The Tölt Tales

Episode 17 - Viktoria Östlund

• The Tölt Tales • Season 2 • Episode 7

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Join us for an insightful conversation about feeding with Viktoria Östlund, a passionate expert whose life revolves around the unique Icelandic horse. Viktoria is an educated Animal Science Agronomist, is the current head of development at Flyinge, she brings her scientific rigour to the world of equestrian sports, teaching the critical subject of feed science to university students at SLU. 

Viktoria breaks down the specialised nutritional needs of the Icelandic horse. Discover how their unique background influence their diet, learn about the latest research, and get practical tips to ensure your horse performs its best. Whether you own an Icelandic horse or simply want to understand the science behind equine nutrition, this episode with Viktoria is a must-listen!

https://www.roslovsholm.se/om-oss

https://flyinge.se/person/viktoria-ostlund/

https://blogg.lrf.se/skribenter/viktoria-ostlund/

https://hastsverige.se/foderstatsprogrammet/








Music by Cob.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, @the_toelt_tales.

Ariane:

Welcome to The Tölt Tales Podcast. Hey, Viktoria.

Viktoria:

Hey.

Ariane:

How are you today?

Viktoria:

I'm great. Welcome here to Roslofsholm.

Ariane:

Super cool, thank you for having us. We normally introduce the guest, or actually the guest introduces themselves. So who are you? What are you doing in your everyday life?

Viktoria:

Oh, I'm a horse lover since I was a child, and I do quite a lot, actually. We live here at the farm, Roslofsholm outside Lund, Flyinge, where we host horses, and we also have a farm.

Ariane:

Yeah. It's in the south of Sweden, we need to say, because we have listeners from all over the world.

Viktoria:

Good. So we grow crops. And besides that, I'm actually a professional board member, active in horse organizations and farmers' organizations.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

Yeah.

Ariane:

I hope we hear more about this later.

Viktoria:

Yes. And I also work a spare time in Fliing Östrumsholm, or have done until now, actually, where I educate in horse feeding.

Ariane:

Yes. And this is why we want to talk to you today. Supergod. Why did you choose Icelandic horses?

Viktoria:

Actually, it was a coincidence from the start. I started as a normal riding school when I was about six years old. And next to my school, there was a family that had Icelandic horses. So I started helping them with their horses. My family has not been involved with horses. No, they have tried me to try every other sport and interest to do anything else besides horses. But I found this on my own, actually. So I could help them with their horses and I got to ride. So I started there when I was eight years old. And I started guiding my first horse as a 12 year old. Oh, wow.

Ariane:

Was that also here in Skåne?

Viktoria:

No, that was where I'm from, Enhörna, outside Stockholm.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

It was a great start to try different horses and that I didn't get a horse when I was at young age. I think.

Ariane:

So you were riding other people's horses.

Viktoria:

Yeah, I learned a lot.

Ariane:

Yeah, I agree. This is, it's good to change.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

Sometimes. How many horses do you have done today? Do you have your own horses now?

Viktoria:

Two and a half. One on the way.

Ariane:

Yeah, we know that most of the people that we interview, they don't just have one horse.

Viktoria:

No, so I don't have that many, actually.

Ariane:

No, that's actually true. So two and a half. Okay. And then do you plan on expanding at one point?

Viktoria:

Actually, I look for a new one. So three and a half.

Ariane:

Soon. So maybe next time we talk, that could be.

Viktoria:

Hopefully, yes.

Ariane:

When is the last time you bought a horse? So if you're planning, maybe now, but when is the last time you bought a horse?

Viktoria:

It was actually during the spring. A horse for my son.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

Yeah, he's 80 years old and interested. So I bought a 19 year old mare for her, for him.

Ariane:

Super good.

Viktoria:

It's a wonderful horse. The best horses are those suitable for kids. Yeah.

Ariane:

So you're going to ride together?

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

That's really nice. Is the rest of your family also riding or involved with the horses?

Viktoria:

No, not really. No.

Ariane:

But then you have something together.

Viktoria:

It's great fun.

