Devon Haylage Talks Nutrition

Devon Haylage Talks Nutrition

There are several farm businesses across the country who have now diversified into producing haylage, some doing a great job producing forage that is suitable for horses and some not such a  great job  which can ultimately cause a drop  in people’s confidence that haylage is a good choice.  At Devon Haylage, we believe that as a producer of horse feed we have a responsibility to provide a well-made, consistent forage product that is nutritionally suited to horses.  We own and manage all of the land used for producing Devon Haylage so we have complete control of the production system from ‘seed to sale’, right through from selecting specific varieties of grasses to grow to delivering with our own lorry direct to the customer.

Our ethos is simple; we believe that discerning horse owners have the right to purchase a consistent, high quality forage product that has been produced honestly with the needs of the customer in mind.  We ultimately have three sets of customers, the end user (the horse), their human caregiver and the owner/manager of the outlet at which the haylage is sold.  But they all share common prerequisites; the haylage must be of quality, be nutritionally suitable, be of good value for money and consistent throughout the year.  This is what we believe we are good at and what has facilitated Devon Haylage to become such a well-known and trusted producer.

Much of our marketing focuses on the education of the horse owner to scrutinise the forage that they feed to their horse.  Forage should not be simply regarded as ‘gut fill’.  It plays an incredibly significant role in the equine diet and combined with the staggering quantity that an average horse eats in forage over the year, it makes sense to place more importance on getting the forage right than being overly concerned with what concentrates are fed.  Even if horses in moderate work are fed enough quality forage then nearly all of their energy and protein requirements can be met by forage alone!  Feeding plenty of quality forage is not only more cost effective than feeding poor quality hay or haylage and then having to supplement the diet with high levels of concentrates but it is healthier for the horse as well!

We make three different types of haylage.  The first is made from specially selected varieties of ryegrass which are left to mature before cutting when the seed heads are fully formed.  This makes a high fibre haylage with adequate energy levels.  We also make an increasingly popular Timothy haylage.  Timothy is a native grass with naturally lower sugar levels than ryegrass.  Our third type is made from traditional pastures that include a wide range of native grasses such as Yorkshire Fog, Sweet Vernal grass, Red Fescue and Foxtail and herbs such as Ribwort Plantain, Knapweed and Birds Foot Trefoil.

All of the land used for growing our High Fibre Ryegrass and Timothy haylage is reseeded every three years.  This ensures that the grass species are of the type we want, weeds such as docks and thistles will not be present and the resulting haylage is consistent year on year.  The land on which our Native Mix grows is not reseeded as destroying this pasture will remove the wonderful mix of native grasses and herbs which have taken years to establish.

So, what makes a good haylage?  Well, firstly if grass is cut too early in the season when the leaf content is still high, the resulting haylage will be more suitable for cattle having too much protein and energy for the average horse.  Commonly, haylage made by ‘the local farmer’ may be of this type and can give haylage a bad name as people will find their horse having too much energy and possibly loose droppings.  Secondly, dry matter is crucial.  We are often asked how heavy our bales are, but this information is useless unless the dry matter is also taken into account.  It is easy to make haylage bales heavy by simply baling a lot earlier; this is a very expensive way to buy water!  We aim for a dry matter of around 70 – 75%.  This ensures that there is just enough moisture present to enable efficient fermentation to break down sugars but not too much to make the haylage acidic and uneconomical to feed as with wet forage you need to feed more for the horse to receive enough dry matter.

