what is manuka horsilage^®

Manuka Horsilage^® is premium lucerne forage conserved as a small brick silage for horses. 100% of the lucerne used to make Manuka Horsilage^® is grown and cut from the fertile black soil of the Liverpool Plains around Quirindi NSW. It's high in protein and nutrients, contains no dust, is low in sugar and horses love the taste.

Download our brochure for all the information you'll need to know about Manuka Horsilage

when should you use it

Manuka Horsilage^® is great for

• Thin or old horses who need to gain weight
• Performance horses and breeding mares with high nutrition needs
• Horses with dust allergies or respiratory diseases
• Horses prone to laminitis that need to be fed a low NSC (sugar) diet
• Horses travelling or not drinking well when away from home
• Endurance horses needing calcium and hydration during competitive rides
• When you want nothing but the best for your horse

the benefits of horse silage

Premium nutrient value

Manuka Horsilage^® is higher in protein, calcium and energy and has more nutrients than good quality lucerne and grass hay. In addition the nutrients in silage are more digestible for horses than the nutrients in hay.

A British study found that silage was 61% digested vs the 39% of hay. Likewise 66% of protien was digested from silage while only 20% was digested from hay.

Low in non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) or sugar

Manuka Horsilage^® contains just 2.5% NSC (or sugar) on an as fed basis, making it perfect for horses that are prone to laminitis

horsilage lowers the risk of respiratory disease

University studies show that feeding high moisture forages like horsilage reduces the amount of dust in a horse's environment. This lowers the risk of respiratory disease as well as the side benefit of making it pleasant to handle.

Assists normal gut function and health

A longer fibre encourages the horse to chew and produce saliva which helps to maintain normal gut function and health as well as reducing boredom.

Helps keep horses hydrated

Manuka Horsilage^® resembles the natural diet of moist pasture and helps to keep horses hydrated especially when away from home.

Horses like the taste

Once horses get used to the new taste of Horsilage^®, University studies show they will eat it in preference to hay.

Sugar sensitive horses

Horses with diseases including insulin resistance, laminitis and Cushing’s disease experience very high levels of blood insulin when their feeds or forages contain more than about 12% sugars (non-structural carbohydrates). Recent research (Asplin et al. 2007) has shown that these high insulin levels can cause laminitis and horses with these diseases must be maintained on a ‘low sugar’ diet to avoid laminitis.

Manuka Horsilage^® provides a consistently low sugar forage alternative containing just 2.5% sugars on an as fed basis. This makes it one of, if not the lowest sugar forage available.

Is it safe?

Manuka Chaff pays a lot of attention to quality control to ensure Manuka Horsilage^® is safe for your horses.

Manuka Horsilage^® is baled at the correct moisture levels to allow a rapid drop in pH. It is the lowered pH of horsilage that prevents any growth of harmful bacteria, especially Clostridium botulinium - the bacteria that makes the botulism toxin.

Manuka Horsilage^® is routinely monitored for mould and mycotoxin contamination and its unique double-packaging helps to maintain product quality and safety.

Do horses like it?

Yes. Horses like silage and seem to prefer it over traditional hay. A study conducted in Sweden in 2006 showed that horses chose silage as their first choice in forage more than 85% of the time and that horses never left silage in favour of other forages like hay.

Manuka Horsilage^®smells and tastes very different to traditional hay and chaff. Therefore it can take up to a week before a horse, newly introduced to silage, will eat the portion served.

feeding directions

Manuka Horsilage^® should be fed as part of a balanced diet. Introducing silage to your horses diet should be done slowly over a period of 7 to 14 days.

The following table shows the amounts that can be fed per day based on a 500kg body weight.

Amounts should be adjusted according your horse's bodyweight, physical condition and current activity level. For more assistance please feel free to contact us or consult your local vet.

Sizes & where to Buy horsilage

Manuka Horsilage^® is sold in a cardboard box containing 2x 10L fully sealed plastic bags.

Manuka Horsilage^® is available from suppliers across NSW and southern Queensland. If your local stockist doesn't currently supply Manuka Horsilage^® or you live outside our current standard distribution area, ask your local supplier to order it from us using the details provided on the Contact Us page.

Retailers can order Manuka Horsilage Horsilage^® by contacting us here or from our online shop here.