Ariane:

Super nice. So then we want to actually come to your education. You went to Håla, I read.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

And how did that happen? Like what happened in your head that you said, like I go to Iceland and I will study at the university there with Icelandic horses?

Viktoria:

Oh, I guess it was kind of a dream come true since early ages that I really, I've been in love with Iceland and wanted to go there, wanted to study in Håla of course, that I think that most of the young people interested in Icelandic horses would like to do. So I know that at one point I was at a riding course with Atli Gummelsson, and he actually sent me to a farm where he had his horses during the summertime and his mares to learn Icelandic. So that was kind of one start to go there, to learn Icelandic and the training horses, milking cows. And yeah, I applied and got to do the test and there we went. But at that point when I applied for Håla, I was studying at Ulltuna, the agricultural university in Sweden. So I went away from that part.

Ariane:

So you decided you wanted to rather focus on the horse part?

Viktoria:

Yeah, I did that for... Yeah, I did that and then I came back to Ulltuna to finish it. So, lots of studies at a couple of years.

Ariane:

Yeah, but I can now even more relate to that. But what did you do? What program did you do in Håla? How long did you stay there? The normal, I think, is three years for a lot of programs?

Viktoria:

Yes, at that point when I went there, I was for one winter, one year, and I got an exam. So the whole program was for three years then as well. But we actually got an exam for each year. So I would have loved to stay longer, but because of the studies in Sweden, I ran out of money, to be honest.

Ariane:

So that happens. So then after you finished your graduation, you directly moved back to Sweden?

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

But what I read about you is that you also look into, I had written it down here, physiology and movement mechanics of the Icelandic horse. So you looked into that. How did you start this? And where did you start this? Where did you do this? What does it involve?

Viktoria:

Yes. Well, that was at the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, where I studied animal science for five years. And of course, since horses are my big interest, I wrote my both thesis on horses and training physiology.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

And the last one, the final exam that you told us about was, it was great fun. It was actually a test for measuring asymmetry in horses.

Ariane:

How do you measure that?

Viktoria:

Yes. Well, this was a long time ago. And it was kind of a pre-stage to Slap the app. I don't know if you've heard about it. That you can actually now, if you have a mobile phone, you can scan your horse's gait to find asymmetries.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

But this was a very early stage of that. So I put on accelerometers on the horse's legs to measure stride and length and asymmetries for at the... We measured riding school horses, family horses and competition horses.

Ariane:

You could probably... Is it something like the app that also detects if your horse is lame or something?

Viktoria:

Yes, exactly.

Ariane:

So you did this. How did you then continue in the horse world? You were still riding. You were focusing not just on Icelandic horses during this time. But then you went back to the Icelandic horses. So you always came back to them.

Viktoria:

I've always been in Icelandic horses. Yes, I have. And I've had normal jobs as well. But I've always had this besides having training horses and education. I love training people and horses together.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

So yeah, it's always been there. And as it is now as well, I have riding lessons, courses and training horses here at home, at Roslofsholm, together with my normal job, so to say, as a board member and at Flingestromsholm.

Ariane:

Wow.

Viktoria:

You keep yourself busy. So it's a good combination. I love it.

Ariane:

Definitely.

Viktoria:

To be at a computer and in meetings and afterwards to go into the riding hall. It's lovely. And you get your feedback immediately.

Ariane:

Such a luxury to have a riding house in the south of Sweden. But at the moment, the weather is amazing, so I'm not complaining.

Viktoria:

Yes, it is.

Ariane:

So you mentioned that you teach also. Yes. And you, because we wanted to talk to you about feeding.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

So you teach at SLU also.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

For how to feed your horse. How does it, how do you approach the whole thing? Because how do you start the whole education when you go into this?

Viktoria:

So it's the program of equine studies. And well, the whole basis is that a horse is a grass. Horses are, they are grass eaters.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

So I'm not objective in that sense. I'm very into grass and forage. Because that's what it's all about. To choosing the right forage, the right grass for the right horse, actually. And sometimes you need some supple bands, and sometimes not.

Ariane:

Yes. Do you go into, do you focus on how it is here in Sweden, or do you also look a bit over and see how the situation is in other countries, and maybe even on another continent?