The protein content of forage is generally not much of a concern to horse owners, but it should be!  The ‘crude protein’ value indicated on forage analysis results does not give us much of an idea of the ‘quality’ of the protein.  Crude protein consists of true protein and non-protein nitrogen, the only way to know the quality of the protein in your forage is to have it thoroughly tested to show the nitrogen : sulphur ratio.  A ratio of above 10:1 indicates poor protein quality and extra supplementation with amino acids may be required.  At Devon Haylage we understand how the protein quality can be affected and so we test soils yearly and then ‘feed the soil’ appropriately with a holistic fertiliser to achieve good N:S ratios (apart from the native mix fields which only have farm yard manure).  Linked with this is the problem of the percentage of nitrate present in forage.  When grass is grown using excessive amounts of nitrogen fertiliser which is common practise with producers who simply want lots of grass growth to achieve high yields, nitrates can be present in the resulting haylage.  Excessive intake of nitrates can decrease the bloods oxygen carrying ability which can cause among other things anxiety, breathing difficulties and loss of co-ordination.  Again, due to our soil management practices we have 0% nitrates present in our haylage.  Forageplus carry out all of our forage analysis which can be found on the website www.devonhaylage.co.uk/analysis.

So, why feed haylage?  We are not anti-hay neither saying that haylage is always better but for some horse owners, sourcing a regular supply of good quality hay is hard, for some they have no indoor storage and for some their horse may suffer from dust, mould and fungal spores found in hay and so haylage is an option if they don’t wish to soak hay.  Incidentally, after 6 months storage hay will have negligible vitamin content.  If hay is then soaked to remove excess sugar you are left with nutritionally poor and very wet, heavy hay which some horses will not eat.  Extra feed and vitamin/mineral supplementation will then have to be offered to make up for the shortfall.   For some sugar sensitive horses with metabolic conditions haylage may be the safer alternative.  When grass is baled and wrapped in an air tight environment, the naturally present bacteria will use sugar as an energy source during replication converting it to Volatile Fatty Acids giving haylage its lovely smell.  Hay does not undergo this process and may well end up being quite high in Water Soluble Carbohydrates making it unsuitable for some horses and ponies.  Remember, feeding plenty of quality forage like Devon Haylage could significantly reduce your hard feed costs whilst keeping your horse healthy from the inside out.

We are passionate about producing forage for healthy horses and have been making haylage since 1997, over the years we have built a reputable status with customer satisfaction at our core. We have stockists right across the south and west of the UK and can also deliver by the pallet nationwide if you don’t have a stockist close to you.  We strive to offer a personal connection with all our customers and are always happy to answer any questions you may have, should you wish to receive a free sample in the post then just email claire@devonhaylage.co.uk or phone us on 01404 813100.

PARK Life – The Festival of British Eventing

The Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park celebrates 33 years in the calendar this year.
Julie Harding discovers why riders love its championship format, undulating cross country courses and links with the royal family

The festival’s chairman has designs on success …

Captain Mark Phillips has been busy this summer. A fair proportion of his time has been taken up designing a brand new cross country course for the TopSpec Challenge for ‘The Corinthian

Cup’ a National Restricted Novice Championship. This is a new class being hosted at the popular Festival of British Eventing, presented by the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) from the 7-9 August, 2015.

“I’m pretty excited about the whole concept of The Corinthian Cup,” says Captain Phillips, chairman
and course designer at Gatcombe Park’s festival, speaking on his mobile phone as he drives around his home county of Gloucestershire. “I’ve built the Restricted course, which starts and finishes in the same place as the other tracks, so the basic direction is the same as well. Designing four-star courses takes a lot longer than other tracks,” adds the Land Rover Burghley CCI**** designer, “but when you are thinking up a course for a lower level, one of the things that you mustn’t forget is that novice horses and riders are exactly the same as they were 40 years ago, so you have to be careful not to ask too much.”

Captain Phillips believes that contestants in the TopSpec Challenge for the Corinthian Cup are going to enjoy competing alongside the likes of William Fox-Pitt, Pippa Funnell and Andrew Nicholson at this undulating venue.

The idea for the new class at the festival, which this year has dropped its advanced sections so that all four classes are championships, came from wanting to give competitors from the Grassroots Championships at Badminton another goal.

“The festival’s Dodson & Horrell Novice Championship is run at intermediate height (1.15m) and so it was too big a step for those who had jumped around the BE100 (1m) at Badminton Grassroots,” explains Captain Phillips. “So British Eventing came up with this new championship and suggested the restricted novice category that is open to riders who hadn’t ridden at advanced, or intermediate level in recent years.”

