How does yeast work in horses?
We have already discussed the fact that the digestive system of the horse evolved to use roughage (hay or pasture) as its primary source of energy. Digestion of this roughage relies on a healthy population of beneficial bacteria in the hind gut to assist in the breakdown of this most vital component in your horse’s diet. By providing fermented yeast culture in our formulation we help to establish a better environment for those beneficial bacteria to maintain a healthy population. This in turn can promote more efficient digestion of hay you feed.
If you have questions contact us today.
The Cost of Feeding
Drought conditions throughout much of the country this year have dramatically increased the cost of feeding our horses. Both hay availability and the grain used in most concentrate feeds are either hard to find, more expensive, or both. As the issues of the current economy put pressure on many horse owners day to day lives, increases in feed costs, for many, are just one more impossible issue with which to cope.
When we introduced Renew Gold™ to the equine market, in the Fall of 2011, a lot of horse owners looked at the $30+ price tag for a 30 pound bag of feed and quickly moved on to what they assumed were less expensive feeding programs. Before you do that, let’s take a look at just what a Renew Gold program costs compared to a popular conventional feeding program.
We will use a popular performance horse feed from one of the largest feed companies in the US for our comparison. We will call it Brand X. This product has been around since the early 1990’s and has a large following. This article is not intended to pick on Brand X. The product is not unique in the industry, and any number of performance horse feeds could be used for this comparison with very similar results. We will use Brand X simply because so many horse owners use this product.
According to the feeding instructions found on the Brand X tear tag; a 1000 pound horse in moderate work should be fed 12 pounds of hay, and 9 pounds of Brand X per day. At an average cost of $18 for a 50 pound bag, that equates to $0.36 per pound, or $3.24 per day. That seems like a lot of feed concentrate to me, and although a significant number of people may feed that much, many of the horse owners that I talk to across the country feed closer to 6 pounds per day and use more (we will use 16 pounds) hay. To be fair, I will give you the figures both ways.
6 pounds of Brand X @ $.36 per pound = $2.16 per day
9 pounds of Brand X @ $.36 per pound =$3.24 per day
12 pounds of quality hay @ $.18 per pound = $2.16 per day
16 pounds of quality hay @ $.18 per pound = $2.88 per day
Looking at the above numbers we can see that using Brand X and hay to meet the basic energy needs of a mature horse in moderate work will cost somewhere between $5.04 and $5.40 per day.
Let’s compare the Renew Gold feeding recommendation for the same horse.
A mature horse in moderate work should be fed 1 to 1 1/3 pounds of Renew Gold per day. Total cost $1.00 - $1.33 per day.
We would recommend 15 pounds per day of quality hay. Cost? $2.70
These number show us that using Renew Gold and hay to meet the basic energy needs of a mature horse in moderate work will cost somewhere between $3.70 and $4.03 per day.
Renew Gold provides a savings, on average of $1.35 per day, per horse. This translates to $40.50 per month or $486.00 per year, per horse. How many horses do you feed?
If you are one of those people who add additional supplements for hoof condition or coat condition, or you add pro-biotics or perhaps herbs for attitude adjustment, Feeding Renew Gold allows you to take those out.
This can save you another $2.00 to $5.00 per day. These are real numbers, and they make a real difference at the end of the month.
Ok, you say, that is all well and good, but aren’t there things in Brand X that are not in Renew Gold? Yes, but that may be a good reason to feed Renew Gold. If you read the ingredient list on the Brand X tear tag, or just about any feed bag with a tear tag, it is hard to tell just what is in there. The first four ingredients on the Brand X ingredient list are “by-products” so what they really are is hard to say. One is Forage by-products, I don’t even know for sure just what that is!
In past articles I have explained the advantages found by normalizing efficiency in the digestive system with Renew Gold in your feeding program. Those articles can be found on the renewgold.com web site, so I will not go into that here. I would, however, like to make a point about quality.
Renew Gold is fixed formulated. Our ingredients are actually printed on the bag, not a tag that can be changed from lot to lot. We make it the same every time, from the same ultra-premium quality ingredients, from the same ingredient suppliers, and guarantee that Renew Gold contains no GMO ingredients. A statement that no other maker of blended horse feeds in the US can make.
If you would like help in understanding your feeding program, and how it can be both more efficient, and more economical, email or just give us a call. Let us help you find the horse that you thought was in there all along.
If you have questions contact us today.
How much Renew Gold™ do I feed?
Renew Gold is a unique formulation of energy dense, low starch, premium quality ingredients designed to be fed at a rate of 1/2 pound to 1 1/2 pounds daily. Our goal is to limit or eliminate the use of high starch based ingredients in the overall feeding program. This can help to bring the entire digestive system into proper balance.
If you have questions contact us today.
