John Thomponson and Sons Ltd, pioneers of quality animal feeding stuffs in the UK and Ireland

Christie “Spillers” All

Tucked away in the rolling hills of County Fermanagh is one of the racing industry’s finest talents. Allison Matthews from John Thompson & Sons Ltd put her SPILLERS® riding hat on for the day to go and meet Northern Ireland’s Top National Hunt Trainer, and find out; “How does it feel to have six winners in one day?!”

Let Them Worry About It

Feeding the Leisure Horse by David Mathers

Back in the 1950’s SPILLERS® developed the first ever fully balanced compound feed, the famous Horse & Pony Cube. Since then many things have changed:

Pippa Funnell has won Badminton three times.
N. Ireland has managed to beat England at Football.
SPILLERS® has joined Effem Equine Ltd and are owned by the Mars Corporation.
Racing, Stud and Competition yards have the luxury of a feed made specifically for them, and now have full ranges of feed to choose from.

Christmas Dinner Is On Us There are many things people take for granted, tacking up and riding their horse is very often one of them. John Thompson & Sons Ltd recently discovered a small corner of Maghera where nothing is taken for granted. The Fort Riding Centre caters solely for disabled riders, where 7 four-legged heroes ensure that nearly 100 riders every year enjoy the pleasure of horse-riding that many of us take for granted.

The Racing Stable A Presentation by Polly Gundry

Having Polly Gundry as a speed dial number on your mobile phone is like being able to ring Jamie Oliver when you are having a dinner party, or ringing Jeremy Clarkson when you are looking to buy a new car. Admittedly having that option would be a weight off your mind.

Feeding for success

Requirements Of The Competition Horse by Isabel Stewart- Spillers® Technical Nutritionist

What does the competition horse need?
In one way or another, exercise and competition makes the whole body work harder, so increasing the requirement for good nutrition. However there are particular areas which need to be taken into account when choosing the correct diet for a competition horse:

Start As You Mean To Go On!

Growing the Young Horse - Latest Nutritional Breakthroughs
By Kate Arkell - Spillers® Technical Nutritionist

What are the issues?

The ultimate aim when rearing a foal should be to produce a sound, healthy and successful athlete for whatever level and type of equestrian use. Many factors affect the growth and development of foals, but nutrition is one that we can more easily influence and therefore we should try and get as close to the optimum as possible.

Heifer Rearing gets on Target

The John Thompson & Sons Ltd, AFBI (Hillsborough) and CAFRE Heifer Rearing Project is now six months in progress on a number of farms - and is already demonstrating its potential to improve profitability in dairying. Eight dairy farmers, from across Northern Ireland, are involved in the project. These farmers are adopting a “blueprint” approach to their heifer rearing to ensure that they can calve good quality heifers at 24 months of age.

Heifer Rearing Solutions

Saving 1p/Litre on Production Costs

Improved heifer rearing systems can reduce milk production costs by 1p/litre and bring over £18.5million additional profit to the Northern Ireland dairy farmer.

500% More Horse Riders Injured on N.Ireland’s Roads

To show our support of the education of both horse riders and drivers,
Pegus Horse Feed (Produced under license by John Thompson & Sons Ltd, Belfast) are providing the BHS with highly visible road signs (available to BHS members from Susan at the contact numbers below).

Pegus understands the importance of feeding each horse appropriately and for their individual purpose. The next time you are driving through the countryside keep your eye out for the Sign of Fine Horse Feed, Pegus, and remember that the sign is a warning of what may be round the next corner. Drive carefully this winter.