The lucky winner will be awarded the Corinthian Cup, in appreciation of Richard Meade OBE, who was Britain’s most successful equestrian Olympian, back in the days when the games were only open to amateurs and is kindly donated by dressage doyenne Desi Dillingham MBE in memory of her aunt, Barbara Kemp. Barbara designed and built the 1976 Summer Olympic three-day event cross country course in Bromont, Quebec and was the first woman in the history of the Olympics to design a course for the games.

Ringing The Changes

New this year at the festival in the other classes – the British Eventing Open Championship, The Smith &

Williamson British Intermediate Championship and The Dodson & Horrell British Novice Championship — is extra distance for the cross country track in the park bowl. This will take competitors closer to the home of HRH The Princess Royal. This was the home shared by Captain Mark Phillips and his then royal wife in the early 1980s, and it was here that the couple devised the idea of hosting a horse trials in their own ‘back yard’. They launched it in 1983, in an era when riders tended to turn up in Land Rovers and trailers, rather than the palatial lorries they own now, spectator numbers barely hit five figures over the weekend compared to the 40,000- 50,000 today. There were no championship classes then and certainly not the 150 horses that now run across country on both the Saturday and Sunday of the festival.

“We started off by just putting on a ‘plain-Jane’ horse trials,” says Captain Phillips. “The Princess and I wanted to put something back into the sport. Frank Weldon [former Badminton director and course- designer] came over and told me what he thought I could do with the track. I designed that first course. The Princess and I felt that if we put on a good event with good footing then the good horses and riders would come.”

Australia’s David Green, then husband to Lucinda (née Prior-Palmer), won the Croft Original Championship in Gatcombe’s inaugural year.
In subsequent years the roll of honour reads like a Who’s Who of eventing — Lucinda Green and Village Gossip, winners in 1984, Mark Todd and the legendary Charisma (1985), Bruce Davidson and JJ Babu, winners of the first British Open Championship (1986), Ginny Leng and Night Cap II, victors in 1987, and so on.

In the early years Captain Phillips was still pursuing his own eventing career, but he preferred not to compete on home ground if possible. “I rode around Gatcombe Park as few times as I had to,” he reveals.
“I would ride my horses up and down those hills every day of the week to get them fit, but if you are running an event it is difficult to focus on riding at it as well.”

Today Captain Phillips enjoys watching his daughter Zara compete on home ground.

“Zara usually rides here, but it is too early for entries so I’m not sure if she is bringing a horse this year.”

A couple of years after the inaugural event, Gatcombe Park took over the advanced championship that had run at the defunct Locko Park. By 1986 the now famous British Open was up and running.

“It was my idea to have a championship rather like the open golf contests,” says Captain Phillips. “It was meant to encourage international participation, but while it worked up to a point, even now you don’t get a lot of riders crossing the Channel to come. All the UK-based foreign riders entered, though, and of course they still do.”

Things generally went to plan, although the weather, even in August, could sometimes throw up some unexpected challenges.

“We had a Croft Original fence one year and it rained so heavily that a river ran in front of it.”

When I waded through, the water went over the top of my wellingtons. We didn’t cancel. There wasn’t much health and safety in those days. It was a different sport,” says Captain Phillips. Over the years Captain Phillips has built up a great team to help him run the festival many of whom have been with for several years – Tim Henson has worked as event director for the last 18 years – and they are one of the reasons the festival runs successfully year after year.

“If the team ever became a headache I think I would give up,” he laughs. “The fact that I enjoy running the festival is due to having a fantastic group of people at the helm. It’s because the event is run by such good people that I often feel like I don’t have a job to do.”

The festival also boasts a loyal team of sponsors, including British Equestrian Trade Association, which celebrates its 10th year as presenting sponsor. Other backers include the Championships sponsors Smith & Williamson, Dodson & Horrell, TopSpec and British Eventing, plus Land Rover – a supporter since the first event – Hunter, Hamptons International and Equex China as well as many other loyal supporting sponsors.

If there was space, Captain Phillips would put in more tradestands, arenas and attractions at the festival, but the topography around Minchinhampton is far from flat, constraining any future thoughts of expansion.