Some Thoughts on Feeding
Supplementing your horses feeding program can be confusing at best, and downright intimidating at worst. What, other than hay, does my horse need? How much is too much? How much is not enough? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could provide an efficient, healthy program, and do so without wasting money and time? Perhaps you can.
Let’s look at just what a horse is designed to use as nutrition, and what fits into the digestive system. First off, a horse is a grazing animal. As they evolved they found the nutrition that they needed by eating what surrounded them in their environment in a fairly constant feeding process. Energy requirements beyond what is needed just to maintain body function was limited to the flight requirements that put them a safe distance from predators and to provide energy to raise their young. If a geographic area contained readily available food sources that met basic energy requirements, vitamin and mineral needs, and an abundant water supply the equine population flourished. Typically, feeding performance horses today has very little in common with that scenario, and for some very good reasons.
Horses in training for performance or being fitted for the show ring have additional energy requirements that need to be met on a daily basis. As a base energy source most of us use a roughage source like baled hay, or some variation thereof, to provide the bulk of our horses energy requirements. The challenge is what to use when more energy is required than can be met with just hay.
This is where concentrates come into the picture. Traditionally this means grain based feeds, and often lots of it. The challenge with this “traditional” feed support is that there is just not a place in the digestive system for more than a few pounds of high starch feed to be effectively utilized without causing a disruption of the whole system. Most feed companies are also brokers of grain to other markets, and putting a high amount of high starch grain into your horse gives them another place to sell the commodities that they own. This makes up most of the product lines that you see in your feed store today. While many “newer” products from the major manufactures tout that they are now providing a lower starch level, they still recommend that you feed between four and ten pounds of those products per day. If you feed once or twice per day, you are still overloading the system with a higher total starch load than we believe it is equipped to handle.
We have proven that raising natural vegetable fat levels and lowering the total starch load in the ration with our formulations allows us to provide your horse with the needed additional energy without confusing the digestive system. Natural function is the best function. Meeting supplemental energy needs with a one pound inclusion of Renew Gold, instead of five pounds of grain based feed clearly allows for a more natural function and a more effective result.
Renewing your horses feeding program by removing significant amounts of concentrate allows every element of the digestive system to function much nearer to its optimum level, and do more with less. This means less health risk, less vet bills and less spent at the end of the month for feed that contributes little or no support to the nutritional needs of your horse.
If you have questions contact us today.
What is Renew Gold™?
Renew Gold™ is a unique formulation of energy dense, low starch, premium quality ingredients designed to be fed at a rate of 1/2 pound to 1 1/2 pounds daily. Our goal is to limit or eliminate the use of high starch based ingredients in the overall feeding program. This can help to bring the entire digestive system into proper balance. Using a base of food grade Stabilized Rice Bran we fortify Renew Gold with CoolStance coconut meal and Flax. Digestive efficiency is then enhanced with the addition of Fermented Yeast Culture. This offers horse owners the opportunity to utilize the well proven nutritional advantages of Stabilized Rice Bran in an even more effective, advanced formulation.
Renew Gold™
What is Renew Gold™?
Renew Gold is a unique formulation of energy dense, low starch, premium quality ingredients designed to be fed at a rate of 1/2 pound to 1 1/2 pounds daily. Our goal is to limit or eliminate the use of high starch based ingredients in the overall feeding program. This can help to bring the entire digestive system into proper balance. Using a base of food grade Stabilized Rice Bran we fortify Renew Gold with CoolStance® coconut meal and Flax. Digestive efficiency is then enhanced with the addition of Fermented Yeast Culture. This offers horse owners the opportunity to utilize the well proven nutritional advantages of Stabilized Rice Bran in an even more effective, advanced formulation.
So why does Renew Gold work?
Renew Gold truly is sound science that helps build sound horses. The unique combination of three protein and fat sources and other premium quality ingredients allows Renew Gold to provide concentrated nutritional support for horses of all types and uses. Renew Gold can improve the efficiency of your entire feeding program, while providing usable “Cooler Energy”. Renew Gold is also calcium / phosphorus balanced so that it can be fed with any type of hay.
Renew Gold™ is Calcium/Phosphorus balanced and may be used with both grass and alfalfa hay. Feed only as directed. Not intended for use in animals other than horses.
As with any change to your horses feeding program, introduce Renew Gold™ gradually. Beginning with a 1/3 daily rate, increase to the full desired rate over a seven day period. Always provide your horse with a plentiful source of clean water. Check out Renew Gold Resources for additional information.
OUR GUARANTEE
Feed Renew Gold™ for six weeks. If you are not satisfied with the product, mail the bar code off the bag and proof of purchase to, The Phoenix Company LLC, P.O. Box 12, Willows CA 95988, for a refund of the purchase price. One bag refund per family.
Contact us today with nutrition questions or to find the dealer nearest you.
