The 5 most frequently asked questions from horse owners in 2020


In a year like no other, what were the most common feed related questions that horse owners asked the Dengie Feedline? Well quite surprisingly, given that many horses had a reduced workload, the most commonly asked question related to underweight horses. Dengie’s Technical Manager, Katie Williams explains “There was a definite shift in horse owners looking for safe ways to promote condition in their horses. Conscious that workloads could vary due to all the uncertainty and disruption that we experienced in 2020, horse owners were keen to avoid or reduce the amount of cereals their horses were consuming and so looked for high quality fibre and high oil feeds instead. Condition safely was definitely the number one theme in 2020!”

As expected, the poor forage harvest resulted in an increase in the number of enquiries relating to forage replacers and how to make reduced forage stocks last longer. “The drought of 2018 resulted in a huge uplift in enquiries about hay replacers,” Katie comments “but the number of enquiries nearly doubled in 2020, suggesting it is a really significant issue for people. Since we launched our range of grass products we have been able to give people really practical and cost-effective ways to extend their forage supplies”.

Overall the Dengie Feedline saw a 30% increase in the total number of enquiries, which reflects the fact that people used their time in lockdown to review their horses rations and make the changes they might not have had time to consider previously.

The 5 most frequently asked questions from horse owners in 2020 were:

  1. Promoting condition safely
  2. How to provide sufficient fibre for good doers without promoting weight gain
  3. Fibre feeds for horses with dental issues
  4. How to extend or replace hay
  5. Enquiries relating to gastric ulcers

For further information or friendly feeding advice, contact the Dengie Nutrition Team on 01621 841188 or click here to complete our Feed Advice Form.