Natural Feeding
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© Natural Feeding, Kleine Spekstraat 6, 3020 Winksele, Belgium
Why hay 24/7?
Supply your horse with enough hay
We cannot stress it often enough: a horse needs access to
hay at all times. Colic, stomach ulcers, wind-sucking,
weaving etc. This is only the tip of the iceberg of problems
from which the horse could suffer if it does not receive the
correct feed.
Natural Feeding
At Natural Feeding our aim is for horses to be fed in the
most natural way. But what does this actually mean?
In the wild horses live in large teams and spend most of the
day eating. On average horses eat 15 hours a day, spread
throughout the day and night. They spend the remaining
time sleeping, walking around and playing.
What is striking about large teams is that the horses often
all do the same thing at the same time: whether they are
eating, or snoozing. They will never all sleep at the same
time though, as there are always a few horses that keep
watch.
At Natural Feeding we want horses that are in the stable
and/or paddock to be able to simulate the natural behaviour
of spreading their feeding throughout the day/night. When
you think that in the wild horses eat on average 15 hours a
day and in most cases, our stabled horses are supplied with
hay for an average of four hours, it is easy to understand
why some horses are not particularly happy.
The horse's digestion
We already know that in the wild a horse eats throughout
the day and never consumes large quantities in one go,
given that a horse's stomach is relatively small (with a
volume of approximately 18 litres). It takes a bite, a couple
of steps, another bite, a few more steps. A horse's stomach
and intestines are designed for a slow but continuous eating
pattern. When a horse chews, saliva forms, which in turn
plays a role in the digestive process. The stomach wall
produces gastric juices around the clock, even when the
horse is not eating. Gastric acid is needed to digest the
food. Once it is mixed in the stomach it is transferred to the
intestines. The stomach is protected by a mucus layer, but
the acid is so strong that it may damage an empty stomach,
causing ulcers. In the wild, horses produce 40 to 60 litres of
saliva, which is rich in sodium bicarbonate. This substance
neutralises the gastric acid. Once broken down, the food
enters the horse's small intestine, which is 21 to 25 metres
long. The proteins are broken down by enzymes into amino
acids that are later absorbed into the blood via the gut.
Afterwards the feed pulp enters the blind gut, which is huge,
one meter long with a volume of 30 litres. The blind gut has
approximately the same function as a cow's forestomachs.
Here the cell walls of the grass are broken down by bacteria
and converted into fatty acids. These are reabsorbed and
continue to the liver, where they are converted into glucose.
The glucose is burned up or stored in the body to be used
later. The food, now finely ground and saturated with water,
enters the large intestine. The latter has a huge colony of
bacteria that digest the fibres and other food components.
Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream through the
wall of the large intestine, along with the water. The large
intestine is around seven to nine metres long. Lastly, there
is the rectum where the faeces are formed before they are
transported to the anus.
Hay! Hay! Hay!
A horse chews on one kilogram of hay for approximately 40
minutes. During this time no less than 3.5 litres of saliva is
produced. With concentrated feed a horse only needs to
chew for ten minutes to consume one kilogram of food, but
just one litre of saliva is produced! In contrast, roughage is
mixed and swallowed with much more moisture/saliva than
with concentrated feed. And it is this saliva that is so
important to achieve the right pH balance in the stomach.
The entire digestive process must work properly from the
outset, and this means a horse needs a lot of high quality
roughage. It is very simple: hay, hay and more hay!
15 kg of hay in the Natural Feeding feed tub
On average, a 500 kg horse will consume 12.5 kg of hay per
day. One may consume more than another. However, the
most important thing is that your horse has access to a
supply of hay 24/7. Depending on the season horses may
eat more or less hay. In the autumn they may eat more hay
to prepare for the winter. In the spring it will play and gallop
around more. Don't worry if your horse eats all the hay in
the feed tub in the beginning. After all, the horse is used to
eating until everything is finished and then having to wait
hours for the next portion. If you simply continue to fill the
tub, after a short time the horse will understand that it will
always have access to hay. It will start to eat more slowly
and more gradually throughout the day. This is exactly the
slow feeding effect we want to achieve! With the Natural
Feeding feed tub a horse is able to eat in a natural position:
with the head down. Most hayracks with which we are
familiar are hung against the wall. The problem with this is
that the dust falls downwards, right into the horse's nostrils.
When a horse feeds from the Natural Feeding feed tub, the
major advantage is that the windpipe can clean itself since
the dust and irritating particles can be easily removed. The
head always hangs down when the horse eats. In contrast,
if the feed is higher up the dust particles are inhaled and
must be coughed back up. Hay nets and containers with
racks are a trend to extend the horse's feeding time.
However, horses that have to extract feed from them often
become frustrated. Moreover, hay nets are extremely
dangerous. Since the horse always has to pull the hay from
a 'strange' angle, the neck and back muscles are burdened
in an unnatural way. In practice vets also come across
horses with dental problems resulting from the use of hay
nets and so-called slow feeders. They constantly get stuck
in them or grind their teeth on the racks. With slow feeding
the intention is not to make it more difficult for your horse to
feed, but for it to be supplied with hay 24/7, which means it
will automatically feed slower. Not only social contact and
movement, but also adequate consumption of roughage is
vitally important for the health of your horse.
Save an average of 30% in hay thanks to the
Natural Feeding feed tub
You can simply place the hay on the ground, but it is widely
known that you cannot always rely on a horse to be clean.
The horse will either defecate or urinate on it, or open up
the hay using their front legs and it will be spread all around
the stable in no time at all. Great, if you have to muck out
the stable the following day. Our feed tub also offers the
ideal solution for this problem! All the hay stays neatly in the
feed tub and the horse cannot swing it around and tip
everything out.