Pegus News

How to define the level of exercise for your horse? The energy requirement of exercising horses is mainly depending on the horse’s body weight and the amount of exercise. However, many find it difficult to define the average amount of exercise over a given period, eg over one or two weeks.  Declan Cullen and Seavaghan Ash use  Pegus Diet Planner When Pegus Horse Feeds design rations for exercised horses, we will ask you  to provide information about the average level of exercise or training. We will  select the pre-defined levels…

Pasture grasses produce fructans as a storage carbohydrate. As the horse cannot digest the fructans enzymatically in the small intestine, they are digested by the microbes in the hind-gut, leading to production of volatile fatty acids and lactate. Increased lactate concentration lowers pH and alters the balance between the different strains of gut microbes. High intake of fructans can therefore lead to severe conditions as colic and laminitis in horses. What are fructans? Fructans consist of fructose units that are linked together. The chain length can vary from less than…