Poultry keepers are told to keep their birds inside to protect them from a highly-infectious strain of avian flu in Europe.

Chicken, turkey and duck owners must keep their poultry indoors for 30 days or take steps to separate them from wild birds.

To give your feathered friends that little bit of luxury in their coops during this long term period of enclosure, provide them with Dengie’s Fresh Bed. Designed to keep poultry feeling warm, cosy and comfortable you can put your trust in Dengie to give them that extra bit of TLC.

Committed supporters of the British Hen Welfare Trust, Dengie recommend also providing your birds with toys, empty bottles, cardboard boxes and anything else that might help keep them entertained.

Dengie Fresh Bed is a chopped straw bedding with pine oil added for its natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It is easy to dispose of and will compost much quicker than wood shavings or pellets, producing great compost for your veggies!

Fresh Bed is available to purchase through the British Hen Welfare Trust website and other country retailers. It comes in easy-to-handle 50-litre bales making light work of keeping chickens warm and cosy.

Dengie Fresh Bed (50ltr) RRP £6.05 + VAT

For further advice on Avian Flu and the British Hen Welfare Trust click here.

As part of a series of exclusive interviews with equestrian professionals, Dengie catchs up with Alice Collins, Dressage, Products and Breeding Editor at Horse & Hound. Over the past five years she has reported from Olympics, Paralympics and travelled the world, covering World Equestrian Games, Europeans and national championships. Previously, she worked for the Sky TV channel Horse & Country TV, and she is a keen amateur rider, competing her home-produced mare Fab at prix st georges level. Surprisingly, she is also a Londoner.

How did you get started as a journalist and what kind of experience did you have around horses before you became a journalist?

The silver lining of going to boarding school was discovering riding. Having grown up in central London I hadn’t really noticed horses, but at age seven the opportunity to get out of school one afternoon a week was too good to pass up. I was obsessed straight away, despite my parents’ insistence that it was definitely just a phase — albeit an unreasonably, unjustifiably expensive one. School worked out that replacing the threat of detention with stopping me going riding was a far more effective deterrent.

I didn’t grow up around horses but helped out at riding schools whenever I could, and begged to go Wellington Riding’s residential courses in the summer, rather than staying in London. While at university studying Latin American studies I completed my BHS AI and after graduating spent three years working at Contessa Riding Centre in Hertfordshire, and then at Classic Dressage when it was in Buckinghamshire.

 

Shortly after leaving Classic nearly nine years ago, I got a call from a friend who was working in media and she said she had a job right up my street. At the time, I was working in customer services for Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly, but Horse & Country TV sounded interesting, so I took the job and my equestrian media career began.

Describe your normal work day if there is one and what does your job entail?

Horse & Hound moved offices from Central London to Farnborough in Hampshire early this year. It made my commute 10 times longer but a whole host of positives have come out of it, including vastly improved remote working and increased flexibility. So I don’t really have a ‘normal’ work day any more. Mondays involve an early start and a 12-hour press day — a fact of life for anyone who works at H&H. I now work four longer days instead of five shorter ones, which is fantastic. On the days I work from home, I go out for a 5k run before settling down at the computer, which sets me up for the day.

What do you like about what you do and what is the most challenging aspect?

The variety of each day, each week and each month is what keeps this job so rewarding and exciting. My duties are really broad, so one day I will be commissioning writers, one day reporting at a show and another chugging through hundreds of emails in my bottomless inbox. But I never forget the enormous privilege it is to have the access to the all the riders and events that we are lucky enough to go to.

The biggest challenge is the ever-tightening necessity to create more with less and maximise efficiency. The costs associated with producing a magazine — primarily printing and distribution — are high so there is huge pressure on each page to carry worthwhile content that our readers will enjoy. And they don’t always agree with each other about how those precious pages should be allocated, which is tough. Give them to dressage — one of the sports that polls consistently highly — and someone from point-to-pointing will be miffed. But that works the other way round too.

What do you dislike?

That people seem to believe that Horse & Hound has some sort of agenda. It’s a fallacy and whenever I see the phrase banded about on social media, it makes me bristle. Similarly people making personal assumptions about you when they dislike something you’ve written, but they’ve never met you or spoken to you. People are a lot braver (ruder) on social media, but no longer seem to pick up the phone and discuss issues like grown-ups. Even though you’d love to bite back and explain that many of their assumptions are wrong, you have to learn to let these things go otherwise they’d drive you mad.

