Most horses will avoid onion grass. However, this hardy grass often gets the jump on other grass species in early spring, and poisonings occur every year, usually in the Northeastern and Southern states. Onion grass can damage the red blood cells, resulting in the formation of “Heinz bodies,” which results Read more…
Hay doesn’t come stamped with an expiration date, so sometimes it’s hard to know when to use it and when to toss it. Consider these points: If the hay was of good-quality when harvested and stored in a dry place with sufficient airflow, hay is likely suitable for consumption for Read more…
When horses are grazing around piles of manure, they can easily ingest worms that end up in their digestive tracts. This is why it is imperative to poo pick your fields on a regular basis, therefore reducing the chance of your horse obtaining worms. Why do people poo pick horse Read more…
Horses are particularly sensitive to dust from mold spores and can get a respiratory disease, like asthma in humans, called Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO), commonly referred to as heaves. Can dusty hay make a horse cough? Hay grown in drier conditions may also be dustier. “If the pasture contains tall Read more…
Horses may also get infected by eating grass, hay or other feed contaminated with manure containing Salmonella. What causes equine Salmonella? How do horses get Salmonella? Horses may acquire the bacteria from other horses or other animals. Transmission is by the fecal-oral route, which means manure from one animal (not Read more…
Dark-brown or black: stay away. Hay this color was baled when wet, and doesn’t offer adequate nutrition. It also could make your horse sick. Is hay supposed to be brown? Nutritious hay is rarely, if ever, brown. If a tobacco-like odor accompanies extremely off-colored hay, this is likely due to Read more…
Pot bellies can be caused by poor quality hay that causes a lot of gas, or worms. If there were enough worms to cause a pot belly horse would generally be looking poorly though. Pot belly can also be caused by lack of correct fitness. What causes a horse to Read more…
Horses have evolved as trickle feeders, designed to be chewing/occupied by feed for a large portion of their day. Their digestive systems are primarily designed to digest fibre and therefore forage (hay/haylage/grass) should represent the majority of their diet. Is it better for horses to eat on the ground? Why Read more…
Although straw is often not the most palatable source of fibre, most horses will eat it, particularly if they are on a restricted diet. It can easily be mixed in with hay and soaked or steamed if necessary. At Dengie we add herbs or coatings to help with palatability and Read more…
Plenty of Hay Many horses turn to eating their bed because they have run out of hay and are hungry. Remember horses shouldn’t be left without food for long periods of time (more than an hour). How do I stop my horse eating straw bedding? To prevent horses from eating Read more…