, smoothly, and with body usage. If you let such a horse move freely or lunge it, you will see ample steps of equal size, a pulsating rhythm in the movement, and swaying muscles throughout the body, including the topline. Unfortunately, this is not always the reality and horses are sometimes stiff, short in movement, irregular, or lock up their back. The quest...
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
Joints
Clove
Silicon
Vitamin E
Black cumin
Osteoarthritis and dental problems: support your horse as it ages
The age at which a horse becomes a "senior" can vary depending on the breed and the individual horse. In general, we are talking about horses around 18 to 20 years old. This is when the first signs of aging start to appear. Joints: Stiffness and Osteoarthritis Older horses often experience joint wear and tear. The production of cartilage slows down in older horses, leading to the gradual thinning of the 'cushioning' cartilage between joints. Cartilage and synovial fluid work together t...
Vitamin E
Feeding
How much vitamin E is in hay?
Horses that spend many hours in the pasture get enough vitamin E from fresh grass. But in the winter, most horses are hardly on the pasture anymore, or the pasture is bare. They mainly eat dry forage, such as hay. There is much less vitamin E in hay, especially when it has been sitting for a while. In storage, vitamin E disappears from the hay.. The degradation of vitamin E from drying hay is very rapid. Often half of it has disappeared after two weeks. You can imagine that the vitamin E content has become very low by the end of winter. Your horse cannot meet its vitamin E needs in that period with just hay. Why is vitamin E important for horses? Horses need vitamin E as an antioxidant, for the proper function of their muscles, and for the immune system. Vitamin E is also important for the nervous system. All horses need daily vitamin E...
Vitamin E
Feeding
Pasture
# 'You can't go against the pasture': These nutrients are found in grass, but not in hay
If your horse has plenty of grazing in the summer and is stabled in the winter, you may be familiar with this old wisdom: "You can't go against the pasture." A horse is almost never as shiny, vital, and energetic as when he is in the pasture. Why is that? What nutrients are present in grass but not in hay? And how can you - even in the winter - get as close as possible to the fantastic effects of grass with your feeding policy?. Hay is nothing more than dried grass, but unfortunately, during the drying process, some things are lost. Especially vitamins and fatty acids. If your horse is on pasture for less than four hours a day, or wears a grazing mask, it is necessary to supplement with some nutrients. For example, with a supplement or a balancer. Hay alone is really not enough, not even for hardy breeds! Vitamin A for the eyes, growth and fertility Vitamin A and vitamin E are the most important vitamins to consider whe...
Insulin resistance
Vitamin E
Feeding
Sweet itch
5 nutrition tips for horses without access to pasture (fresh grass)
Not all horses are able to be on pasture every day throughout the year. Sometimes because of the horse's health, sometimes because of limitations in stabling, space, or type of ground. Especially in the winter period, many horses are kept in a paddock because the grass is gone or the fields are too wet. But what should you take into account in the nutrition of horses that are not on grass? Not all the nutrients found in fresh grass are also present in hay. That's why we have put together five tips for you. Keep reading!. Horses primarily get Vitamin E from fresh greens Vitamin E is essential in a horse's diet, you could say it is one of the most important vitamins. Vitamin E is a very powerful antioxidant and essential for muscles and the nervous system. Vitamin E helps repair damage to muscles and remove waste products from the muscles. This helps keep muscles supple and promotes faster recovery after training. A deficiency in vitamin E can make horses stiff, increase the risk of tying-up and lead to muscle lo...