🌟The forage-first horse company
🐴 Specialists in ethical horse care
🌱 Forage analysis. Precision feeding
🔬 Science-backed welfare for horses
The sensible way to optimise diet is to find out what is contained in the greatest proportion of the horses diet, namely grass, hay or haylage. We offer laboratory forage testing of the highest standard, both full mineral and nutritional to determine nutritional intake more accurately. We stock a range of high quality, low iron, lowest sugar, off the shelf forage focused supplements which have been formulated to using our hundreds of analysis reports. We can use the results from these reports to create bespoke nutrition plans to optimise your horses health and performance. Each plan is individual to your horse and covers calorie needs, mineral, electrolyte and vitamin needs. We are experts who practise what we preach using our feeding philosophy with all our horses whom we compete on in endurance, riding club events and drag hunt through the winter.
18/02/2026
🔶 ADVANCED NOTICE 🔶
Something new is coming.
On April 15th 2026, we will be launching the
Positive Bit Free Horse Group, hosted by Forageplus.
This will be a free hybrid event (in person + live streamed on YouTube) for horse owners who are ready to explore:
• Training without bits
• No whips
• No escalation of pressure
• A reward-based, positive reinforcement approach
• Welfare guided by the 5 Domains framework
This is for those who believe we can communicate with horses differently, and want to build the skills to do so.
🍴 Free buffet
🎟 Limited to 50 in-person spaces
Early access to tickets will be released first to:
• Our email list members - sign up through the link in the comments.
• The “Just for You” Instagram Channel
General release will follow (if spaces remain).
If this speaks to you, now is the time to make sure you’re on the list.
More details coming soon.
17/02/2026
Good advice - don’t beat yourself up and do what you can.
💦 If the start of the year has felt like one long downpour, you're not imagining it. Waterlogged paddocks and deep mud have made regular poo picking impossible for many horse owners.
🫣 With that often comes guilt. We know pasture hygiene reduces parasite risk. Yet there are times when the weather simply wins. If you couldn't keep up with dung removal this winter, you're not alone and welfare includes yours as well as your horse’s too.
🌤️When conditions improve, focus on what you can control. Clear accumulated droppings as thoroughly as possible. Rotate or rest heavily contaminated areas where practical and pick up where you left off before the rains came!
🔬🐛 Most importantly, keep testing. Worm egg counts every 8 to 12 weeks will show whether egg shedding is rising, allowing evidence based decisions about treatment.
🤗 A wet winter does not undo years of responsible management. Sustainable parasite control is about balance, not perfection.
Our top tips on taking back control after winter 👉 bit.ly/Waterlogged-Winter-Parasites
17/02/2026
🧲 Magnet Challenge: Repel ➡️ Attract
Building understanding first… then building distance.
We’re starting close and gradually increasing space so those “magnets” become stronger and clearer 💛
The barrier (antecedent arrangement) prevents him from falling forward while I’ve shifted my position more to his side, setting him up for success instead of correcting mistakes.
And yes… the power mats are quietly doing their job again 👣✨
Yay New Zealand 💕 Hellooooooo horse riding clubs and organisations in the UK? Where are you? Are you inclusive or exclusive?
In a day and age where we embrace all humans and understand that discrimination is not OK, why are riders who choose the most up to date ethical riding and training being discriminated against?
Forward this to your riding club or competition organiser - ask them what they are doing for inclusivity?
People power is what we need - what do you think?
13/02/2026
When you said you loved horses…
but forgot that also means loving:
🌫 relentless grey skies
🌧 sideways rain
🫠 ankle-deep mud
💩 and 200kg of soggy fluff
This February is proving the ultimate test of true horse girl commitment.
13/02/2026
Omega 3 is ALWAYS deficient in winter diets unless it is added as a supplement into the bucket feed. The best form is micronised linseed. The ECIR group will give you the best, evidenced based information to ensure your horse receives the vital nutrition it needs to be healthy. Horses are what they eat and we need to make sure the gaps are filled as matched to grass and hay.
There have been no studies documenting the safety or appropriateness of high-fat feeding to IR horses. The only fat insulin-resistant (or any) horses need is a supply of the fatty acids they are unable to manufacture themselves: omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (which they would normally ingest from grass). Learn more about appropriate diets for IR/EMS and PPID equines at: https://bit.ly/2HV5Gqs
13/02/2026
Just over a year ago - this was the thought I had - so I ditched the whip and found out I had zilch. Since then my journey into consent based training where I cannot coerce my horse because I can’t waggle a whip, even subtly (now I have even moved on to banning myself from being handsy with a rope and halter) has changed my whole outlook and perspective on what constitutes ‘good’ horse training and more than that what this change means to my horses.
Once you see it you can never unsee it. Once you feel it you can never unfeel it.
My challenge to anyone who thinks that the whip is an extension of their arm is to leave it in the stable and see what they have. I see lots of stuff now in the liberty horse world which has popped my bubble. Is it actually ethical to ever coerce a horse with a whip when there are better ways to train?
It’s the ethical place to rebuild that popped bubble because you have recognised how the horse feels about you and your ‘arm extension’ - thank you Shawna Karrasch Equine because you were very much a part of my change and stepping into a world of total horse joy that I had never experienced before.
13/02/2026
Happy Birthday Westgate Labs - we have used them for ……. 27 years!
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No matter what you do with your horse we are here to care about you, support you, teach you, search for you and help you find the path to a healthy, robust horse with whom you will share and enjoy many years of fun, success and happiness.
We are here to make a difference to horses and their owners around the world because every horse matters to us.
The best horse diet takes account of what is contained in the greatest proportion of the horse’s diet, namely grass, hay or haylage. That is always where our Forageplus intelligent horse nutrition approach starts to develop and create the healthiest horse.
Testing horse hay, haylage and grass
We offer laboratory testing of the highest standard. We can test grass, hay, haylage soil and water so that all the elements which will affect your horse environment can be looked at in detail. We offer full mineral and nutritional analysis of forage to determine nutritional intake more accurately. Our nutritional analysis splits sugars into the vital ESC and starch to look at forage safety for horses and ponies prone to laminitis,
Horse feed balancers and supplements
We stock a range of high quality, low iron, off the shelf forage focussed supplements to supply protein, vitamins and mineral. Our high quality, low sugar, horse feed balancers have been formulated using hundreds of analysis reports to match to the grass, hay and haylage your horse eats.
Bespoke horse feed plans
We use the results from forage analysis reports to create bespoke nutrition plans to optimise your horse’s health and performance. Each plan is individual to your horse and covers calorie, protein, mineral, electrolyte and vitamin needs.
Expert horse feed help
We are experts who love horses and riding. We practise what we preach using our feeding philosophy with all our horses whom we train in the most ethical and kindest way.
Follow us
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