“We would like to have more of everything and make things better and better,” says Captain Phillips. “However, we’re so restricted in the amount of flat ground that we have. In terms of the cross country, when you go somewhere like Luhmuhlen or Badminton you have to try and maximise every undulation in the terrain. At Gatcombe Park it’s the opposite. You have to try and minimise the effect.”

As for the secret of the festivals’ success, Captain Phillips believes that hoards of spectators turn up year after year because, apart from there being some great eventing action, he and his team put on plenty of other forms of entertainment. “Not everyone wants to watch horses from 9am to 5pm,” says Mark. “Variety is good in terms of entertaining the crowd” for example for the first time this year, the Kangaroo Kid (aka Matt Coulter) will perform daredevil stunts on four wheels rather than four legs. Matt has entertained millions of fans around the globe with his record-breaking jumping stunts that have even included jumping a flying plane. There will be lots to see and enter with our canine friends too – fly ball, dog agility and a fun dog show will all take place over the weekend. “BETA sponsors The Pony Club Team Showjumping Competition which we have had for many year now, while this year we’ll also be adding Pony Club mounted games. It’s different and the kids have fun doing it. That is what it should be about” added Captain Phillips.

Toddy’s Early Memories

Mark Todd was the rider everyone needed to beat in the early days of Gatcombe Park Horse Trials. He was victorious in 1985 with his great back-to-back Olympic gold medal winning horse Charisma when it was still the Croft Original Championship. He won again three years later on the same mount.

“In 1988 we were competing at New Zealand’s final trial before the Olympics,” says Mark. “At a couple of events beforehand Charisma had been pretty wild. He was 16 by then and people said he was past his best, but I knew that he was fit and over the top, so winning the British Open meant that we headed to Seoul full of confidence.”

Mark remembers his first win at Gatcombe Park on Charisma, when the event was only two years old, occurring in the rain.

“Charisma didn’t like wet going, but he still managed to win. He was a fast horse, but he was also good at the other disciplines [of dressage and showjumping],” says Mark who recalls the early cross country courses at Gatcombe Park as being even hillier than they are today. “You would have to climb up and then run downhill again by the house. I remember a bank fence on the downhill run, which you had to jump off and then negotiate a bounce brush at the bottom of the slope. That wasn’t easy. Fence three was also even bigger and scarier than it is today. The ground fell away more steeply than now and I remember one horse falling over the rails at the bottom and disappearing into the undergrowth. It was definitely tough in those days, and impossible to get the optimum time. Of course making the time is still difficult even now, but a handful of people have managed it,” says Mark, whose name is on the British Open roll of honour again in 1989 with Bahlua and in 1999 with Word For Word.

“The festival’s show jumping, too, tends to cause problems. The ground for this phase isn’t flat, plus there are lots of distractions around the main arena. They used to have dressage in the main arena, too, and that proved electric for many horses.”

Mark will be competing at the festival again this year, he believes with Oloa. “You need a horse that doesn’t mind galloping fast up and down hills. If you’re going to ride there you have to go fast or you’re not going to win,” he says. “I rode there last year and I’m sure I’ll keep going in future years. It’s an exciting event, not least because they run the British Open cross country in reverse order so you never know until the final moments who’s going to win. The festival is definitely one of the iconic events of the sport.”

Visit www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk

Bourton Vale Equine Clinic talk…

Equine Veterinary Needs

Bourton Vale Equine Clinic is a prestigious, well-equipped, equine clinic situated in the heart of the Cotswolds since 1951.

The practice has 12 equine vets working from a purpose built clinic mid-way between Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold. They pride themselves on offering an excellent standard of care to all horses, from Olympic athletes, world champions and Cheltenham Festival winners to the smallest pony and donkey, covering areas in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

BVEC has a full surgical unit for orthopaedic and soft tissue operations along with comprehensive medical equipment which is constantly renewed and updated to keep at the forefront of the veterinary profession.

They have a specially designed surgical table with innovative mat design to minimise muscle damage (myositis) during surgical procedures. The recovery boxes are set up for rope recovery to minimise problems post surgery.

