In the second part of our Autumnal blog, Lisa Elliott MSc – Equine Nutrition Solutions focuses on how management changes to both forage and routine can affect digestive health at this time of year. She also suggests what you can do to minimise their impact and promote a healthy digestive system.
Changes in Forage
Whatever the season, forage (grass, hay or haylage) should always be the foundation of your horse’s diet, and many will have been out 24/7 over the summer with grass as their main source of forage.
As we move into autumn and winter, the nutritional value of grass declines, and your horse will need an alternative form of forage to meet their nutritional needs. The switch from a diet of grass to preserved forage like hay or haylage can challenge your horse’s digestive health.
Research shows the risk of colic is greater when a horse is changed to a new forage – for example, changing from summer grazing to preserved forage. This is because a sudden change to a different forage can upset the delicate balance of hindgut microbes, leading to microbial dysbiosis, hindgut acidosis and digestive upset including diarrhoea and potentially colic. It’s essential that these changes are made very gradually over a period of 2-3 weeks to allow the microbes time to adjust. Also, introduce your horse’s winter-feeding regime during the autumn is ideal to help prevent digestive upset.
With its ability to buffer and maintain healthy acid levels throughout the digestive tract, Coligone Powder or Liquid is an excellent tool against the effects of dietary change in autumn. It helps maintain a healthier hindgut pH and reduce the potential for digestive upset. Additionally, Coligone contains scientifically proven pre and probiotics to promote a healthy microbial balance within the hindgut at times of change. Coligone Powder or liquid can be fed during the transition to new feeds and forage during autumn for improved digestive health.
Changes in Routine
Autumn is also the time when your horse can go from being out 24/7 to being stabled overnight and this be challenging to digestive health. Pasture turnout has been found to reduce the risk of colic, which increases when horses are stabled and less able to move around to promote optimum gut motility. Good hydration will facilitate gut motility so it’s important that your horse always has access to clean, fresh water.
Ad-lib forage is also essential when stabled more to promote better digestive health and minimise the risk of ulcers. Some horses can find being stabled stressful which is another risk factor for ulcers, so minimising stress is also a must.
Coligone Healthy Lick can help minimise the impact of being stabled more by providing essential nutritional support. Not only does it contain salts to encourage water consumption it also helps promote natural foraging behaviour which has been shown to reduce stress in stabled horses. Coligone Healthy Lick also provides generous levels of calcium to help support calm behaviour and licking promotes saliva production which helps neutralise stomach acid and maintain it at healthy levels.
Additionally, Coligone Powder and liquid can help further mitigate these changes through their acid buffering abilities, whilst helping to promote a happy healthy hindgut microbiome, and can be fed daily to support optimum digestive health throughout the challenges of autumnal change.
If you have any questions about creating the best diet for your horse and keeping your horse healthy through the right nutrition, please contact Coligone – 0333 0503785/07986 183616 or sales@hbradshaws.co.uk
