Winning Results: How Lucy Keeps Raine in Top Condition with Dengie
Fortunately for her owner Raine, lives off fresh air, but this also makes it challenging to manage her weight. Lucy Harrison purchased Raine as a just backed 5-year-old, who had lived out most of her life. At the time, Raine was a bit overweight, so Lucy started her on Dengie Hi-Fi Molasses Free with a balancer – a combination that has worked perfectly over the past five years. Raine is naturally a worrier, so Lucy was keen to avoid anything that might make her fizzy or stressy, or providing her with any extra calories!
“We hack once a week, have weekly lessons and do local riding club dressage” says Lucy. “I started going to Writtle College (now part of Anglia Ruskin University) dressage competitions in September 2023, which is where I first met Dengie Feed Advisor Katie Moncur. She attended the shows with their portable weighbridge and was on hand to offer nutrition advice. It has been fantastic to have Raine weighed on a regular basis each time we attend the shows and it has really helped me to manage her weight. Katie’s advice with both feeding and weight management tips has been great!”
October 2023 – Raine weighed 462kg
“Raine was initially 460kg when we first weighed her” comments Katie. “Lucy worked really hard to get the weight off in preparation for the summer. I advised Lucy to weigh Raine’s hay which she hadn’t been doing previously, and this has made a huge difference. It’s amazing how you think ‘that’s enough’ when really it’s way too much!”
Katie has also been visiting Lucy’s yard in the summer to help keep an eye on how Raine is doing. By May 2024 Raine’s weight was down to 411kg.
“Raine is out on strip grazed pasture overnight and comes in during the day. She is still fed Dengie Hi-Fi Molasses Free with a balancer, but I now soak and weigh out her hay which she has in a ‘greedy feeder’ net” says Lucy. “Her weight did creep up again at the end of summer 2024, so I used the winter to my advantage by not over rugging and also replacing some of her hay with straw. This is a lower calorie forage alternative and really helps me to feel like I’m giving her more to eat. Raine has a lovely coat shine, her feet are strong, and her work is always improving. So much so we won both of our classes at Writtle this May as well as winning the league for both classes too! One of which was coincidentally sponsored by Dengie which was very handy as I won some vouchers I could spend on more feed!”
