What is Simple Systems?

Time and again we have found that problem horses are on an inapropirate diet. Why give high sugar feeds to a horse that reacts (See Spike below) to it? Why give oats and molasses to a horse that is only ridden once a week(See Danny below). Simple System is also equally suitable for perfectly healthy and well balanced horses - for example when your mare is feeding her foal(see Bonny below) - or when your cute riding pony just needs some supplements to keep his immune system in peak condition (See Scotty below). Simple System feeds are free from cereals, pulses, molasses, preservatives and additives. Everything is natural and the horse must take its time to eat it chewing every mouthful.

We first came across Simple System feeds when Carin went along to one of Jane van Lennip’s very entertaining and informative talks back in 2002. Jane made the subject of horse nutrition really easy to understand using straight forward language and some very amusing and illustrative props. We were completely convinced of the benefits of a Simple System diet and ordered a pallet of feeds straight away sharing it with our friend Lucy and our horses settled very happily on their new diet and we didn’t think much more about it until a couple of years later when we had started training other people’s problem horses and were recommending them to stop feeding products containing sugars and cereals and switching to Simple system feeds instead. “But where can we buy just a few bags to try?” This was indeed a problem in Southwest Wales at the time, and we started selling a few bags from of our own stock to horse training clients and friends and so the idea was born to become Simple System retailers. And so to cut a long story short and after quite a lot of investment in time and money and some very beneficial training in horse nutrition by Jane van Lennip we are now proud be part of the Simple System family and franchisees covering the whole of South Wales from Aberystwyth to Monmouth.

Simple System feeds provide a nutritionally healthy diet to cater for horses and ponies what ever their workloads and tolerances. By mixing a horses natural diet - grass - from different quality pastures, flash dried and with extra supplements if needed Simple Systems can cater from race horses to retired hunters. To glossy coated show horses to the sturdiest saddle pony.

How does the Simple System work?

The horse receives its nutrition from forage sources. Feeds are bulkier, ideally soaked and will take the horse much longer to eat. Extra nutrients for harder work, for instance, can be supplied by switching to a forage with a higher energy level and increasing the nutrient density with Simple System Ltd Instant Linseed. Forages naturally have higher levels of vitamins and minerals than, say, cereals such as wheat or oats, or pulses such as peas or beans. Where additional vitamins and minerals are needed, these are from natural sources, such as Simple System Ltd Pure Ocean Seaweed or Traditional Brewers’ Yeast. Our dried green forages come from two main sources, Lucerne and Grass.

Lucerne, called Alfalfa in America, is a deep rooting legume with high levels of nutrients, but is very low in sugars. It is an especially good source of digestible fibre, protein and calcium, with high levels of carotene. This is the precursor of Vitamin A and an important anti-oxidant. It is a suitable feed for most equines, but is most valuable when building muscle and condition.

When horses are coming back to work after a rest or illness, it provides all the right nutrients for developing muscle, but does not cause any hotting up, due to low sugar levels. This makes it particularly useful for laminitics, horses prone to tying up and horses tending to get filled legs. It is also ideal for breeding stock and growing youngsters. Natives, Arabs, Warmbloods and Veterans all do well on various forms of Lucerne.

Grass is what we all think of as horse food! The nutrient value varies over a wide range, being highest when the grass is in its early stages of growth, and lower after it has seeded. All our grass feeds are made from chopped, flash-dried grass. Grass has useful levels of phosphorous and calcium. Carbohydrate and protein levels are highest in young grass and lower in older grass, which has higher fibre levels. Generally, the higher carbohydrate levels and useful iron levels make grass feeds ideal for horses in harder work. Breeding stock without access to pasture, Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods all do well on grass feeds.

Unmolassed Beet Pulp is not strictly a forage, but is an excellent source of digestible fibre and as it is fed soaked, makes a succulent addition to the feed. Being unmolassed, it is unlikely to cause scouring, so can be fed in generous amounts.

Example of a weekly feed

Danny, Bonny, Scotty, Spike

• Danny 2kg of Lucienuts, 2kg of Purabeet, 175gr Total Eclipse, 125g Linseed, 4 tblsp Garlic Powder - all twice a day. Summer - 1/2 kg Lucienuts, 1/2kg Purabeet, 175gr Total Eclipse, 2 tblsp Garlic - all once a day
• Bonny with foal 2kg of Lucienuts, 2kg of Purabeet, 4kg Reg Bag grass nuts, 175gr Total Eclipse, 125g Linseed, 4 tblsp Garlic Powder - all twice a day.
• Scotty Summer - 1 scoop Total Eclipse(1 teacup/125gr) 100g Purabeet, 100g Lucienuts. (Extra brewers yeast when first arrived to help with calming)
• Spike 1/2kg Lucienuts, 1/2kg Purabeet, 150g Total Eclipse or Lunar Eclipse - when first arrived or when travelling. Spike must not be fed any cereals.

For additional information please visit Simple Systems website