Recent research suggests that up to 58% of competition and show horses in competitive work have ulcers and up to 59% of leisure horses suffer from Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS).

While there are many possible causes, high concentrate diets and intense exercise have been identified as the trigger in many equines. Feeding more fibre, in particular alfalfa, and reducing reliance on cereal based feeds can be beneficial and advice is that starch intake should be less than 2g per KG of bodyweight per day to reduce the risk of ulcers.

Dengie Alfa-A Oil which now displays the BETA feed mark for equines prone to EGUS is suitable for horses in moderate to hard work helping to improve stamina and condition. Fibre diets are much healthier for horses as they are more sympathetic to the digestive system and provide slow release energy. Alfa-A Oil offers a high calorie ration providing 12.5MJ/kg of Digestible Energy from pure alfalfa fibre and oil when fed in the recommended quantities. It has a comparable energy level to a competition/conditioning mix or cube but with, on average, 10 times less starch.

Beware of Imitations

Dengie Alfa-A Oil is ideal for promoting weight gain and condition without excitability as it contains high quality, pure alfalfa which provides essential amino acids for topline and muscle condition. Alfa-A Oil is not diluted with straw and other cereal by-products, contains NON-GM ingredients and contains no fillers or preservatives. The high temperature drying used to conserve the alfalfa produces a much cleaner forage than those containing straw and other cereal by-products which are “sun-dried” and variable in quality due to the vagaries of the UK weather.

The alfalfa included in Alfa-A Oil is grown by Dengie’s own farmers who have over 40-years’ experience growing crops and is grown close to the Dengie production sites. The high oil content comes from UK grown rapeseed oil which is all part of the Dengie commitment to low “feed miles” and supporting British farmers.

So if your horse or pony is likely to be a candidate for EGUS then consider the merits of a totally natural, locally produced, Dengie alfalfa diet. And as with all equine health issues, Dengie recommend that you consult your vet if you think your horse could be suffering from EGUS.

We were delighted to present the Championship awards at the inaugural British Dressage Natives Championship, held at Solihull Riding Club 28th-29th October 2016.

This hugely popular event saw entries from over 500 native horses and ponies.

As sponsors of the Traditional Gypsy Cob section, we were on hand to present the championship rosettes to the highest placed competitors in this championship.

Over 50 gypsy cobs took part in the weekend’s dressage championships; The Champions of the Dengie sponsored Intro section was Leanne Bailey, riding Moira Johnson’s eight-year-old Fairytale III with a score of 71.73%. Leanne from Stoke on Trent, Staffs, has only been riding Fairytale III, stable name Poppy, since the summer and decided to give affiliated British Dressage a try aiming for the Championships. They were also runners up in the Prelim championship too resulting in a very successful outing for this promising pair.

 

“Our preparation for the championships hadn’t gone well, in recent tests our percentages were way down on what they had been”, said Leanne.  “She was a bit spooky today with the arena banners and flowers but once she went down the centre line she knew she had a job to do and was brilliant.  I can’t believe we won!”

The Novice Pure Bred Championship went to Georgia Whelan from Amersham, Bucks, riding 11-year-old Tyke That.

 

“Ted was Prelim champion here last year so the pressure was on” said Georgia after her winning test. “He’s only completed in three novice tests this year, so I wasn’t coming here thinking I was going to win but to do just that is amazing! He’ll now have a couple of weeks off and then during the winter we’ll focus on training and aiming for the elementary championships next year.”

Simple, natural “green” horse feeds has always been the Dengie promise. Trusted for providing equines with the very best in locally grown, alfalfa based nutrition, we are now delighted to be able to offer horse owners a British grown, grass product that will provide all the fibre and much more that a healthy equine needs.

Dengie Meadow Grass with Herbs has been formulated by the Dengie team of scientifically trained nutritionists to be used as a source of pure, chemical free fibre that can be added to any bucket feed to help increase chew time. Ideal to use as a hay replacer it supplies additional calories to help gain/maintain weight especially during the winter months. The finest Lincolnshire meadow grass is dried, chopped and lightly dressed with  rape seed oil.  It is then topped with a unique blend of tasty herbs – liquorice root, fennel, mint, chamomile and aniseed. It is naturally sweet and as it is a short, soft chop is it great for veterans or horses with poor teeth.