Viktoria:

Well, sometimes we do, and we have students that have been abroad working and coming from other countries as well. But mainly with a Swedish perspective, I would say. But it's also different in Sweden, because it's a big country, from Skåne up to the very north.

Ariane:

Yes, that's true.

Viktoria:

The quality, it differs a bit. Yeah.

Ariane:

When we have the situation that you talk about the feeding, you don't only focus again on Icelandic horses. You talk about horses in general.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

But is there a specification for Icelandic horses that people are more interested in?

Viktoria:

Well, I always come back to a horse is a horse. Yes. And often it's the people that try to do their horse more special than they perhaps are. But of course, it can differ. Like a working trotting horse is quite a hard working horse. Yeah. But no, it's the basics are really the same.

Ariane:

And do you then make a kind of also plan like that you look at how much when you talk about now trotting horses, how much the horses actually do, and then how much intake they would need to have a certain, didn't we say hull?

Viktoria:

Yes, the body score condition, yes.

Ariane:

So you look into that and then you could kind of, there's probably a formula also to calculate this.

Viktoria:

Yes, of course. Yes.

Ariane:

Can you tell us a bit about this?

Viktoria:

First of all, you need to choose what forage you have and choose the right forage to your horse, the right grass, so to say. And when you have it, when you have the analysis, so you'd know what it contains. That's like the basics and not everyone has it. So it's an important thing to have. Then you can put it into a program.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

And we have a luxury actually here in Sweden. We have a website called Hest Sverige, where all information put on Hest Sverige. It's like, there are researches.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

Taking a look at all the facts that it's okay. So it's like, scientific-proved, so to say. And there is a program for calculating a ration for your horse. And it's for free. So I can highly recommend it.

Ariane:

For free is always good.

Viktoria:

It's open.

Ariane:

But this is really interesting. So we will definitely look into this and hopefully everybody that listens now will also look into this.

Viktoria:

But kind of the basics is, of course, to understand the nutrition of the horse, the horse's needs, and then to calculate it. And afterwards, most important is to to look at your horse and see how well it works, because all the horses are different. So, as you mentioned, body condition scoring is really important.

Ariane:

Yeah, to maybe also consider how much work the horse actually does, or how also then maybe the metabolism, or also the overall physical state of the horse, is it something that you would consider to also, if something you have a plan, you feed the horse in a certain way, you know the nutrients are all in, would you then consider maybe also taking it to the vet, or taking some blood samples, or some kind of making more tests, if you see what you put in should result in something, but it doesn't actually come out.

Viktoria:

Yes, of course, of course. And all horses are different, so it's of great importance to look at your horse and to feel your horse with your fingers. And that is also something that we see, that many people, that they think that their horses are thinner than they actually are. So lots of horses that are actually too fat, and that is, that's it. Yeah, it's increased risk for the horse.

Ariane:

Absolutely.

Viktoria:

Both for sickness and also for asymmetries and lameness.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

More weight.

Ariane:

Yeah, absolutely. And strainers on the ligaments and everything.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

That's true. I was just wondering, because you're also in the agricultural world, and I know that in the stable in Germany, we had special grass seeded for horses that are prone to laminitis, but that they need a certain protein-rich grass. Is this something that is happening here in Sweden? Because I actually do not know.

Viktoria:

Yes, yes. And there are, it's like a buffet. There are so many different kinds of grasses and forages. So if you know what to look for, then I'm sure you can find it. Yeah. And it's also, of course, to have, it's important to have a good discussion with your farmer that actually cut your grass, if you would like some more protein, some more energy. Lots of it is possible to regulate.

Ariane:

Yeah. Do you know if there is already efforts, especially here in Skåne, that people are more thinking about seeding a certain grass for certain kind of animals? Or is this something that is rather like, that people do it like in private or just for their own farms? Do you know if there is some efforts?

Viktoria:

No, I think that there are more types of forages available and also that the knowledge is increasing.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

Yeah. I hope so, at least.

Ariane:

Yeah. We hope now also listening to you that there will be a bit more consideration of how you feed your horse.

