Whether you have a good doer or an equine who struggles to maintain condition, it is always important to know how much high quality forage you are feeding them. 

It is always important to have an idea of the amount of forage that is being consumed by your equine, regardless of their weight or activity levels, so that you can monitor their health and prevent them from being at risk of conditions such as laminitis. If you weigh how much forage you are putting into hay nets or feeders, and then weigh any wasted forage, you will be able to approximately calculate how much your horse or pony has eaten. An equines total feed intake should be between 2-2.5% of their body weight per 24 hours. 

If you are able to track and calculate how much forage your horse or pony has eaten, you are then able to monitor their weight and adjust feed accordingly, to whether they gain, lose or maintain their condition and weight. 

Feeding a high quality, palatable forage should help to ensure there is not much waste, which makes feeding more cost effective and ensures your horse or pony is not missing out on key nutrition by not eating all of their feed. 

A good quality forage helps to keep your equines digestive system healthy and this in term supports functions such as good digestion and immune function. Studies have shown that an unbalanced gut and digestive system can be linked to issues such as colic, poor performance and even obesity and  laminitis.

Whether your equine is a good doer or not, forage should make up the basis of their diet and therefore you should always aim to feed a high quality forage specially produced for horses and ponies. Forage analysis will easily determine the quality of the forage. This is something we carry out on both our hay and haylage, so that our customers can be sure that their equines nutritional needs are being met and in turn that their weight, condition and all round health is supported.