Q: How do I add calories without making my horse “hot?"
A: Fat will provide calories without affecting a horse’s temperament or behavior. Known as a “cool” source of calories, fat can easily be added to the pre-existing diet without a drastic increase in volume of feed. Choose either a product high in fat, such as Cadence™ Ultra, or add a fat supplement to the diet, like ULTIMATE FINISH®.
Q: Do you have any products for horses with laminitis or who have foundered?
Q: Do you have any products for horses with laminitis or who have foundered?
A: Horses with laminitis or founder should have limited access to lush pasture that may be high in sugar and starches. If the horse is obese or maintains weight easily, GRO 'N WIN® or Safe 'n Easy™ should be fed.
Q: Any special requirements for a horse with insulin resistance or an older horse with Cushing’s Disease (PPID)?
Q: I have a horse that needs help over her topline. What do you suggest?
A: Both exercise and diet have an effect on the horse’s topline. From a diet standpoint, providing adequate protein and essential amino acids will help to build muscle over the topline. Using GRO 'N WIN® as a supplement to the diet can be used to increase good quality protein. We can help you evaluate your horse’s current diet, including forages and grain, and suggest any changes necessary.
Q: Why is the protein so high in GRO 'N WIN®?
Q: What is Acid Splash?
Q: What is Acid Splash?
A: During work or stress the stomach shrinks (as much as 60% in some cases), due to the increase of blood flow to the extremities of the body, resulting in a decreased blood flow to the stomach. The upper portion of the stomach collapses in on itself and the remaining acid in the lower portion of the stomach is splashed onto the upper area. This upper area (Squamous Mucosa) is not as resistant to the stomach acid as the lower portion (Glandular Mucosa). The result is acid splashing onto the unprotected Squamous Mucosa while the horse is being worked, trailered, or having feed withheld and this may cause discomfort or sharp pain. Acid Splash can also lead to the development of stomach ulcers.
Unbuffered acid is also believed to trickle into the small intestine, causing duodenal ulcers and creating a drop in the pH level throughout the remainder of the digestive tract and potentially contributing to hind gut acidosis
Q: Why do I want my horse to continually nibble on hay or grass?
Q: Why do I want my horse to continually nibble on hay or grass?
Continual roughage intake minimizes acid splash by:
1. it is believed that the chewed fiber in the stomach provides a ‘grass-mat’ which diminishes the sloshing effect of the acid.
2. in the horse, jaw movement is necessary in order to produce saliva. Therefore the continual intake of roughage results in a continual production of saliva and the bicarbonates produced in the saliva buffer the stomach acid.
A combination of the two above factors, saliva and continual fiber intake, helps prevent acid ‘build-up’ in the stomach which results in unbuffered acid spilling over into the small intestine. This can create a situation that compromises the pH levels in the rest of the digestive tract, and can lead to hind gut acidosis, causing an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the hind gut.