The horse's eating habits
While many other farm animals, like cows, have multiple compartments in their stomachs, horse do not. They only have one big stomach. But actually, it's not even that big considering the size of the entire horse. Naturally, in the wild, horses eat very small amounts of roughage, like grass, but they do so very often, almost constantly in fact. Their body and especially their stomach and digestive system is made to be always filled with small amounts of food. Due to us keeping horses, having domesticated them, we've also forced them to change their eating habits. Especially horses that are stabled all day only have feed at their disposal for 2, maybe 3 times a day to fit our lifestyle. Often, the things we feed them are also less easy to digest for horses. If there are problems with digestion of your horse, a good starting point is to think: "what do I feed my horse? how often is my horse being fed?" and see if any changes to this can already make a visible change to the horse. And of course, if there's big problems in the digestive system, we strongly advise to always consult a vet.
Diet changes
The diet most of us have our horses on is not actually ideal and far from what a horse has evolved to be. If there's long lasting problems with the horse's digestion, please consult a vet and potentially a nutritional expert to see what exactly the problem with your horse is. If your horse seems to be lacking appetite in the sense that you often see if leaving food behind, making an appointment with the dentist to have the horse's mouth and teeth checked is also a good idea.
Adapting the horse's diet to be more of a diet actually suited for horses is a crucial step in treating digestive problems and using supplements as a quick fix should not be valued more than doing actual research into your horse's issues and needs.
Similarly however, suddenly changing the entire feeding routine will also be troublesome to the horse. If you make changes and adaptions, do them step by step and if possible in cosultation with experts.
Pavo feed
Here at Epplejeck you can find different kinds of feed from the well-known Dutch animal feed brand Pavo. Due to restrictions and weight limits on postage, we are unfortunately unable to offer the entire range we stock internationally. If you are an international living in the Netherlands, please take a look at our Dutch page for our full range of Pavo feed. Our customer service is always happy to help you with any questions and can also be contacted in English.
For our international customers around the globe, we currently offer two Pavo products in 3kg and 6kg bags. These are the Slobber Mash and Nature's Best.
Slobber Mash needs to be prepared with warm water and is especially suited for older and sick horses, fussy eaters or horses that need help with recovery. But of course it also makes a nice special meal every now and then for any horse, especially in the colder winter months.
Nature's Best is a muesli that is healthy and great for every day feeding. It is made of multiple different ingredients, which makes it textured and structured and encourages chewing and is better for the intestines. It is low in sugar and starch and was designed for horses doing light work.
Horse feed at Epplejeck
Purchase horse feed at Epplejeck from the comfort of your home. Our virtual doors are open 24/7 for you and ordering is quick and easy. We always strive to send out your package just a few days after your order comes in, so your wait time is minimal. If something doesn’t fit, simply send it back to us within 30 days – no questions asked!
Happy shopping!