Natural Horse NZ

02/09/2025

Check out this amazing drawing by the very talented Judy Smith.

Our beloved donkey girl, Emma passed away suddenly earlier this year and we miss her so much. So, it was wonderful to see her cheeky personality captured so well by Judy.

If you would like a picture made of your furry loved ones we can highly recommend Judy, as not only is she such a lovely person, but she is an animal lover through and through, which shows in her amazing talent for capturing all of our animals personalities.

Thankyou so much Judy ❤️

Here is Judy’s page :

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CV1fCDqG6/?mibextid=wwXIfr

31/08/2025

Can you imagine the void, pain and heartache of losing one of your beloved horses to laminitis?

Tragically, several hundred horses will needlessly suffer and lose their lives this year here in New Zealand alone to laminitis, with thousands of them losing their lives to this horrific condition worldwide.

And the worst part is… IT IS TOTALLY AVOIDABLE!

All horses are at risk of developing laminitis, regardless of breed or size, especially during this time of year across NZ, due to our favourable grass-growing climate. So, this is definitely not just a fat pony problem.

Here we are again, standing at the cusp of a season that demands our utmost vigilance for the well-being of our beloved horses.

Spring presents the most perilous time for equines, as they face the inherent risks associated with excessive grass growth.

Therefore, it’s imperative to implement a thoughtful grass management plan—strategies such as break feeding, track grazing, or even a dry lot with hay can play a crucial role in safeguarding your horse from the dangers of grass-related health issues.

Horses are browsers, not just grazers, and their teeth reflect an evolution over millennia that prepared them to consume a diverse array of plant materials. These include shrubs, small branches, leaves, herbs, forbs, bark, seeds, nuts, fruits, and of course, some grasses.

Feeding our horses a solely pasture-based diet can lead to an array of health issues, including allergic reactions, skin problems, behavioral changes, digestive troubles, and the serious metabolic complication known as laminitis.

When horses’ diets are overly rich in fresh grass, the excess sugars produced through photosynthesis can trigger inflammation and damage to the delicate laminae, nerves, and blood flow within the hoof. This can lead to laminae degeneration and a condition resembling peripheral neuropathy, akin to what diabetics experience when high blood sugar impacts their extremities. Additionally, these sugars can harden arterial walls, which narrows blood supply and further compromises the laminae, culminating in the painful inflammation we recognize as laminitis.

To combat the risk of pasture-induced laminitis, it is crucial to limit green grass intake for your horse, pony, or donkey, especially during peak grass-growing times—particularly when sunny days coincide with moist soils, which happens the most in spring.

You can achieve this effectively through break feeding, track grazing, or managing your equines some of the time in a dry lot, supplementing their diet with lower-sugar dried grasses like mixed hay.

This preventive action is vital during the grass-growing surge that many New Zealand pastures are experiencing right now.

**Take Action Now!** Crafting a meticulous grass management plan will keep your horse safe from the agony of pasture-induced laminitis, allowing you to avoid the distress, devastation, frustration, and financial burden that comes with this condition. Laminitis is an excruciating experience for horses that can be avoided with just a bit of proactive grass management.

It’s time to understand that whether your horse gets laminitis or not is up to you!

For further insights and resources on laminitis and effective recovery strategies, please visit our website.

We hope this message will get through to save more horses .

29/08/2025

Did you know that some foods can actually heal your horse, while also reducing blood sugar levels and improving insulin regulation? They are called Essential Fatty Acids, but will only work if fed in the correct ratios. Plus bonus, they don't normally cost any more than the inflammatory foods either......Here is the lowdown.

**Unlocking the Power of Omega-3 and Omega-6 for Our Horses' Health**

As a horse owner, I know that we all want to give our equine companions the very best, and part of that starts with understanding the role of essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3s and omega-6s. So, let’s dive into why these nutrients matter so much for our beloved horses.

Omega-3 fatty acids are like the superheroes of the nutritional world. They play a critical role in reducing inflammation, repairing damaged cells, and supporting key body functions. Think of them as your horse's natural defence against issues like blood sugar regulation, joint health, poor hoof health, skin problems, and even cognitive challenges. Ensuring your horse has enough omega-3s is essential for overall vitality and well-being.