Viktoria:

Yes. But also we see a big interest in the sugar level. If you have a horse, protolaminitis, then that is important to look at.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

But the healthy horse, then sugar is not a big problem or is no problem.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

So we see that lots of horse owners are very afraid of sugar levels.

Ariane:

Do you also look into first cut and second cut of hay and stuff like this?

Viktoria:

Yes. Well, we produce our own haylage, so, yes, we do.

Ariane:

Can you tell us a bit more about what is first cut, second cut, and the difference maybe between hay, haylage, and what you see is working good? Do you have a personal favorite? Do you have any recommendation?

Viktoria:

Yeah. So what should we start with? Maybe we can start with the different kinds, like hay, haylage, and silage. And what difference between them is the water level? Yes. And that's it. So if you have hay and haylage, it's conserved in a plastic bag. So it's like a sauerkraut, you know? And hay is dried, so it's conserved. Yeah, you dry it to keep the hygiene at a good level. And all of them can be good alternatives for horse feed. It can be a little bit more tricky, especially here south of Sweden, to keep your hay free from damp.

Ariane:

Okay, yeah.

Viktoria:

Since we don't have cold winters, so you need a good barn and perhaps to place straw bales around it, you know, to really keep it dry. So that can be tricky.

Ariane:

That is interesting. I never thought about that.

Viktoria:

Okay. And of course, you need really dry weather when you take it in. So it is completely dry. And haylage and silage, that's also water levels. And we often carry around our feed a lot when we have horses. And then it can be good to have a little bit more dry feed because it's less kilos to carry around. But actually, studies show that horses prefer a little bit more wet silage. So many people are afraid of giving wet silage and call it like a cow feed.

Ariane:

Exactly. And that they get then the cow poop actually afterwards. But I'm also not sure if this is really, if I see this so much. I think it maybe depends also on other factors additionally.

Viktoria:

Yes, there have been some studies and nothing shown that the pH in the horses differs.

Ariane:

This is good to know.

Viktoria:

But it's a little bit more to carry around. And if you live up north, it can freeze. The feed can freeze, of course, if you put water in it.

Ariane:

Yeah, absolutely. So that is something.

Viktoria:

Practical aspects about it.

Ariane:

Yeah, also for the person that does the job. This is also something different to Germany, where I'm not used to packing hay bags and carrying them out. So often when you have a stable like this, you put the hay, you just push the hay in front of the box, and then the last minute you push it in. Or if it's a loose drift or like a loose operation, you have some kind of grits, and again, it can be pushed just in front of it from a bale, so no packing.

Viktoria:

A little bit more practical. I don't like these bags. It must be kind of a Sweden thing with IKEA, don't you think?

Ariane:

I feel really, I'm also not sure if this is, maybe they at IKEA, they had an idea for those bags, like, let's think about it, and maybe we can reuse those bags for all the poor horse people that need to pack their bags.

Viktoria:

No working environment.

Ariane:

No, exactly. That is something also that I hope to see a bit more in the future, that people make maybe some changes into what is more practical, actually.

Viktoria:

We see it coming. It comes, I'm sure.

Ariane:

There is already something.

Viktoria:

Yeah.

Ariane:

And all right, then back to cut one, cut two.

Viktoria:

Yes, there we were.

Ariane:

Oh, hey, sorry.

Viktoria:

Well, so what I look at when I study an analysis is, of course, the dry matter, the water amount and the energy. Yes. And the protein, the digestible protein. But not the sugar? Not for my horses at this moment, because I don't have any horse that is sensitive to sugar. So I don't say that it's not important. It depends on your horse.

Ariane:

Yes, of course.

Viktoria:

But mine are not at this moment. So, and what decides the energy is how mature the plant is. So the earlier you cut the grass, the more energy it's in it.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

And you can imagine a really green lawn, you know? It's a lot of energy. You can see the green color.

Ariane:

It's really lush.

Viktoria:

And like a long straw of grass that it's yellow.

Ariane:

Yeah, true.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

Becomes almost like straw, like hulm.