Equipment in use includes digital radiography, both fixed and portable, ultrasound imaging, video endoscopy and nuclear scintigraphy (Bone Scanning).

Nuclear scintigraphy (bone scanning) is an established and invaluable diagnostic tool used mainly for equine lameness investigations and poor performance evaluations. Nuclear scintigraphy provides useful complementary information to other imaging techniques (eg. radiography, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging) that can help the veterinary surgeon reach a diagnosis.

All this can be done in their large digital radiography suite at the clinic and digital radiography, ultrasound imaging, video endoscopy onsite.

BVEC also have a portal extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) unit. Equine shock wave is used for the treatment of musculoskeletal soft tissue pain and disorders in horses. Short and sedation-free equine shock wave therapy sessions provide successful relief of acute and chronic pain. Equine shockwave also helps to restore mobility and promotes faster healing by stimulating bone growth, tissue regeneration and the release of endorphins.

The practice has an excellent reputation throughout the country for its reproductive services led by partners Charlie McCartan and Greg Staniek, in which they carry out embryo transfer, artificial insemination using both chilled and frozen semen, semen collection and semen freezing if required.

They also cover dental work (hand and power tools), pre-purchase examinations, lameness and poor performance investigations in race and sport horses.

Bourton Vale Equine Clinic is available 24/7, and with their out of hours service you will always talk to a veterinary surgeon in the first instance.

For more information call 01451 820137 or visit www.bvec.co.uk

Looking for a new equine?

Looking for a new equine?

How can you ensure you get the right horse for you and your circumstances? Well may be the answer is you can never be totally sure.

Horses4Homes tries to ease this journey by screening all owner’s listings and asking for a warts and all profile!

Application processes are in place for those interested and visits arranged. Owners are also encouraged to carry out home checks before the horse leaves their care. All this preparation is vital to ensure a smooth transition and a successful placement of a horse.

“We were very worried about finding a perfect loan home for our beautiful mare.

She has an old injury which needs managing and we thought it would prevent people from wanting her. We didn’t want to advertise her on the open market as there are such horror stories of what happens to horses these days.

Through Horses4Homes we found the perfect loan home. Her new owners adore her as much as we do and she has found the exact home with a slightly quieter life that she needs. The agreement drawn up by Horses4Homes was very specific and covered everything that we needed.

We can visit our pony regularly and have a say in any decisions that need making in the future. We feel very blessed that we have had such a happy ending for our pony and would highly recommend Horses4Homes.” says Sally, owner of Emmie.

For more information call 01494 569126 or visit www.horses4homes.net

 

Ariat v Badminton

Ariat v Badminton

As the best horse and rider combinations in the world were preparing for the toughest eventing challenge in the world, Badminton Horse Trials, Your Horse & Country Magazine sent our affiliate photographer Hannah Freeland out on a mission to putthe every popular Ariat Grasmere boots to test on her grueling five days coverage of the event.

With a combination of course walks, rider coverage and interviews Hannah was also set the task of covering the dressage, cross country and show jumping. Toting up in excess of 45 miles over the five day period.

First things first – we needed to find Hannah a pair of boots! As we ventured through Badminton’s extensive shopping village we were faced with Ariat signs and banners along almost every row of trade stands. We made our way through the sea of spectators and shoppers alike and found ourselves within the locally based Colne Saddlery of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire’s stand, where we were greeted by Ariat representative Sam.

We explained to Sam what we were looking for and their purpose, and she proceeded to fit Hannah into a pair of Grasmere’s giving exact instructions how to, not only, fit the boot but also how to lace them up, and the importance of this!

With Hannah happily branding her new boots she set off on her mission with a beaming smile, the question is – will she be smiling 45 miles later?

As I am sure our readers will know, it is often the case that brand new boots can take some walking and stretching in, not for the Grasmere! I kid you not, off she walked for the first of her course walks. At just over four miles this is not the normal ‘walk in’ for new boots, but Hannah reported back from her initial course walk with unfazed feet!

