How might soaked feeds and mashes play a role in the diet of horses with dental issues?

Soaked, unmolassed beet is a great partial forage replacer for horses with poor teeth or when forage is of inferior quality or in short supply. Over the course of a lifetime, horses’ teeth work extremely hard, chewing fibre up to 18 hours a day. As they grow older, their teeth become less efficient, with some becoming loose and even falling out.

Problems arise, particularly for older horses and ponies that are stabled throughout the winter when hay and haylage are their main fibre source. Instead of being able to chew efficiently, they tend to create balls of forage that they then drop from their mouths – an action known as quidding. This, unfortunately, prevents them from benefiting from sufficient nutrition and will lead to weight loss.

Due to the difficulties experienced by veteran horses, as well as other horses and ponies with dental problems, soaked unmolassed beet, which is high in digestible fibre, is an ideal way to help ensure they receive a proper ration that is both easy to chew and aids water intake, which is even more beneficial when the weather is cold and some horses are reluctant to drink. When fed as a partial hay replacer, care should be taken to weigh the beet before soaking to ensure that the correct amount of fibre is provided.

What advice can you give to customers on transitioning horses from traditional hay or bagged forage to soaked feeds and mashes during cold winter months?

When replacing some of your horse or pony’s hay or bagged forage with unmolassed soaked beet, as with changes to any feedstuffs, it is important to do so slowly. This allows the millions of bacteria in the horse’s digestive tract to adapt and helps to avoid any digestive disturbances. Cut back on the regular hay or forage and introduce the soaked feed bit by bit as small meals over a seven to 10-day period.

Can the use of soaked forage feeds or mashes aid horses with digestive issues?

Unmolassed soaked fibre feeds are ideal for horses and ponies with a sensitive gut, as they contain naturally fermentable fibre, which boosts the beneficial gut microbes and helps to maintain good stomach and digestive tract health. They also supply low levels of starch and sugar, and high levels of fibre.

Can you discuss the cost-effectiveness of soaked feeds compared with traditional hay, particularly in the context of autumn feeding regimes?

Unmolassed beet flakes are a recognised superfood, expanding to several times their own volume when soaked. One 18kg bag of beet, when used as a partial hay replacer and fed at a ratio of one part beet to three parts chaff, will last a 500kg horse around eight days. Conversely, a small bale of hay weighing 15kg currently costs about £5 and lasts a 500kg horse around two days.

During winter, when there is less turnout and grazing is poor, soaked beet becomes an extremely affordable and attractive option for replacing forage with good-quality fibre. It should be given as small bucket feeds to support the horse’s natural trickle feeding and can replace a daily forage allowance by up to 25 per cent.