Viktoria:

Exactly. So less energy. So that is what decides the energy level. No wonder if it's the first, second cut, third cut, fourth cut, you know? So it depends on when you cut it.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

And well, what we also see is that we often look at forages that have less energy than we have. Like if we look at for 10, 20 years ago, we have cut grass for dairy cows, traditionally in Sweden. And of course, they want to have as high energy level as possible to be able to produce milk. But as for our horses, the normal or the average Icelandic horse needs to chew a lot, to have lots of amount to eat, but low energy.

Ariane:

Yes. Okay.

Viktoria:

So then you need to cut it at a late time.

Ariane:

That's good to know. So...

Viktoria:

I mean, you can look at the analysis to see what it says.

Ariane:

Absolutely. And then in the end, probably everybody needs to see, how is the season going? How is the farmer actually doing it when you're dependent on somebody?

Viktoria:

Yes. And the weather, of course. And at the same time, we want a good protein level. And the energy falls by time.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

As we said, you know, by the weeks go, the energy level decreases, and also does the protein.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

So we want to cut it at a time where we have enough protein.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

And what's possible to do is to have a clover or alpha-alpha, lucerne, for example. Something else that has a lot of protein in your grass.

Ariane:

So you could either have a certain type of grass mixed in, or you would then supplement, when you know that you don't have access to another grass, you could supplement with this.

Viktoria:

Yes. And you can also put nitrogen at your field, of course, to make sure that it has a lot of nitrogen.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

That gives protein.

Ariane:

Okay, so we have the hay, hay silage, haylage and silage. And then we have straw. What about straw? There are different types also of straw.

Viktoria:

I love straw.

Ariane:

Good, good.

Viktoria:

Now we talk about it. Well, as we said, it's really a challenge to get a forage that has low energy level, but lots of chewing, and takes time for the horse to chew, you know, in order for the stomach to work all right. And if you have the possibility to have straw of a good hygienic quality, that's important. Also, of course, when it comes to forage, the hygienic quality. It's hygienic quality, isn't it, in English?

Ariane:

Is it, again, for like dust and anything that should not be in there?

Viktoria:

Anything.

Ariane:

How would you then for straw? Because for hay, you said that you can put straw around to kind of prevent the dust, but how do you do it then for straw?

Viktoria:

Well, first of all, we need a good quality before we take it in.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

From the field to the barn, and then have a proper barn to store it in.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

How would you then think about the quality? Like, how do you decide this is the right quality, this is the right time to cut the straw, and to make sure that it comes into the barn in the quality that we want to have?

Viktoria:

Well, we want good weather, no raining at the fields, and straw is like a side material from the grains, of course, when we go harvesting. So if we are lucky, we have a good year without rain, and then we take it into the barn, smell it, look at it, and if you're not sure, it's also possible to send it on analysis for hygienic quality.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

So that's a possibility.

Ariane:

Where will we do this?

Viktoria:

At all the labs that analyze hay, haylage, silage.

Ariane:

Do you have then, because there are different types of crops that we harvest, and then depending on that, different types of straw, is there anything that is good, better, not as good, and especially also for not just feeding, but maybe also when we look into, because probably most people not just use it as a feeding.

Viktoria:

Exactly.

Ariane:

But also as bad material.

Viktoria:

Not really. Rye can be a bit sticky, but no, it's almost the same energy levels also. Okay. Yes. So the hygienic quality is very important. Yes. In all feeds.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

Of course. Yeah. But it's good to complimentary feed. It has non-protein. So if you feed with the straw, you need to have in mind that you keep your protein levels either in your forage or supplements.

Ariane:

Okay. That is also good to remember. So if you have already, maybe, let's say we are later in the year or we have hay. Let's stay with hay. We have hay from later in the season. It is low in protein. And then we just supplement in that sense with straw. We would need to see that the horses get enough protein to actually perform still in the way and not lose just before the winter too much of their body score.

Viktoria:

So you put it in your program to calculate, so you are sure.

Ariane:

That is really good. Yeah, we definitely, I think we do this already at our stable. How would you then feed? How often would you feed hay? How much would you normally roughly feed a certain horse that is good in shape? And then would you mix this with straw?