Dengie Grass Pellets are a blend of naturally nutritious 100% pure British grasses. Naturally sweet to tempt fussy eaters the pellets are ideal as a partial hay replacer, can be fed dry or soaked, used in a snack ball or as a healthy treat. Non GM they provide highly digestible fibre; ideal for promoting gut health and contain as much energy as a low energy mix or cube. Ideal soaked for veterans or those with poor teeth they contain no added sugar and provide an alternative source of non-heating calories for winter weight gain. They are suitable for all horses and ponies as well as other livestock.

All the ingredients are 100% natural and each and every one is supplied by nature with minimal processing to retain as much natural goodness as possible. There are no artificial preservatives, flavours or additives used and both products are molasses free and contain no cereal or cereal by-products including straw.

The health and happiness of the horse together with caring for the planet is central to every Dengie product and the new Dengie Grass range are no exception. We grow as many of our own ingredients as possible and source as locally as we can to keep our “feed miles” down and support UK farmers. Each ingredient in a Dengie feed bag can be traced back to the field it was grown in to create natural and safe feeds you can trust. All this makes Dengie a truly environmentally friendly, feed brand.

For further information on Dengie’s new grass range click here.

If you need some nutritional advice for your  horse or would like to know more about any of our products, don’t hesitate to contact the Dengie Feedline team on 01621 841188 or chat live to a nutritionist.

At a seminar hosted by Dengie earlier this year, leading veterinary expert Professor Celia Marr from the world famous Rossdales Equine Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Newmarket, gave an update on Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS).

Recent research suggests that once horses begin training their likelihood of developing gastric ulcers increases. 17-58% of competition and show horses in competitive work have ulcers and the most surprising results were that pleasure horses – 37-59% suffer from EGUS.

While there are many possible causes, high concentrate diets and intense exercise have been identified as the trigger in many equines.

Feeding more fibre and reducing reliance on cereal based feeds can be beneficial and advice is that starch intake should be less than 2g per KG of bodyweight per day to reduce the risk of ulcers.

The new BETA approval mark for equines prone to EGUS created in conjunction with the VMD and launched earlier this year has been created to help owners identify feeds that are suitable for horses or ponies prone to EGUS.

Dengie Healthy Tummy is a nutritionally-balanced  fibre feed containing ADM Protexin In-Feed formula which helps to maintain optimum levels of acidity within the gut.

Suitable for horses in light to moderate work when fed at the recommended quantity this alfalfa based feed has natural buffering capabilities to keep the gut healthy. Healthy Tummy now has the approval to use the distinctive BETA approval mark for equines prone to EGUS  logo on its packaging.  For horses in hard competition work Dengie Healthy Tummy can be fed alongside traditional mixes and cubes or can be combined with Dengie Alfa-A Oil or Dengie Alfa-Beet.

So if your horse or pony is likely to be a candidate for EGUS then consider the merits of a totally natural, locally produced, Dengie alfalfa diet. And as with all equine health issues, Dengie recommend that you consult your vet if you think your horse could be suffering from EGUS.

As part of a series of exclusive interview with equestrian professionals, Dengie catches up with Sandy Phillips International Dressage Judge and member of the Eventing Ground Jury for 2016 Olympic Games. In addition to judging, Sandy is a professional dressage trainer based in the Cotswolds teaching riders from Novice to Grand Prix. 

In this second part of the interview Sandy talks to Dengie about dressage judging and gives some tips about how to impress the judges and ride a harmonious test.

What does judging entail?

Judging is an incredibly satisfying job, although you don’t generally please everyone all the time!

It isn’t paid even at FEI level but it’s about job satisfaction for me. I love to see a harmonious partnership carrying out a beautiful dressage test, it puts a smile on my face. The day usually starts very early on a big international show such as Badminton or Kentucky Rolex. These shows generally have about 80 competitors and the dressage is carried out over 2 days. We are in our judging positions by about 8am together with the person who is writing your comments. And then we get a break every couple of hours and an hour at lunch time. I have to be honest, fair and judge what I see in front of me on the day. Sometimes this can be tough for the competitors as they may have been preparing for this day for months and to get a disappointing dressage mark can put an end to their dreams of getting placed. The dressage element is so important these days for eventing and to win you need to be getting the lowest penalty points as possible.

What is most challenging aspect of judging?

Remaining consistent throughout the class no matter which combination comes in front of you. I also find it very disappointing to have to give low marks to combinations that haven’t quite got the balance right on the day. It’s disappointing to see potential stars of the future having a “bad day” at the office.

What is most rewarding about being a dressage judge?

Being able to give higher marks to combinations that have got the balance just right on the day. This enables them to carry out movements with more expression. Getting a personal best makes a rider and a judge very happy!

