Holistic Horse Education

13/07/2025

We’re seeing a spike in colic cases across the region — largely due to sudden changes in hay and reduced water intake during this tough drought season.

🌾 What’s going on?
With the hay shortage, many owners are sourcing hay from multiple suppliers — often different types, cuts, and quality.

We’ve had several clients feeding entire new bales at once without transition. This is dangerous.

Horses are also drinking less in the colder weather, increasing the risk of impaction colic.

⚠️ Important: You cannot feed a completely different bale of hay (especially from a new source) without introducing it slowly.

💡 Why mixing hay types (in small amounts) is actually good:
Feeding small amounts of different hay types at once helps keep the gut more adaptable and resilient to changes. It mimics a more natural, varied forage intake and reduces the shock to the system when one type runs out. But the key is to introduce each one gradually.

✅ Colic prevention tips:
• Mix new hay with existing hay over 7–14 days — especially if it’s from a new farm or region
• Feed multiple smaller meals instead of one or two large ones
• Encourage water intake — warm water, loose salt, soaked hay
• Add gut support supplements (e.g. buffers, pre/probiotics)
• Watch for changes in manure, appetite, or behaviour

🐴 If you’re feeding round bales, here’s what you can do:
1. Buy ahead where possible — keep at least one bale from your current supply so you can transition.
2. Peel flakes off your new round bale and mix with the old hay over several days (7–14 ideally).
3. If you can’t mix:
• Feed small meals of the new bale first (limit access using slow feed nets or limit turnout).
• Supplement with fibre-based feeds (e.g. beet pulp, hay pellets, chaff) to support the gut through the transition.
4. Avoid free-feeding an entirely new bale without a gradual introduction.

We understand it’s a tough season, but slow transitions and variety done right can protect your horse’s gut health.

Need help creating a forage plan for your horse? Reach out — we’re here to support you and your horse through this season.

11/07/2025

11/07/2025

🧪 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐠: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝?
Did you know that what’s printed on a feed label might not reflect what’s actually in the bag?
𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚. There’s no legal requirement to disclose energy, protein, sugar, starch, or even mineral levels. Each brand chooses what to report; and as our testing shows, many figures are missing or very different from what's actually in the bag.
This lack of consistency makes it nearly impossible for owners to confidently compare feeds or make informed decisions based on their horse’s true needs.

𝑾𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 popular commercial hard feeds, comparing what was declared by the manufacturers vs what was actually present in the feed.
The results? Notable variations in key nutrients — and some feeds not declaring major components at all.

𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 👇
🔥 𝐃𝐄 (𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲): 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫?
DE (measured in MJ/kg) is the amount of energy a horse can extract from the feed. Think of it like calories in human food.
Higher DE = more energy-dense — suited to performance horses, poor doers, or horses in heavy work.
Lower DE = ideal for good doers, spelling horses, or metabolic types needing controlled energy.
But beware — a feed that’s low in sugar/starch can still be high DE due to fat or fibre content. Always consider your horse’s workload and metabolism.
💪 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧: 𝐈𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?
Crude protein is calculated based on the percentage of nitrogen in a feed, which gives us an estimate of protein content. But here's the catch: crude protein says nothing about protein quality.
High crude protein doesn’t guarantee digestibility or usable amino acid content. It could be from inferior or indigestible sources. What matters more is the amino acid profile, particularly lysine, methionine, and threonine — the building blocks your horse actually uses for muscle development, immune support, and recovery.
Protein when fed in excess can contribute to energy issues, insulin sensitivity, high urea smell in urine & manure, stocking up when stabled, kidney strain – even respiratory flare ups.
So when you see 18% vs 12% crude protein, don’t assume the higher one is better, context is key.
🍬 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐅𝐂, 𝐍𝐒𝐂, 𝐄𝐒𝐂, 𝐖𝐒𝐂 & 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡? 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠!
These acronyms confuse even seasoned owners. Let’s compare it to human food labels:
𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 = the broad category that make up the below “sub-categories”.
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 = complex carbohydrates (like bread/pasta). Starch is digested in the small intestine but if too much is fed, can spill into the hindgut causing acidosis, colic or laminitis. “Too much” starch can be completely individual to the horse, which can make managing this challenging!
𝐄𝐒𝐂 (𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐬) = simple sugars, readily digestible and can impact blood glucose and insulin levels.
𝐖𝐒𝐂 (𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐬) = sugars (in ESC) + fructans.
𝐍𝐒𝐂 = 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐬 = Combined Starch + WSC
𝐍𝐅𝐂 = 𝐍𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐬 = All non-fibre digestible carbs, including:
ESC, WSC, Starch, Organic acids, Pectins, Some fermentation products

📉These values are interrelated. But in the horse world? Not every feed manufacturer even discloses them — and our testing reveals discrepancies.
Carbohydrates are important to be aware of, as some can bypass the small intestine & ferment in the hindgut which can disrupt microbial balance, contribute to hindgut acidosis or even trigger laminitis.

👻 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 – 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞?
The list here can be long, so please bear with us. The consistency and smell of your horse’s manure tells a story on their internal health, relevant to their gut. If you’re walking into your horse’s stable and immediately smell their manure? You likely have feed sensitivities. Too loose, poorly formed and even well-formed but incredibly firm – are all cause for concern. Lying down after eating, flank watching, girthy under saddle, general spookiness, ongoing muscle tension that isn’t resolving, even stocking up when stabled overnight can all indicate feed sensitivities might be present. We'll even go as far to say that Headshaking can be linked back to feed sensitivities in some cases!

🧾 Coming next: We’ll be using each Test Product Feed as a specific scenario breakdown of how actual nutrient content stacks up against recommended feeding rates — and how this may impact your horse’s overall diet.
Because feeding your horse shouldn’t be a guessing game. Foundational nutrition is key to a happy, healthy athlete.

Looking to get your feed tested? We utilised Feed Central's "Equi-Trainer" tests. 🦄

05/07/2025

19/05/2025

Always fabulous advice! Don’t just worm for the sake of worming.

We had the first frost of the year this morning, down here in West Gippsland.
I'd like to take this event as a chance to remind you all that First Frost DOES NOT MEAN IT'S TIME TO DEWORM YOUR HORSE.

Now, I'm no meteorologist, but to me, first frost simply means that winter is either here, or very close to. And what does this mean for worms? Not much. You'll never find "first frost" prescribed in a parasitology manual.

I've written/shared many posts about worm management in autumn (I'll link one in the comments), and the short version is, you can deworm your horse when 1) you've had an egg count done on them and 2) the bot flies (if you had any) have disappeared for the year. Usually by this time of year (first frost) the bots should have gone, hence why people choose it as their time to deworm.

The frost itself will do nothing to the worm larvae on your pasture. Strongyle larvae are extremely resilient to harsh environmental conditions. It's takes an extended period of time (days, weeks) below 0 degrees for any die off to occur. The only place this likely occurs in Aust is the alpine region.

I'd actually like to propose to you all that you should be deworming BEFORE the first frost. I know we've had a horrible autumn without the usual rain, but in a "normal" year the weather tends to break around Easter, with the rain and damp pastures returning. Strongyle larvae like damp pastures, so deworming when the weather breaks means that worm egg shedding will be stopped for ~3 months and prevent larvae build up occurring during autumn.

Lastly, please stop asking me if you can deworm yet. I don't know - I don't live at your house therefore I am unable to tell you if the bots have finished: that's your call. Also, NO DEWORMING WITHOUT A FEC STOP ASKING ME IF YOU CAN OMG

Thanks, and try to stay warm tonight ❄️❄️❄️

17/05/2025