Does your Mare and Foal formula have carbohydrates?
Yes it does. You want to have carbohydrates in a mare’s diet. During late gestation you want the mare to have high glucose levels so that glucose can cross the placenta to the foal to build glycogen, which the foal will need to help stand and nurse.
Mare’s milk is approximately 10% solids, of which 60% is lactose, which is derived from glucose from starches. As opposed to cows in which fat is the dominant source of energy, in mares it is lactose. Particularly with foals born early in the year it is important to provide glucose to make lactose and subsequently milk.
What about OCDs in foals?
Orthopedic problems have been associated with “spikes” in insulin concentration. The easiest way to avoid the problem is to feed several small meals. If a mare’s grain portion is fed 4 times or more a day it would make little difference what the CHO level of the feed was. However, Prince Regency feed contains added fat that both slows down release of feed from the stomach and reduces potential insulin spikes. The 15% fiber in Mare and Foal comes from digestible forms that also provide energy in the form of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) produced in the cecum and large intestine, providing energy but not insulin response.
Prince Regency Feeds, including the Mare and Foal and Growth formula, contain chelated minerals and vitamins to help proper bone growth. By providing the proper “matrix” calcium and phosphorous can be laid down to make strong bone.
What about Carbohydrates for other types of horses?
The number of horses that truly have metabolic problems requiring a very low glycemic (CHO) diet is small. This issue has become more of marketing than nutrition. Carbohydrates as part of the grain portion of the diet should not cause any problems in horses fed less than 5 lbs of grain per 1000 lbs of horse in any given meal, while consuming 25 lbs of total diet. All regency feeds have added fiber and fat to reduce the amount of CHO, but we have not attempted to eliminate them, as they still remain the most economical source of energy. Most horse owners will find that horses consuming Prince Regency Maintenance will not need to feed more that 5 lbs per 1000 lbs of horse of they body weight as Regency feed on a daily basis.
For horses that have had true carbohydrate handling disease, we recommend using our “Draft” formula to meet the mineral and vitamin needs and feed with a forage based diet. We can also work with you to find fat and fiber sources to mix as needed for the special requirement horses.
Why don’t you have a legume and a grass formula?
There is certainly nothing wrong with having a separate formula for legumes and forages, however a feed designed for legumes fed to horse on grass might be low in Calcium. The standard rule of thumb for all animals has been to keep the Ca:P level between 1:1 and 2:1. The basis for this recommendation is not based upon scientific research, but rather on the fact that these minerals are absorbed in a 1:1 ratio and can be found in bone in a 2:1 ratios. In reality, research shows that the Ca:P ratio must become greater than 5 or 6:1 before there is any affect on absorption or utilization. This means that on a practical basis one feed will meet both needs. This reduces the need to inventory additional feed or to be concerned about recalculating requirements based upon changes in the forage.
Why do you only have a pelleted Senior Horse Feed?
One of the problems that afflict older horses is the lack of good dentition (teeth) for grinding their feed. All the ingredients of a pelleted feed have been ground and the pellet will quickly break up after it is consumed. The pelleting process also improves the digestibility of starches allowing the senior horse to absorb more of the nutrients provided.
Should I use a pelleted or texturized feed for my other horses?
It really is a matter of personal preference. Most horses will consume either but should be switched slowly if going from one to the other to avoid the “shock” factor a horse feels when “this feed doesn’t look like what I am used to.”
It is important to realize that pelleted feeds are generally more dense, weight per volume, than most texturized feed. One most consider the “pounds” fed not the “coffee can or scoops” fed.
Pelleted feeds do have an advantage in winter as they are less likely to freeze into a solid mass and depending upon feeders and the horses involved, they may leave cleaner feeding troughs.
Some customers prefer texturized feed as they can examine the feed and “know” what is being fed. It is an unfortunate fact that some less scrupulous feed manufactures are known for using a lot of filler, poor ingredients in pellets. With Prince and the Prince Regency Feeds the greatest difference is the form of the feed, not the nutrients or quality of ingredients.
Do you have probiotics in your feed?
Probiotics are not required by horses that are not under stress or changes in environment. The effective probiotics, strains of lactic acid producing bacteria that propagate and live in the small intestine, do not survive pelleting or storage in feed that has not been packaged in oxygen free or limiting material. (If it has sewn closures most of the bacteria are dead before you feed it.) We do have a form of Mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) that preferential helps the present probiotic bacteria to grow while at the same time is detrimental bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli.
