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Condition & weight loss
You have probably reached this
page because your
horse has been losing weight and become thin.
Horses drop weight, lose condition and become thin and poor because of an
inadequate supply of essential nutrients! The fat cover is used up first to meet your horse's daily energy
requirement. When that is exhausted muscle gets broken down, leading in
extremis to the poor example above!
HORSEHEATH NUTRITION products have been used very successfully for
many years to promote weight gain and restore lost condition to thin horses, and then
maintain it, as you can see from the accompanying testimonials.
Significant weight loss
will involve muscle wastage; rectification requires top quality
protein, which You will find this in these HORSEHEATH products:
Click to go to the PRODUCTS page for more
details.
Causes of Equine Weight Loss
-
Human error -
underfeeding!
If you aren't
sure what your horse is receiving you should invest in weighing
equipment - many feed merchants and tack shops stock spring balances
for weighing hay nets and kitchen scales can be used for feed scoops.
-
Muscle
consists of protein. Proteins consist of amino acids. All
animals require a daily supply of suitable quality protein (must
contain enough essential amino acids, e.g. lysine, methionine, etc)
to maintain muscle and other protein.
-
Hard working or growing animals have a
much greater need for good quality protein than those resting, to
maintain muscle and facilitate growth.
-
Illness suppressing appetite
or impairing digestion e.g. gut tumours,
colic,
scour, gastric
& colonic ulcers, etc. Consult your vet.
-
Stress
e.g. bullying, travelling. Stallions are notoriously prone to
weight loss during the covering season.
-
Worn or damaged teeth
preventing a horse chewing its food properly; this restricts
food digestion, leading to loss of weight and dropping condition.
.
-
Inadequate worming
-
serious damage can be caused to the gut, liver and blood
vessels, which will cause condition and weight loss (AS ABOVE) and
ultimately death. Do not omit TAPEWORM from your worming
programme!
-
Age -
A horse's digestive system will become less efficient over time. A
number of veterans, including some toothless geriatrics (equine)
have had their lives extended considerably with HORSEHEATH products.
Horses' natural diets are
primarily grass-based; this is normally inadequate for the performance
horse and so needs supplementing. HORSEHEATH NUTRITION achieves this
by selecting and blending feedstuffs which centuries of experience
combined with the latest scientific research tell us can be
satisfactorily digested by the horse.
Good quality hay/haylage
and pasture (especially spring grass) will help. Also you should check
teeth, worm control and liver function (esp. older horse - consult
your vet).
A horse requires a minimum of 1% of its
bodyweight per day of dry fibre to keep its gut working properly. A 500 kg
horse will therefore need 5.7kg (12.5lb) of hay (12% moisture content) or
8.3 kg of haylage (30% moisture). In practice it will need rather more (to
satisfy its chewing urge) and can eat up to 3 - 4% of its bodyweight in
fibre. A typical small hay bale weighs around 20kg/44lb; a stabled horse
will normally require around 1/2 bale/day. If in doubt weigh your haynet!
Especially if you are feeding hay or haylage from large bales. |
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Beverley Brightman
International Dressage Rider
"....we noticed an improvement within a week.....".
Daniel Neilson
- Ongar,
Essex. Winner, HOYS 2008, Young Showjumper Competition - Olympia 2007,
Silver Medal Junior European Championship, Auvers, France 2007
etc.etc :
“I
first experienced Horseheath products last summer when Helen West sent her
High Tone Z to Katrina & Jason Moore. We were impressed by the way her
horse maintained condition and even temperament on the feeds she supplied.
We now use Body-Builda as the main base feed for the whole of the yard,
adding EquiBuilda and/or Competition Mix depending on workload and
condition. The horses all look very well & have plenty of stamina, in
spite of their high workload, and remain level-headed.”
*********************
Tony Clark,
Newton Longeville,
Bucks.
THREE STAR Event Rider
February
June
“
This was “Drop of Port” last February, having worried
himself into a rather poor state. We changed his feed to BodyBuilda &
EquiBuilda; he’s a bit calmer and his condition has improved no end.
We have quite a number of competition horses, several of which are
prone to weight loss - BodyBuilda is very effective in maintaining
their condition.”
*********************
Case History
 This
Pony Mare was in foal to one of Anne Smalley’s stallions. It went very
lame seven months before foaling, looked like a toast-rack and was written
off by its vet. Its owner was referred to John Chapman for advice, as a
result of which it reared a healthy colt foal (which later bit him!) and
made a full recovery. It was fed Horseheath
AntiLam™
with additional soya and a mineral/vitamin
supplement (Pegavite).
*********************
RORY
GILSENAN, Tingewick
“I saw the improvement in Lyn
Jones’ horses last winter so I thought I’d better give BodyBuilda™ a
try. It’s fantastic - the horses all look terrific - they keep level in
the ring - perform well and have lots of stamina."
Rory at HOYS on Pencarder Gatsby, formerly owned by Sharon Mills,
Buckingham.
*********************
sharon mILLS, Buckingham.
 Pencarder
Miss
Ramexico with new arrival "Something to Talk About" a.k.a. "Bomber" who
won the Yearling class & Reserve Championship at the National Hunter Show
at Addington
“I
have been using Horseheath products for over 9 years now, my horses all
have a good topline, maintain excellent condition and have a
fantastic shine to their coats. Those in competition work have the
required stamina without the fizz. Both Pencarder Gatsby and Pencarder
Miss Ramexico have been brought up on Body Builder from foals through to
their ridden competition careers.”
Click
for MORE TESTIMONIALS
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