Donkeys are highly adaptable feeders. If given the opportunity, they will consume a variety of different grasses and shrubs to obtain sufficient nutrients. It is generally accepted that the donkey can exist with less food than a horse. Their efficient utilization of food makes donkeys easy keepers, but don’t let the term misguide you. It is important to take care in determining when and how much to feed as obesity is a major concern in modern domesticated donkeys.

Horse owners are routinely putting rugs (blankets) on their horses all year round. However new research suggests that certain types of rug could be causing them to overheat. It has become routine (and even fashionable) for many domestic horses to be rugged all year round – in fly-sheets, all-weather turnouts, stable rugs, fleeces or perhaps even a onesie. Rugs can be useful in protecting horses from biting insects and in adverse weather conditions; however, until now there have been very few studies on rugging at all and none on the effect of different types of rugs on a horse’s body temperature.

Understanding their unique roles in equine gut health - Nutritional supplements designed to assist in digestion are becoming increasingly popular among horse owners. We’ve all heard about probiotics, but increasingly we are starting to see products claiming to be prebiotics.

Beet pulp is a by-product from the manufacture of table sugar and, contrary to popular belief, is actually quite low in calories having barely more digestible energy than typical hay. It is also usually quite low in protein, with ranges of around two to six percent, and very low in vitamin A.