Viktoria:

It depends on the analysis. It depends on the quality of the feed. So you will not get an easy answer. But what we want to is that we want to have the horse is able to search for feed as much as possible, as many hours a day as possible, and to eat a little bit at a time. That's the dream. But we also want it to have a good body score.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

And this is where it becomes tricky. So if we are more into getting the horse eating the whole day, then oaf and the body score increases a lot.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

So we need to search for a feed that has a right energy level for the horse. And when it comes to straw, it's possible to have the straw in the stable, if you have a stable, or a shed, or whatever, to have it, yeah, like a ad lib. But it's possible to eat straw the whole day, if possible.

Ariane:

Because there is nothing really... It fills the horse, but it doesn't add up on the protein. So it is safe to have it.

Viktoria:

But it includes energy. So some people thinks that it's only straw, and that it's nothing in it. But it is actually. So you have to bear that in mind. And to put the straw into your ration as well, when you calculate.

Ariane:

I guess it's also that, especially in the winter, you can give maybe a certain amount of straw to keep the horse warm. Or is this kind of something, a myth, to feed the horse a bit of straw?

Viktoria:

You probably can't see it in my face. We have so, when we are, I mean, your listeners, we are dealing with Icelandic horses, and they are sometimes getting fat looking at bark. Yes, absolutely. It's so difficult to have them in a good body score. So, well, if it's very, very cold up in the very north, like minus 20 degrees, maybe it's good to have, that the horses get, get their forage a little bit more often. But often they have a body score enough to take care of that.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

Kind of.

Ariane:

True. Yeah.

Viktoria:

So we often want so much. We want to give them more and more, and we want to have so many buckets with different things. Because it's a human that wants to give the horse. We want them so much good. But we have to bear in mind that the horse is a grass eater. Where is the horse from? You know, as we want, we need to have that in mind always when we are training a horse or feeding a horse. It's a steppe animal.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

Out in the fields with their friends. Getting off in a gallop, searching for grass. Yes.

Ariane:

Exactly.

Viktoria:

Day and night.

Ariane:

Yeah, we just had one of our previous episodes was with Hester Covey. Yes. And Tim said the fruit salad is also not necessarily his favorite, that we try to do our horses something good and we give them a lot of apples and carrots and bananas. And this is not something that the Icelandic horse is used to, or the horse in general.

Viktoria:

Non-horse, exactly.

Ariane:

So we try to humanize the horse a bit with this.

Viktoria:

Yeah.

Ariane:

Absolute. What is the ideal way of then maybe providing the feeding?

Viktoria:

Well, you need to find the right feedstuff.

Ariane:

Yes.

Viktoria:

With enough often, it's enough low energy level. Not all horses. So it depends on what horse you have. Not all Icelandic horses are easy fed, so it depends. And if you have a good high-protein haleage, for example, then you can complement with straw of good hygienic quality. So you need to find the right forage. That's kind of the basics.

Ariane:

Like you said, there are people, they feed different buckets and everything. So we have the forage, but then there's so many things on the market that you can, for the joints, for the stomach, for the fur, for the hooves, for anything, so many different feeds. Is this needed? Is it something that we should look more into to help our horses? Or is it actually something that isn't, as you said, if we have the right forage, it is actually not really needed?

Viktoria:

I think that we would benefit a lot from concentrate more on the grass and the quality of the grass for your horse. Right grass for the right horse. But of course, the horses need natrium, salt, that we need to complement with, and psyllium, at least here in Sweden where we are, and sometimes other minerals. It depends on the analysis.

Ariane:

Yeah. Can we look more into the minerals? What are the benefits of it, of different minerals in the feeding?

Viktoria:

Well, all minerals are important, and there are micro and micro minerals, and they all support different systems, and it's quite complicated how they cooperate. So if you feed more of one, then it can reduce the uptake of another.

Ariane:

And then also sometimes you can overfeed something. Is that true? From certain minerals, you can overfeed, but some you can feed as much as you want, and the horse anyway will get rid of whatever is in excess.

