There is plenty of information on offer regarding over-feeding horses, and quite rightly so as obesity can be severely damaging to the equine, however it is important to spare a thought to the harm that can be caused by withholding food and effectively starving them.
In reality very few horse owners would consciously starve their equine friend but what about all those hours spent in the stable with nothing to eat? For a simple and cost effective solution, the answer could be Elim-a-Net.
The horse is naturally a grazing animal, designed to trickle feed small amounts of forage almost continually. Through introducing stabling we have limited their ability to roam and forage and significantly reduced their eating hours. Many of our horses are not underweight as feeding calorie rich concentrated meals counterbalances this lack of eating time, however in an animal designed to eat forage this does not prevent health problems.
Starving a horse can be one of the causes of Gastric Ulcers. Lack of forage and reduced chewing time mean the necessary amounts of salvia to neutralise the stomach acid simply aren’t produced, the result can be damage to the stomach wall.
Insufficient forage in the diet can also be one of the causes of gastrointestinal complications, which cause pain such as spasmodic colic, impaction colic and displacement. Reduction in chewing time may result in colic for various reasons; excess stomach acid can upset the digestive system and a lack of sufficient chewing could result in an impaction with improperly chewed food reaching the digestive system. Providing inadequate quantities of food may cause the horse to bolt their meals or encourage them to ingest bedding and foreign materials in and around the stable.
For many horse owners having their horse turned out 24/7 is not an option and overloading their horse with excessive hay or haylage may cause obesity or just end up with much of it wasted and trampled into their horse’s bedding.
Elim-a-Net™ promotes a healthy digestive system by helping to increase chewing time, without having to increase the quantity of hay or haylage. The unique Inner Net design of Elim-a-Net™ alters the size and shape of the holes in the haynet helping to ensure the horse has access to forage for longer and therefore increasing the amount of time they spend chewing.
Elim-a-Net™ also prevents the risk of bolting hay or haylage, which in turn reduces the chance of complicated digestive health problems.
Elim-a-Net™ is available in three sizes, pony, cob or horse, in a variety of colours with prices starting from just £9.99. For further information about Elim-a-Net™ visit: www.parellproducts.com or by tel: 07715 172 470.
