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British Eventing Life caught up with Dengie to discover its top tips to win.

Look after your horse’s digestive health

Fibre is vital for the digestive health of the horse. Low-fibre diets, combined with higher-starch rations are linked to loose droppings, an increased risk of colic and gastric ulcers. When it comes to ulcers, not all fibre is the same and research has shown that alfalfa as a fibre source is a superior buffer to acidity in the digestive tract. Feeding a double handful of a chopped alfalfa-based fibre feed, such as Dengie Alfa-A Oil, 20-25 minutes before you ride is recommended to help prevent ‘acid splash’ in the non-glandular region of your horse’s stomach.

Look after your horse’s respiratory health

Stabling and travelling horses in confined spaces potentially increases their exposure to respirable particles such as mould which can be detrimental to respiratory health. Dengie Performance Fibre combines precision-dried grasses and alfalfa with a light molasses and oil coating with added spearmint oil. As both the grasses and alfalfa are precision dried, Performance Fibre provides an exceptionally clean fibre source for the performance horse and can be used as a partial forage replacer.

“Dengie Alfa-A Oil is an essential element of all of our horses’ diets. The combination of pure alfalfa and oil provides the ultimate blend of slow-release energy and helps them maintain condition. We know a healthy, happy horse can give 100% in both training and competition and they have never looked or felt better.”

Alex Bragg, CCI5* International Event Rider

Hydration is key for health and performance

Both water and electrolytes are required to keep your horse hydrated and an electrolyte supplement should be a daily addition to the ration throughout training, travel and competition. Using a fibre mash such as Dengie Alfa-Beet, which combines alfalfa and unmolassed sugar beet, can be helpful. As a soaked feed, Alfa-Beet carries water into the digestive tract and, as it is so highly digestible, releases it readily to aid hydration. It is also a very palatable fibre mash, useful for masking the taste of electrolytes or water when travelling and competing away from home.

Take your cool down seriously

After exercise, the lymphatic system has lots of work to do clearing the waste generated by cells that have been working hard to supply the fuel that powers performance. The flow of lymph is stimulated by things like muscle contraction, the pulse through arteries and movement of the gut (peristalsis). The cool-down period is really important for allowing the waste products of exercise to be cleared by the lymphatic system and depending on the intensity and duration of exercise, a good 15-30 minute cool down will benefit recovery.

Choose Sports Safe Feeds

Don’t get caught out. Think about where your forage is coming from – does your supplier understand the risk of NOPS? Several examples of positive dope tests occurred when people competing abroad used forage supplied by the venue. Look for BETA NOPS approved companies and if in doubt, take hay replacers with you. For more information, click here: https://dengie.com/feed-finder/performance-racing/

For feeding advice contact the Dengie Feedline on 01621 841188 or visit www.dengie.com