What is a common misconception people have about dressage judges?

Many people have the misconception that I am an ogre sitting in a box determined to give them a bad mark! I think every rider that competes should sit in a judge’s box to see what we see. It would certainly make them a better test rider.

What is the most valuable thing being a judge has taught you?

How we as riders need to ride a test to get the marks. I also think that there are some dressage tests that don’t really help the horse and rider show themselves off to the best of their abilities. I have recently created a 4* dressage test for eventing and this has been submitted to the FEI and I am hoping they will approve it as I think it will really help riders keep their horses in front of the leg and relaxed. It is designed to get the horse moving forwards and if a horse is thinking forwards it will generally get higher marks. As a judge I want to be giving an 8 rather than a 6.5 for movements that should be easy to carry out and this hopefully will be proved when we create dressage tests that flow.

Any advice for horse owners on how to make a good first impression when entering into the arena?

Come in with a horse that is working energetically, in good balance with a smile on your face!

Give us your top 5 tips for riding a dressage test. 

• Plan ahead for your next movement
• Ride your corners which will help to maintain the balance
• Take time in your halts. Don’t rush them.
• Understand the difference between impulsion and speed
• Aim for balance and relaxation – they go hand in hand and then everything else will seem effortless!

Every year the best three to six year old horses and ponies, bred in Germany, compete at the ‘Bundeschampionate’ of the riding, dressage, jumping, event, driving horse or pony to become the champion of the year.

Dengie’s German distributor The Horse & Hound Tack Shop will be exhibiting and Dengie’s International Sales & Performance Horse Specialist, Padge Whelan, will be on hand to offer advice on fibre feeding for the performance horse.  Make sure you pop by and say Hello (stand no.44)

For further information on the show click here

As part of a series of exclusive interviews with equestrian professionals, Dengie catches up with Sandy Phillips International Dressage Judge and member of the Eventing Ground Jury for 2016 Olympic Games. In addition to judging, Sandy is a professional dressage trainer based in the Cotswolds teaching riders from Novice to Grand Prix.

In this first interview Sandy talks to Dengie about life growing up around horses in Hawaii and how she made the switch from top level eventing to dressage.

What kind of early experiences shaped your own riding and how did your career as a dressage judge begin.

I was born in Hawaii and although my parents weren’t in the least bit horsey my grandparents were. I grew up riding western and herding cattle with my grandmother who gave me my first horse – he was 16.3hh and 25 years old with only a few teeth!

Luckily they listened to my incessant pleas about wanting a pony of my own and bought me Keola Girl – my first pony – out of a riding school. This pony taught me quite a lot – especially how to stay on as she didn’t want to work without her friends and would nap back to the yard , whipping round, bucking me off daily! When I mastered the art of staying on with a western saddle we got on famously and she was an amazing pony. She was a talented jumper but had a thing about cross poles. Instead of jumping over the cross poles she would duck through the space between the wing and cross taking me under the high end of the cross pole. It certainly taught me to ride to the centre of the jumps.

In Hawaii, horse shows consisted of western competitions on Saturday and English classes on Sunday, all with the same pony, so I got great all round experience. In the summer we lived on the beach and my horses went swimming every day and got fit going up and down the huge sand dunes.

The Pony Club was big influence on me. Lio Lii Pony Club took me through my B Test and then I went back east to boarding school where I completed my A test. Having decided to take some time off from University, I went to England to do a season of eventing and ended up staying much longer! I had many top 5 placings at international events including Badminton, Bramham and Boekelo.

While the cross country was definitely my forte, dressage certainly wasn’t. I actually hated it as I didn’t understand it! So I decided I needed to do something about it. This was the start of my dressage career and many years of training with various mentors including David Hunt, George Theodorescu and Hubertus Schmidt.

My first team appearance as a dressage rider was in Lausanne in the 1982 World Games, where I rode a horse called Marco Polo and finished as the highest placed American. After this I represented the USA at the Toronto World Equestrian Games and the LA Olympics.

Having gained my British Citizenship, I represented Britain at the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome and the 1999 European Championships in Holland on a horse called Fun. He was an amazing horse but he had a wild streak and on those days he was called ‘No Fun’! In 2006 I was part of the World Equestrian Games team in Aachen with my mare Lara 106, who is now retired and one of the foundation mares for my breeding programme. Lara also won the BD National Championships in 2006 which was a very special competition to win for me!

What has been the most memorial or inspirational experience with your career?

