For some time at Grand Meadows we have been concerned about the widespread issue of over-feeding of horse supplements. It’s done with all good intentions ….combine greater nutritional knowledge with an ever expanding and, frankly, overwhelming supply of different horse supplements available in the marketplace.
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You know it’s a funny thing that if you go back about 30 years ago the idea of feeding a horse supplement would probably never have entered your head. People fed their horses hay and grain, maybe a bit of oil and that was about it, So what happened to create this now massive marketplace, catering for every conceivable ailment or nutritional deficiency?
In Episode 15 of the Grand Meadows Fireside Chat Video Series, we wanted to talk about two of the issues affecting horses a great deal these days – Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and Cushings.
At Grand Meadows, we believe that the growing problems with these two diseases can be directly attributed, in many cases, to feeding too much grain and the non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) and sweetening agents they contain. We strongly advise horse owners to reconsider their horse’s diet when grain is representing a significant percentage of the horse’s daily ration. We are also speaking out against the supplements being pushed on horse owners claiming to be a resolution for these diseases.
There is not a “supplement” solution to EMS or Cushings other than adjustments to diet from restricting access to pasture, switching from grain to fats for calories and feeding a vitamin/mineral supplement to allow for any missing nutrients that were being fed in a sugar and NSC rich grain product.
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In this video we talk about hoof supplements and the key ingredients that need to be in them and the correct levels. There have been a number of products coming on the market with excessive levels of biotin to supposedly make them more effective but in fact end up as expensive urine. Making sure you have the right ration of zinc to copper is also important. We also talk about the need for patience as it takes several months for the true effect of a good hoof supplement to make a difference in the overall structural integrity of the hoof.
E-Mail questions to info@grandmeadows.com
In our second Fireside video we want to provide documentary evidence that Grand Meadows has been following a strict long term adherence to manufacturing standards previously non-existent in the animal health supplements industry. From years of random testing of our products by the Department of Agriculture in Florida showing 0.00% variation of label claim, our 96.7% score from our FDA audit and a letter from Dr. Wayne Mcilwraith, who is widely considered the foremost researcher in joint disease in horses, detailing the role that we have taken in leading the process of bringing accountability to an industry that was something akin to the Wild West. We were the founding equestrian supplement member of the National Animal Supplement Council (www.nasc.cc).
In documenting our history of exhibiting these standards we hope this will serve to legitimize the dialog through our Fireside video series whereby we want to try to provide some clarity into, what is to most horse owners, a complex and confusing subject. Continue reading
