Giddy-Up Nets

22/10/2026

01/10/2026

🔥 Proteq Equine Bedding — BACK IN STOCK! 🔥
Good news for horse owners — Proteq Equine Bedding is back on the shelves at Stockfeed West Sawyers Valley.

✔ Highly absorbent
✔ Low dust
✔ Easy to maintain
✔ Great stable comfort

Perfect for anyone wanting a cleaner, drier, healthier stable environment.

Pop in and pick some up while stock lasts.

21/09/2026

It’s that time of year when snakes start moving again.
Stockfeed West Sawyers Valley has snake repellers ready to go to help keep your home, sheds and yards safer.
Easy to set up, reliable and ideal for peace of mind around pets and family.

16/09/2026

If you've got a freshly off the track horse, it might be tempting to swap them straight off their racing diet and onto pasture, hay and low starch feeds. That's a great goal, but it's not quite that simple (or fast)...

Racehorses are elite athletes, so while they are racing, their diet is carefully calculated and formulated to support them. This usually involves high levels of fast-release energy sources like high-starch grains to make sure they have the energy they need.

🦠 Their gut and microbiome adapt to this diet, because the bacteria that are ‘fed’ grow in population and dominate. A diet high in starch and low in fibre, means more starch-loving microbes, and less fibre-loving microbes.

🦠 Horses are hindgut fermenters, so they can't digest fibre without the bacteria in the hindgut. So if that fibre-loving bacteria isn't there and we take starch-based energy sources away and pop them only on pasture, hay or low sugar and starch feeds, their digestive system can't process the fibre effectively yet and they can lose condition quickly.

💡Instead, we need to go through a gradual 'Let Down' period, where we keep enough starch-based energy in the diet to slowly convert and adapt our horse's digestive system and microbiome to digest a diet higher in fibre and forage. Like gardening, we need to feed and nourish the microbiome and give it time to grow.

➡️Let down feeding:
A good let down diet reduces the energy and starch levels in their feed slowly while introducing more fibre. This gives the gut microbiome time to adjust, and grow the population of good bacteria needed to ferment and digest the fibre in their diet.

Here are a couple of tips for let down feeding:

✅ DO: Continue feeding some of their grain or racing feed, decreasing amounts over time while introducing a new feed

✅ DO: Start introducing a super fibre that starts feeding the microbiome straight away. Lupin Fibre Cubes or Lupin Fibre Boost (with pre & probiotics) are great options.

✅ DO: Look at introducing a feed like Claytons Pellets, which is whole-grain free but still contains a controlled amount of starch, or Senior Horse Cubes which is a balanced, conditioning cube. They also include probiotics.

✅ DO: make small alterations over time as their condition and workload changes.

Off the Track WA

08/09/2026

Where should you place your horse or pony's feed? Up high or on the ground? And does it matter?

Placing your feed bucket or forage at ground level promotes the most natural eating position and behaviour. Think of it this way, they've evolved anatomically to graze with their heads down for most of the day! Some advantages of this are:

✔️ Their jaw and teeth are in the right position to move freely and grind in the correct motion, so they can chew efficiently and wear teeth more evenly and naturally.

✔️It aids the airways and reduces dust and particle inhalation. When their head is down eating, it encourages natural draining of the airways. This is the first line of defence against the inhalation of particles like feed and dust.

✔️ Food consumption slows down, so they chew more, produce more saliva and swallow normally.

✔️ The increased saliva and slower chewing can help to reduce the risks of choke.

But feed and forage position is about more than just eating and chewing naturally. We have to make sure we place it in a safe and comfortable position too:

∙Injuries and pain: If they can't stand comfortably or balanced with their head stretched down, placing feed higher can help with comfort.

∙Sandy paddocks: If they are trying to pick up forage or dropped feed from a sandy surface it can lead to sand intake and digestive issues. Try placing feed or hay on a clean solid surface or using a large rubber mat. Wide shallow tubs can help avoid feed dropping.

∙Muddy paddocks: wet, muddy conditions can lead to feed wastage.

∙Stables: safety in smaller areas is important for avoiding injury. Think about make sure feeders or nets are not in a position to cause injuries and small enough to give them enough space to move around.

Remember, the aim is to feed in a natural position as much as you can where it isn't a safety risk.

01/09/2026

14/08/2026

Fibre doesn't need to be complicated. Our Lupin Fibre Cubes are made from only WA grown lupin hulls with no additives to make a highly nutritious, low sugar and starch fibre feed.

✔️ Quick-soaking pellet creates a highly palatable mash

✔️ Ideal for boosting the fibre content in your horse's diet

✔️ Use as a base to create your own ration

✔️ Ultra-low sugar and starch, safe for incorporating into balanced diets for horses and ponies prone to laminitis and metabolic conditions

✔️ Gut-friendly, microbiome boosting fibres to support healthier digestive function

✔️ Carefully developed by our nutritionist as a reliable, consistent and safe fibre source.

🏆 Proudly Western Australian owned, grown, formulated and manufactured.

Lupin Fibre Cubes are available at your local stockist.

05/08/2026

Nutrition isn't just about what's IN the bucket!

We talk a lot about what goes into your horse's feed bucket, but their feed is part of a much bigger picture. In addition to the big influences like workload, age, climate and health status, here are 5 things that could be impacting their nutrition...

1️⃣ Grass types and availability:
Pasture is a highly variable component of their diet. Depending on your region, the health of their paddock (and soil), the species in it and the time of year, pasture quality and nutrient value can vary hugely.

It's vital to factor pasture into your calculations and decisions for feeding. Some pastures can also be high in oxalates, which can bind to calcium and lead to deficiencies.

2️⃣Water - are they drinking ground, dam or rainwater?
What they are drinking can actually have an impact on their nutrient absorption. Different water sources can have varying mineral levels, in some cases too high or too low. This can actually interact with the minerals in their diet and cause imbalances or even limit absorption.

3️⃣ Chewing efficiency - digestion starts in the mouth!
Poor dentition, uneven wear, pain or even rushed eating can change how well the feed is chewed down. If they aren't chewing well, the food particle size is too big which then alters digestibility and can even lead to hindgut inefficiency or issues.

Remember, if the hindgut is inefficient, your horse isn't getting the most out of the nutrients in their diet.

4️⃣ Stress
Stress caused by travel, competition, illness, herd dynamics, management and housing can alter gut function, suppress appetite and reduce feed efficiency. Our horse's are strong but they can also incredibly sensitive to change. Even if their diet is staying the same, a stressed horse may not utilise the nutrients effectively, and can develop digestive issues.

5️⃣ Paddock or stabling
Their daily living situation can influence their nutritional needs and digestive health. Horses that move around less in a confined setup can have slower gut motility, while a horse that is turned out and moves around a lot can burn more energy.