NAF Pink Powder/NAF- why did it fall out of favour?

[TPO]

I can remember NAF Pink Powder being hugely popular in the late 90s to mid 2000s and not so much now. Just wondering why it fell out of favour?

I used to feed it twice a year at coat changing season and would have sworn that it made a difference to my horses. Although the rest of the year I was also feeding NAF GP supplement so that might have been a factor.

I had a Saturday job in a saddlery in the early to mid 2000s too and NAF sold like hotcakes, especially the Pink Powder.

Did it ever work? I'm sure there was an analysis of the PP ingredients on here that wasn't favourable but I can't find the post.

Has the market just expanded so much that there are so many options that sales at diluted?

Have NAF fallen behind with supplements? I'm thinking how "we" all recommend certain companies for vit/min supps these days (Progressive Earth, Forage Plus, etc) but surely a big company like NAF would have more buying power to be able to provide thr same standard of supplement cheaper. Why don't they? Again I can't find the thread/post but I'm sure there have been analysis of "commercial" feed company's general purpose supplements/balancers and they haven't had the needed quantities of the right ingredients and have consisted of a lot of filler.

Why haven't they adapted/kept up? I know they still sell a lot of supplements but more and more horse owners are becoming aware of what they are feeding and why.

I've just been wondering for a wee while about PP and after looking at thr website NAF supps in general. They are never recommended on here yet they are a huge company, loads of advertising and sponsor a lot of big names.

 

[meleeka]

One of mine won’t anything from NAF. I did feed it to my cob for a while and it was like rocket fuel (and not in a good way). I think there’s just more choice these days and packaging is more scientific looking to make people think it’s better.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I still use NAF products as do really ĺike them but can't say I've ever used Pink Powder!

 

[SmartieBean09]

Im also a fan of PP and truly believe that this helped save my pony back in 2000's! She was having reoccurring bouts of colic and PP was recommended by the Vet. The colic stopped and she had the perfect poos after that! I continued to feed it and increased it when I wormed.

More recently I have read that as a balancer it isn't as good as many others and in terms of "gut benefits", its mostly Brewers Yeast.

 

[Britestar]

I work in retail and NAF products are a popular as ever.
PP is a good seller .

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I did use it years ago but I find Naf products in general are fill of unnecessary crap and not a lot of the actual stuff you need so you have to feed a lot of it so works out expensive.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I like Naf stuff. The only supplement of theirs I use personally is Respirator. The mare at work has Oestress.
I love the grooming range, shampoos etc
I had tried PP on my pony but as I remember it’s quite a large scoop and he wouldn’t eat it in his handful of chaff.

 

[sbloom]

I think there were numerous reasons - https://www.naf-equine.eu/uk/digestion/in-the-pink-powder - based on a starchy base, not an awful lot in it, there was a move against FOS at one point too...no idea if that's still current thinking on probiotics. They just got massively passed by by lots of other products that are way better.

 

[milliepops]

I think HHO is a bit of a funny ecosystem, NAF products are still hugely popular in the "mainstream", tack and feed shops are full of them, they must be doing really well as the sponsor stuff left, right and centre. I live near their HQ so remember when they were first starting up and the marketing etc of the products has come a verrrrry long way.

I like their lotions and potions though for supps I think you can get better spec and better price elsewhere.
Leaving aside the likes of forage plus and progressive earth I think Feedmark as an example have done a bit of forward thinking for instance, their Bespoke supp is a good idea and gives better value for money if you are someone that uses multiple things - i get mag added to my horse's gut supp and it is very cost effective. they also have iron free vits and mins etc which used to be quite niche.

 

[sbloom]

Yes there's definitely a difference between those who listen to people on their yard and possibly the staff at the tack shop (and so often it's "this is popular") and those who research in greater depth, which would cover a reasonably high proportion of posters on here.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I think HHO is a bit of a funny ecosystem,

This is what I think. Much as I do try to do my own research it’s really being part of the forum that has informed me or opened my eyes to various issues in the equine world in particular supplements. There are some people with particular expertise who have done a lot of grunt work to work out things like value for money or understand the interactions or bioavailability of nutrients which I’d never have done myself. There are plenty of people in my yard who continue to buy the most popular products.

I love this forum for the wide range of experience and expertise you get and useful debate. I’m always saying “I was reading on HHO” …

 

[milliepops]

This is what I think. Much as I do try to do my own research it’s really being part of the forum that has informed me or opened my eyes to various issues in the equine world in particular supplements. There are some people with particular expertise who have done a lot of grunt work to work out things like value for money or understand the interactions or bioavailability of nutrients which I’d never have done myself. There are plenty of people in my yard who continue to buy the most popular products.

I love this forum for the wide range of experience and expertise you get and useful debate. I’m always saying “I was reading on HHO” …

periodically I feel fed up with something on HHO and think it's time to cut ties... but I agree with what you've said, it's a great resource. so always end up jumping straight back in!

 

[poiuytrewq]

periodically I feel fed up with something on HHO and think it's time to cut ties... but I agree with what you've said, it's a great resource. so always end up jumping straight back in!

On a slightly different tangent, the research thing and looking for your own answers is I think why a lot of zombie threads pop up.
I was looking for something recently. HHO is always on Google’s list and I almost replies to a thread that I then realised was 2014!
Agree, it’s great for finding out as long as you weed out the good and bad bits.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

CompositionWheat feed, Brewer’s yeast, Maize (cooked), Calcium carbonate, Monocalcium phosphate, Rapeseed oil, Beetroot juice, Maltodextrin, Carrot (dried), Sodium chloride, Fructo-oligosaccharides, Magnesium oxide.

So my thoughts - and I’m no expert - would be that herbs and supplements are much easier to purchase individually these days. I can easily pick up brewers yeast and magnesium, without any additives, and probably at less overall cost.

I think we are much more aware of the quality and quantity of forage that we provide so calcium isn’t as much of an issue, and if it is, there are more specialist supplements to buy.

Wheat feed and maize are really bulking things.

Rapeseed oil is easy enough to add to feed but likely to be unnecessary and a lot of people feed linseed or chaff with added oils these days.

The beetroot and carrot are fine from a vitamin perspective but the quantities are unlikely to have a huge impact and they can be added to a horse’s diet very easily anyway. They are probably just there for flavour.

The flavour enhancers like maltodextrin, salt and sugars really aren’t a benefit. They could even be argued to be detrimental.

I bought pink powder when we got Ari because she was on it at her breeder and I wanted to give her as much consistency as possible. I’ve used it up on my other two since we lost her but I haven’t noticed any benefits above what I usually mix myself. I’ll go back to feeding my own supplements when it’s finished.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I still have pink powder, not currently using it, but that is because I don't need to but always found it does the job when they get loose droppings.

 

[Quigleyandme]

I‘m annoyed by any product that provides a scoop with a greater capacity than needed thus ensuring it is difficult to measure the recommended amount. I think it is to encourage over feeding and increase profits.