“The boots were totally comfortable for the enitr duration of the course walk, I also jog ahead of the group to capture them walking towards me and some boots can be hard to run in, but the Grasmere’s were supple enough to not effect my running.”

Anther issue with some boots and photographers is that they can become uncomfortable when constantly kneeling and crouching for lower shots as they can catch behind the knee, however because of the perfect fitting of these boots back at the trade stand tops of the boot didn’t sit directly under Hannah’s knee, giving ample space to bend without intrusion from them.

After having heard Hannah’s first thoughts we packed her up and sent her on her way for five frantic days at Badminton, through the rain, wind and sunshine this is what Hannah had to say upon reporting back. “Normally after an event like Badminton where you start at 5am and finish after midnight most days my feet and ankles are suffering badly! However, I can honestly say that this year, wearing the Ariat Grasmere boots my feet and ankles had no suffering what so ever. I didn’t have any thoughts of despair and needing to slow down due to blisters and aches, plus the boots look super smart and got a few comments from fellow photographers!

As a full time equestrian photographer my Ariats are now a staple part of my kit. They will be travelling all over Europe with me and I know I will be warm, dry and comfortable wherever I am shooting, thank you Ariat”

For more information, or to buy please visit www.colnesaddlery.co.uk

EquiFresh advise how

EquiFresh advise how

Banish smell and flies from your stable and lorry this summer…

However carefully you muck out, there is often a residual smell of ammonia around stables that comes from horses’ urine reacting with air.

EquiFresh is a granular organic mineral containing no disinfectant chemicals which can stop this reaction. It can be natural or scented with citronella or lavender essential oils which add even more benefit and a pleasent smell.

Sprinkle it on the stable floor before you replace bedding after mucking out, and it will cut down the release of unpleasant ammonia into the horse’s environment, making it healthier and fresher for horse and handler alike.

Choosing the citronella-scented product for a summer day bed will discourage flies. EquiFresh works with all kinds of bedding and is excellent with rubber mats. It will also reduce the smell in horse transport – perfect for a long day or camping at an event!

Research both here and in America have proved that horses kept in confined spaces for long periods can be harmed by the built-up of ammonia in their environment. It inflames the upper respiratory tract and eye membranes and can brake down the hoof wall. Exposure to even low levels of ammonia can cause decreased immunity and performance if it is longterm. Feeding high protein haylage rather than hay can double the amount of ammonia a horse produces in it’s urine.

EquiFresh is not a masking agent, or a disinfectant. It’s easy to use, economical and its available in 7.5kg tubs or 25kg bags, from £16.95.

For more information, or for a free brochure call 01666 861250 or visit www.equifresh.co.uk

Growing Happy Horses

Growing Happy Horses

(Part 2)

Just to reiterate my previous thoughts, horses are fundamentally designed to run and graze for twenty hours a day. They will then have the choice of what they graze on, whether it is a herb species that supplies their mineral requirement or a carefully considered grass species delivering the energy they need.

To grow happy horses it is vital to apply this fundamental physiological requirement to maintaining the health and well being of our horses.

 

Inspiring young minds

Inspiring young minds

Last month the Westonbirt School Equestrian Team took part in two National Schools Equestrian Association competitions at Stonar and West Wilts Equestrian Centre, near Melksham.

The team attended the one-day N.S.E.A event at Stonar where the 75cm team (Gemma, Jasmin, Issy, Caitlin) were placed fifth. One of the girls was also placed 8th individually in the same class. Another of the girls secured a forth equal place in the individual 90cm class. All the results were a fantastic achievement as there was huge competition from schools from all over the country. The team then headed for an N.S.E.A show jumping qualifier at the West Wilts Equestrian Centre, near Melksham at the end of the month.

Here they rode with determination and won the 85cm team qualifier, came 6th on the 75cm and had an individual placing in the 90cm class. Their win has secured The Westonbirt Equestrian Team with a place at the N.S.E.A Championships at Addington in October.

For more information on Westonbirt please visit www.westonbirt.org or call us on 01666 88 0333

Westonbirt-School