My cross country round at Badminton in 1982 on Free Scot as we had a magical time. Free Scot I always considered to be the most difficult horse to ride. He was a pure thoroughbred and everyone I had ever trained with just told me to sit quietly and don’t put too much leg on him so I didn’t really understand about a horse being “in front of the leg”.

The following year I was training with George Theodorescu and he got on Free Scot to demonstrate what he was trying to teach me about getting the horse in balance. This was a truly inspirational moment. No-one including me had ever been able to ride this horse without him wanting to run off. George put him on his seat and in front of his leg so the horse was balanced from behind. He had Free Scot doing flying changes (they weren’t required in eventing at that time) and lateral work with such ease that I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was that moment that inspired me to learn how to achieve this balance.

Is there anything about dressage that frustrates you?

I feel that there is too much pressure in the dressage young horse classes. All horses develop at different rates and they should not be rushed before they are 6yo if they cannot cope physically or mentally and unfortunately there are too many riders who cannot tell the difference between a horse who can cope and one who can’t. There are very few top class GP horses that competed and won in young horse classes. Feeding huge amounts of conditioning feed to make a horse look developed is a disaster waiting to happen. Keeping it natural with plenty of fibre, turn out and relaxed work is the way to produce a future star.

Trainers and producers of horses for sale also need to work on their public image. They need to be honest about the horses they are selling, especially to the many amateurs who are in the market. Professional and amateur riders differ greatly and even though it’s great that the UK is now breeding and producing so many high powered, highly bred horses they are not all for the amateur rider. Over horsing someone is dangerous and gives the sport a bad image. Don’t put a learner driver into a Ferrari!

Read part two here!

As part of a series of exclusive interviews with equestrian professionals, Dengie catches up with Haydn Price – Team GB Lead Farrier and Consultant Farrier to the BEF and WCP. In this interview Hayden talks to Dengie about his most memorable experiences as a farrier and tips on how Dengie followers can keep their horse sound and their feet in good health this summer.

What does your work entail?
Whilst the primary work is the practical aspect associated with shoeing horses, we also have a training element as part of our business, which requires some time spent ensuring that the knowledge is passed onto the next generation. I have apprentice farriers who spend time with me and also some more established names who are keen to expand their knowledge.

What has been the most memorial or inspirational experience with your career?
I suppose London 2012 has to be up there, as the dressage team was made up of my existing clients. It suddenly dawned on me after we had left Greenwich what we had all collectively achieved and I allowed myself a brief thought that I might just know how to shoe a competition horse after all.

What is your outlook for farriery advancements in the future?
We are witnessing something quite amazing with the development of more “evidence-based” research opportunities with existing institutions such as the Royal Veterinary College. With greater understanding in both veterinary medicine and practical farriery, we will be able to prevent more lameness issues as well as give equine athletes the support needed for top level competition.

Are you seeing any increases in certain ailments or diseases in your particular area?
Through better diagnostics we are now seeing an increase in a number of conditions such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Now we know about these issues through advancements in veterinary technologies, we can help owners to try and combat these diseases.

Any advice for horse owners on particular foot/hoof issues – how to avoid them?
With one of the wettest winters now well behind us, it is probable that the underfoot ground conditions will begin to change. If you are aware that your horse is likely to suffer from the hard ground, discuss it with your farrier so that the appropriate adjunct to shoeing can be administered before it becomes a performance-inhibiting situation.

Give us your top 5 tips for keeping your horse sound and keeping their feet in good overall health this summer.

1. The obvious one is to have a regular shoeing schedule that is bespoke to the horse’s individual requirements, which may not necessarily be the textbook 5-6 week period. Hoof growth rates vary, so take your farrier’s advice once he has got to know your horse
2. Discuss any performance issues with your farrier – there are cases where a change in shoeing style can benefit, depending on conformation and discipline.
3. Don’t forget to introduce a proactive approach to shoeing if your horse requires protection from the hard summer ground conditions and introduce the appropriate support/protection before it becomes a problem.
4. Encourage a good working relationship with all of your home team professionals, including your vet, farrier, physiotherapist and saddler. Whilst the information each one has on the individual horse may well be appropriate, sharing this information can often lead to a change or adjustment in treatment.
5. Good nutrition is vital to hoof health. Some horses can benefit from specific supplements that promote and strengthen the horn and advice on the appropriate supplement should be sought from both your farrier and vet. Don’t forget that horses were designed to eat forage! With the onset of the spring and summer grass, combined with horses being turned out more, owners will naturally see an improvement in hoof, coat and skin.