On the flip side, omega-6 fatty acids also serve essential functions, but there's a catch—too much of them can lead to health troubles. That’s why it's vital to maintain a balance, keeping omega-6 levels significantly lower than those of omega-3s.

While experts haven’t nailed down the perfect omega-3 to omega-6 ratio for horses, a general guideline suggests aiming for a range between 2:1 and 4:1. So how do you achieve this balance? Foods like raw or ground flaxseeds are fantastic options with nourishing qualities, while h**p and chia seeds also shine in this area.

However, some popular ingredients can throw that ratio way off balance. For instance, sunflower seeds can present an alarming ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 that can be as extreme as 1:40 to even 1:100! And ingredients like copra and beet have minimal omega-3 and high omega-6 content, making them less than ideal for our horses. Even vegetable oils can contain sky-high levels of omega-6, reaching ratios like 1:300—definitely not what we want for our equine’s health.

These imbalances can fuel inflammation throughout our horses’ bodies, leading to health complications we want to avoid at all costs. So, I'd recommend focusing on foods that help nourish and heal your horse. As foods can be both nutrition and medicinal.

In conclusion, adding flaxseeds, chia seeds, or h**p seeds to your horse's diet can be a game-changer. Remember, omega-3 fatty acids are your allies in the fight against inflammation, while high omega-6 levels can stir up trouble. By keeping your horse's diet balanced, you can help prevent chronic inflammation and promote overall health.

I hope this answers your questions about Omega’s and helps you understand Omega 3s and 6s better, so you can have a healthier horse.

Happy Horsin’ ♥️🐴

28/08/2025

Omg-Ted is a genius.…and here he is filling his own water bucket from the trough. 🤯❤️🫏

This little fella is so much fun... But also so mischevious, too.

He definitely keeps us all on our toes.

Plus look at his cute forehead parting.

He is so cute he gets away with murder.

27/08/2025

Nobody has to tolerate abuse…..

Well, so far this week I've been called a bitch, told to go hang myself, that I'm a cruel cow, that I only give a s**t about myself and that I don’t know what the f #%* I'm talking about with horses.…lol 😆Sadly, this is a typical week.

Thankfully, this has become a great source of amusement for our team, and the more terrible the insult, the more we laugh these days. 🤣🤣🤣

I don’t care about these people's opinions, so it just runs off my back, as this is not my first rodeo.

Sadly, this is the downside of what social media has become, but it's all in a day's work for me.

However, I do draw the line when people start getting nasty and upsetting the people who come to my site, so for anyone who wants to behave this way, please stop that right now!

Just to be clear to these abhorrent trolls, you are wasting your breath trying to talk to our team or our followers like this.

As the bottom line is the first time any nasty/ unkind or snidey remark comes out of your mouth/ keyboard towards me or any of our team, or anyone else for that matter on this page, then we stop listening to anything you have to say and your comments are immediately deleted/ hidden from our site, and you’re banned from this page FOREVER!

Whilst I’m happy for you to have a different view on the horse topics we cover, and I'm happy to discuss our differences in a civilised manner, I won’t be bullied or tolerate name calling or intimidation to us or any other person on my site, and if you can't control yourself and be nice, then you can sling your hook as we say in Yorkshire.

As I can guarantee that you certainly wouldn’t say these nasty things to me without consequences when we were face to face, so I don’t expect you to say to me on my social media page either. 

To everyone who isn't ten shades of horse crazy, I hope we can continue to be involved in healthy discussions about our mutual love of all things equine, and I thank you for being some of the nicest people on Facebook ❤️

27/08/2025

A very hairy Reuben- aka Boo Boo as we fondly refer to him.

24/08/2025

⚡️Electric Fence Chess - its ongoing 😜⚡️

This was a few summers back now but notice the sagging fence after it's been breached by these two.

22/08/2025

Ted playing with his soccer ball - great shot.