Dr Tom Shurlock, nutritionist with British Horse Feeds for Speedi-Beet & Fibre-Beet, discusses the benefits of beet fibre, micro flora, pre and probiotics, for horses and ponies and how they impact gut health. Beet fibre has long been used as an equine feed due to its nutritional suitability, … [Read more...]
Why Feeding Speedi-Beet Can Help Prevent Autumn Laminitis
There are two main periods where grass can be a causative factor in initiating a laminitic response, spring and autumn. Where spring grass has been well publicised because it has extremely high levels of sugars and fructans, and these are regarded as triggers. Less obvious factors are at play in … [Read more...]
June is Colic Awareness Month
It is, perhaps, the one word a horse owner never wants to hear, summoning up images of downed horses, twisted guts, surgery – or worse. However, the more we understand about colic, the more we can both treat and avoid the condition. So first of all, what is colic? Colic means “gut pain” and there … [Read more...]
Fat Ponies At Risk for Laminitis
Why are fat ponies at more risk of developing laminitis than fat horses? What is different about their metabolism that commonly results in an increased incidence of laminitis? It is generally accepted that there is a breed susceptibility in laminitis. There are regular surveys on the incidence of … [Read more...]
Winter feeding for the senior equine
Winter Feeding for the Senior Equine - Tips and information on diet options for your aging horse to help keep weight and stay warm as winter approaches. By Dr. Tom Shurlock of British Horse Feeds. It is naturally assumed that, as your horse grows older, it will put on or lose weight. The senior … [Read more...]
Pituitary Health for Horses
Dr. Tom Shurlock speaks on Pituitary Health for horses: The pituitary is a small gland nestling under the hypothalamus, the hind brain region. Under the control of the hypothalamus it is responsible for the release of a number of hormones or hormone releasing factors (these travel to other parts of … [Read more...]
Equine dehydration
7% of a horse’s weight is drunk daily – 3 buckets for a 900 lb horse. This merely tops up the horse’s needs; saliva, acid and enzyme secretions and maintaining the moisture level of the gut contents takes 25 gallons of water. If this is not ingested, it is drawn out of the body. During exercise … [Read more...]
Feeding the Laminitic
Feeding a low sugar, high fibre diet is correct, but why? The problem is not sugar. Fibre is made up of sugar. Sugars are converted to glucose, the single most important energy provider in any species. Malfunction of this biochemical pathway – IR, EMS Cushings – do cause problems, even laminitis, … [Read more...]
Equine Sarcoids. What can we do?
Skin tumours – neoplasms – are a potentially worrying topic and imply a life threatening condition. However the proportion of cancerous (malignant) tumours is relatively low the vast majority of tumours being sarcoids. Sarcoids are not one particular type of tumour. Although described as … [Read more...]
Probiotics for Dogs and Horses – New Evidence
The use of probiotics is widespread across species, including humans. They are usually based on lactic acid bacteria such as lactobacilli, bifidobacter and enterococci, or on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The effect of bacterial probiotics have been mixed. In terms of livestock production most … [Read more...]
