Is pink powder worth feeding?

[trundle]

Ella is currently on Superflex and the NAF general supplement, which i give her every day in a handful of chaff. She seems very happy on this combination, her coat is lovely and shiny and she is in generally good condition. She is a bit well-covered over her ribs

but the vet saw her yesterday and said she looked great, and she wouldn't want to see Ella much lighter than this going into autumn/winter.

SO, is it helpful to feed pink powder? What does it do?

 

[3Beasties]

I fed Pink powder to my TB for the first time last winter, he is a poor doer usually but came out of winter with more weight on him then what he usually has in the summer.

I'm not exactly sure what it does but it definitely helps them put weight on!

 

[chestnut cob]

In a word, NO! I don't rate it at all, in fact I don't rate any NAF products.

I fed Redcell when I wanted a pick me up for my horse, which is what Pink Powder is supposed to do. IF you want an all round supplement then just feed one of those. If you want a pick me up, feed Red cell.

 

[TGM]

Pink Powder contains a general vit/min supplement together with probiotics and prebiotics which are meant to help maintain healthy gut bacteria. Any weight gain effect is due to the horse getting more out of its feed, rather than the pink powder actually adding significant calories to the diet.

Whether it is worth feeding to your horse depends on whether the gut bacteria have been compromised in any way (stress, illness, antibiotic treatment, high grain diet etc). Obviously, if the gut bacteria are all fine and dandy already then it won't have a dramatic effect on condition.

As regards the vit/min content, if you are feeding the recommended amount of a commericial mix or cube it probably already provides the RDA of vit/mins, but if not the vit/min supplementation could be useful if you are not feeding a balancer or general vit/min supplement. (I see you already feed the NAF General Purpose Supplement so if you decided to feed Pink Powder then you would feed it INSTEAD of the GP supplement, not in addition to it).

As regards maintaining weight into autumn and winter, if she is in good condition now, then I would weigh tape her weekly, and if she starts to lose weight then I would increase hay/haylage intake and if necessary also introduce more bucket feed.

 

[HollyP]

I really rate pink powder, and its cost effective...my tub lasts 3months....maybe more and only costs 20quid!

x

 

[Gingerbird]

I feed my Exmoor X pink powder as she sufferers from malabsorbtion and without it her poo is very loose and sloppy. When she's on it her gut functions a lot more effectively and her poos are lovely little balls instead! It also stops her drinking excessively as she is using her fluid properly.

 

[nessie1288]

I think it is excellent stuff, have used it on competition horses and youngstock. It is very competively priced compared to similar products.

 

[Kenzo]

Yes, healthy gut = healthy horse.

Redcell and Pink poweder are two completely different things.

Both can be used as a 'pick me up' but it depends on what the individual horse is lacking in the first place.

 

[chestnut cob]

TBH though you're better off feeding a probiotic or prebiotic supplement if the horse has a digestive problem. My vet says prebiotics are better and recommended Baileys Digest Plus, which I used on my last horse with brilliant results. Works within a day or two. I have never seen any difference in my horses when using Pink Powder.

 

[beutifulwobble]

i had a very weedy looking boy a few years ago and after i had ravaged his gut with wormers as he had a v heavy burden he was fed pink powder to try and restore some of the healthy bits to his poor gut. i have to say i was v pleased with it, i also fed it to my lovely boy who was on bute for a while just as a perk up and also pleased with the results.

 

[TequilaMist]

My 2 mares looked well when on pink powder.Didn't need it in summer but have put 1 back on it as she appears to be lacking something in coat now not bad just changed.

 

[Donkeymad]

Not really. Pink Powder is really only useful if there is a digestive problem with the horse.

 

[Fransurrey]

As a general supplement, it's fine, but redundant if your horse already has a supplement/has no digestive issues. I did feed it to my old shettie over winter and he perked up considerably and put on weight for a while, too. I thought it was marvellous in that situation, but I don't feed it to my exmoors as they have a balancer instead, which negates the need for a feed in addition.

 

[so03]

Pink powder is excellent if there is a digestive problem. It's description is as follows:

Pink Powder contains live probiotic yeast and prebiotics to optimise gut function and balance the diet, allowing your horse to fully utilize his feed intake and gain perfect condition.

It is designed so that the horse gets more from the feed, therefore you feed less. But if your horse already gets the most from the feed, then pink powder will do nothing.

My 28 year old TB loses weight in winter and used to suffer spasmodic colic on a regular basis. Having found a feed that works, the pink powder made a huge difference to her keeping her weight and reducing the colic.

It's invaluable for my older horse, but I don't feed it to my younger chap.