Dos and don'ts regarding the nutrition of your sport horse

Dos

  • Always start the day with roughage and only give concentrate feed half an hour later.
  • Feed them a soaked roughage meal such as Pavo FibreBeet. If there isn't enough time to give concentrate feed before you go to a competition, you could, for example, add supplements to this slobber.
  • Feed roughage during transport. Especially if the journey takes longer than 2 hours, but if your horse is calm in the trailer you can offer it as standard even on short journeys. Just make sure it's safe to do so.
  • Give your horse roughage while waiting. Is your horse on the lorry or trailer for a long time before you start working with them? Make sure that they have something to nibble on.
  • Help your horse with sore muscles. If you notice that your horse has muscular pain, support him with Pavo MuscleCare. This helps with muscle pain and muscle acidification
  • Check magnesium intake in a nervous horse. If your horse is nervous, check whether your feed ration contains enough magnesium. You can also support your horse with Pavo NervControl.
  • Check whether the energy level of your concentrate feed matches the energy requirements of your horse. Prevent stiff muscles. Does your horse feel stiff after exertion or do you notice that he/she suffers from muscle ache? If waste products are accumulating in the muscles, it is advisable to stimulate their breakdown and removal, Pavo Eplus can help with this.
  • Have your roughage checked. Know what you are feeding and do a Roughage Quickscan to determine the exact value of your roughage.
  • Support your horse's joints. If your horse has sensitive joints, you can support him/her with Pavo Mobility.
  • Occasionally offer an alternative roughage as a healthy variation. Such as Pavo FibreBeet, SpeediBeet or FibreNuggets.

Don’ts

  • Don't feed concentrates just before transport. Avoid giving your horse a stomach ache and make sure that there's a minimum of two hours between the provision of concentrate feed and transport.
  • Don't switch to a different feed from one day to the next. Do you want to feed slobber on competition day? Make sure that your horse is already used to it so that it doesn't get a thin manure. The same applies if you want to change to a different feed.
  • Don't start feeding different roughage during a competition. Always feed your horse with the same roughage at competition as you feed it at home, this prevents your horse from developing a thin manure.
  • Don't feed supplements just on the day of the competition. Warm weather during a competition? Then start giving extra electrolytes such as Pavo E'lyte a few days beforehand.
  • Don’t give concentrate feed within 2 hours prior to exercise. Feeding concentrate within two hours of training will give your horse an upset stomach
  • Don't feed large meals of concentrate. It's better to feed your horse as many small meals of concentrate feed as possible. Never feed meals in excess of 2.5 kg at a time.
  • Make sure that the composition of your meals of concentrate feed doesn't vary. This prevents the intestines from getting upset.
  • Don't feed less than the recommended amount. If you feed less, your horse won't get the nutrients it needs.
  • Don't overtrain to gain muscle mass. Do you think that the muscle mass is insufficient or do you want to build up more muscle mass faster? Then you can choose to temporarily feed Pavo MuscleBuild.

"If our horses have to go into the ring a second time, we give Pavo ReHydrate. This immediately replenishes the electrolyte, fluid and energy reserves and makes them recover faster.”

Merel Blom, international eventing rider

Recommended products

Make your ration complete with Pavo supplements

Muscles and joints

Pavo MuscleCare

- Helps stiff muscles

Pavo MuscleBuild

- For rapid muscle growth

Pavo Eplus

- Promoting supple muscles

Pavo Mobility

- Promoting supple joints

Electrolytes and Nervousness

Pavo ReHydrate

- Sports drinks for fast recovery

Pavo E'lyte

- A complete electrolyte mix

Pavo NervControl

- For more calmness in nervous horses