Home News Ultimate guide: Decode your pony’s feed bags

Ultimate guide: Decode your pony’s feed bags

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Find out what the small print on your pony’s feed bag means right here!

The information printed on your pony’s feed bag or supplement label is there to help you decide what’s best for him, so don’t be frightened of reading it. You can always ask a friend or grown up to help you go through it.

But let’s find out more with the help of Louise Jones, a nutritional expert from Connolly’s Red Mills as part of the British Equestrian Trade Association’s (BETA) Feet Fact Fortnight – a campaign created to help promote better feeding of ponies through knowledge and the sharing of information.

Learning the law

Some of the details are legally required, so let’s look at some statements that must be included on the bag by law…

  • product name – what type of pony the feed is for
  • company details – name, address and the manufacturer’s establishment number
  • product description – whether it’s a ‘complete’ feed to be fed alone or a ‘complementary’ feed to be fed with forage and other feed
  • composition – a list of ingredients and additives (including vits, mins and other nutritional additives)
  • analytical constituents – which would include fibre, oil, ash and copper and also declare if the product is low in something, for example starch
  • best before date and batch number
  • bag or container weight

Did you know?

Feed companies must never put medicinal claims on their products. This means they couldn’t write ‘this feed will treat your pony’s joint pain’.

Logo hunt – what to look out for

There are two extra things you might want to look out for when it comes to analysing your pony’s feed or supplement label.

  1. The BETA NOPS logo – this identifies whether a manufacturer has followed manufacturing codes to minimise the risk of naturally occurring prohibited substances (NOPS) getting into the feed.
  2. The BETA EGUS mark – this helps owners identify feeds suitable for ponies prone to gastric ulcers

Jargon buster

There might be some words on labels that you’re unfamiliar with, so let’s take a look and what they mean…

  • ash – this indicates the mineral content of the feed
  • micronised/steam-flaked/extruded – different cooking techniques that manufacturers use to improve how well your pony can digest his feed
  • crude – a method used to measure certain nutrients
  • additives – often wrongly perceived as bad or unnatural. However, it’s a legal term used to describe certain types of ingredients, some of which are critical for your pony’s health
  • chelate – chelated minerals are those that have been attached to other molecules such as an amino acid to improve how easily your pony can absorb the nutrients
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae – the scientific name for the species of yeast used in equine products

For more information on BETA and Feed Fact Fortnight visit beta-uk.org

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