Viktoria:

Yes, exactly. But if you have your analyze, put it into your program. And it's not that complicated actually. Okay.

Ariane:

What do you actually feed your horses? I'm just curious.

Viktoria:

Yes. Well, we have a system here. You heard that I'm not so fond of IKEA bags either, so I want it to be a functional system, both for the horses and for the human beings. And the possibilities here in Skåne, where we are, is that the grass is growing almost all year round, and that's a good start. And we have our own fields here, so we have our own straw. So when we have good years, we put it up, and we have it for the coming years, when we know that we have a good quality. So during the days, the horses can search for grass the whole year around. It's not so much grass, but they can look for it, you know, walking around looking for grass and eating a little bit. And they get halyards outside once a day, and they only get it once a day outside because of the grass, you know? They have the grass the whole day, looking for it, eating a little bit. It's like a very efficient net. And when they come in to the stable that they do during the wintertime, they get a halyard with a good protein level, and then they are put on straw. So they eat a lot of straw during the whole night, looking around and have, yeah. So they have, they always have something to eat, outside and inside.

Ariane:

That's really a nice system.

Viktoria:

We try to keep it simple. And of course, they get salt. The training horses get extra salt, because they often don't eat as much salt as they need from these stones and minerals.

Ariane:

What kind of minerals do you feed?

Viktoria:

It depends on the analysis of what they get. Actually, I need to add that I always give the minerals, which includes micro-minerals, which I don't normally have an analysis on, on my hay, haylage, and also vitamins. A, D and E vitamins.

Ariane:

Why is that?

Viktoria:

Because the vitamin levels in the hay or haylage, it reduces after six months in a bale.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

So I don't, if I have a new cut, I don't need to give it during the autumn, but after New Year's, it's time. So like B, vitamin, it's not necessary because a healthy horse produces its own in the intestines. And C, vitamin is not like a vitamin for horse either. So it's A, D and E then after New Year's.

Ariane:

Okay.

Viktoria:

And often it's included if you buy a mineral bucket, yes.

Ariane:

From any shop.

Viktoria:

I mean, you can say that nutrition is difficult, but feeding should be easy. Yeah. And I think that says quite a lot. So if you understand the basics of the horse and horse nutrition, it's not that complicated. You look for your good grass, good for your horse, and make sure it has a good body score condition.

Ariane:

What do you recommend maybe for somebody that isn't a big stable and has not the control over what is fed to the horse?

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

That could also happen.

Viktoria:

Yes. Well, then you have to stick to what you have, so to say. Yeah. And do the best out of the situation.

Ariane:

So you can then, retrospectively, when you know the forage has a certain score, certain values, you can then maybe adapt by reducing the portions or increasing the portions based on what is needed.

Viktoria:

Or complementing with extra feed if it needs extra energy or extra protein.

Ariane:

Maybe another thing, protein sources additionally, what do you think about, what is your, have you thought about that?

Viktoria:

When it comes to protein sources, well, first of all, alfalfa can be a good alternative, it's a grass. But it depends on how much you need to complement. If you need more, you need maybe to give alfalfa instead of the hay, and it can be quite expensive. So I like to use potato protein that is really concentrated, and that we also can produce here in Sweden. You can buy soya beans. That's very efficient, but I think it's a shame because we have the potato protein here in Sweden.

Ariane:

Okay. And that you can give as a powder or how would you?

Viktoria:

Yes, it's like a powder. So you need to have something in it as well.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Viktoria:

So the horse eats it.

Ariane:

That's interesting.

Viktoria:

Yes.

Ariane:

Yeah. I mean, potatoes are here in Sweden. That's a normal thing. Okay. Yeah. Then thank you so much, Viktoria, for this really nice chat.

Viktoria:

Thank you. Great having you here.

Ariane:

And thank you everybody for listening. We will come back to you very soon with a new episode. In the meantime, do not hesitate to share this episode. Before leaving you, we would like to mention that you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook, The Tölt Tales, for more news and stories. Goodbye.

Viktoria:

Thank you. Goodbye.

Ariane:

Bye.

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