What new feed product would you most like to see on the market?

[SillySausage]

I've been given an assignment at uni to 'produce' a new feed product for performance horses (money is no option) that I have to 'construct' and write about using supporting literature and past research.

So what kind of thing would you lot want to see in a new feed? I know it's pretty hard as feed companies are so on the ball these days!!

So far I've looked at copra meal, and the idea of putting some sort of supplement into a feed. If I went down that route what kind of supplement built into a feed would you buy?

 

[ThePony]

I'd like:

a complete feed that I don't have to feed tonnes of in order to get the right level of nutrition - 0.5kg/1 stubbs scoop per day really.
one that has vits and minerals in at a level that is actually useful. I would like to see the balance of minerals reflect those found lacking in much forage (if you look on here http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/Forage_Analysis_Discussions_about3261.html people from all over the country have uploaded their forage analysis so you could work out a 'good average' for most horses.
Low starch and sugar, no molasses (include moglo in that!).
Some good quality fat - I love microionized linseed myself.
no gm or animal derived ingredients.
no ingredients that don't give some value to the horse - so no cheap 'floor sweepings' fillers.
no cereals (including peas - damn things make my mare loopy!)

You could do a base mix that contains the above, and then you could have add on supplements designed especially to complement the above mix for special needs;
ie, an endurance one that contains more salts and more oil
an fussy picky horse one that contains dried mint, linseed etc and other yummy things
extra energy containing oats
sensitive tummy one containing fennel, yeasacc and activated charcol.
calm down one with extra magnesium, l-tryphotan, calmomile.
a poor doer one with things for aiding digestion along with more cals (from oil?)

Then each person could feed a scoop of feed plus a table spoon of extra so that every horse can have the same base feed, but you can easily top up each horses feed to suit individual needs without winding up doubling up when feed and supplements cover the same nutritional need twice, but leave a gap!

 

[SillySausage]

I'd like:

a complete feed that I don't have to feed tonnes of in order to get the right level of nutrition - 0.5kg/1 stubbs scoop per day really.
one that has vits and minerals in at a level that is actually useful. I would like to see the balance of minerals reflect those found lacking in much forage (if you look on here http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/Forage_Analysis_Discussions_about3261.html people from all over the country have uploaded their forage analysis so you could work out a 'good average' for most horses.
Low starch and sugar, no molasses (include moglo in that!).
Some good quality fat - I love microionized linseed myself.
no gm or animal derived ingredients.
no ingredients that don't give some value to the horse - so no cheap 'floor sweepings' fillers.
no cereals (including peas - damn things make my mare loopy!)

You could do a base mix that contains the above, and then you could have add on supplements designed especially to complement the above mix for special needs;
ie, an endurance one that contains more salts and more oil
an fussy picky horse one that contains dried mint, linseed etc and other yummy things
extra energy containing oats
sensitive tummy one containing fennel, yeasacc and activated charcol.
calm down one with extra magnesium, l-tryphotan, calmomile.
a poor doer one with things for aiding digestion along with more cals (from oil?)

Then each person could feed a scoop of feed plus a table spoon of extra so that every horse can have the same base feed, but you can easily top up each horses feed to suit individual needs without winding up doubling up when feed and supplements cover the same nutritional need twice, but leave a gap!

Wow, thank you for your reply

A couple of questions (your knowledge seems far superior to me here so be prepared for some probably very silly questions!!!) ...

The website looks very useful. Against what suggested requirements do you suggest I use? Is there a universal 'table' as such that shows what *should* be coming up in their forage analysis results?

What is moglo !?

I'm with you on the cereals, they send my sane boy fruit loop too! I have to justify everything I put in the feed so hopefully the ingredients will all be of some use!

THanks for the idea for different sports, but I am having to look at it from the perspective of a performance with a high work load, as opposed to a specific sport. However, some of those ideas are useful all the same!

I have heard of fennel, but not yeasacc so I will get on to that!

 

[MiCsarah]

No garlic! Every feed these days has added garlic init. Agree with having a good supplement in the feed instead of buying them. Also high salt value if made for top performance horses. So they get there reccomended daily allowance

 

[SillySausage]

No garlic! Every feed these days has added garlic init. Agree with having a good supplement in the feed instead of buying them. Also high salt value if made for top performance horses. So they get there reccomended daily allowance

I was planning on avoiding garlic, I know a few horses who have had reactions to it and people who feed it seasonly, so I think I'd be cutting myself off from a fairly large part of the market (if it were real...haha)

 

[noblesteed]

No garlic or strong flavours, no alfalfa, no molasses, no oil, tasty, low-calorie with vits and mins for a good doer, that isn't a soggy mush and doesn't need to be fed in massive amounts to ensure enough vits and mins are provided!!!!!

 

[the watcher]

If there was a copra based, low sugar,low cereal, nutritionally complete feed widely available I would be would be very excited about it. Copra is a pain to feed as so few feed stores stock it, but is very effective (if nutionally unbalanced fed alone)

 

[Foxhunter49]

Personally I wouldn't buy a prepared feed. I am fed up with feed companies stuffing horses full of unnecessary sugars and high energy feed in large amounts so they can line their pockets!

 

[SillySausage]

If there was a copra based, low sugar,low cereal, nutritionally complete feed widely available I would be would be very excited about it. Copra is a pain to feed as so few feed stores stock it, but is very effective (if nutionally unbalanced fed alone)

I am basing my feed on copra meal

And you're right with it being hard to get hold of, I have no problem at home but at uni it's a nightmare!

 

[SillySausage]

Personally I wouldn't buy a prepared feed. I am fed up with feed companies stuffing horses full of unnecessary sugars and high energy feed in large amounts so they can line their pockets!

It's just a theoretical feed for my assignment

 

[LadyRascasse]

What about an energy feed suitable for lamintics/ good doers?

 

[Theocat]

I'm looking for the exact opposite - a completely "empty" feed of zero calorific value that I can feed as a reward, stick in a treat ball if he's bored, etc (so it really needs to be a nut), without adding calories!

Good luck with the project, sounds really interesting

 

[ThePony]

Wow, thank you for your reply

A couple of questions (your knowledge seems far superior to me here so be prepared for some probably very silly questions!!!) ...

The website looks very useful. Against what suggested requirements do you suggest I use? Is there a universal 'table' as such that shows what *should* be coming up in their forage analysis results?

What is moglo !?

I'm with you on the cereals, they send my sane boy fruit loop too! I have to justify everything I put in the feed so hopefully the ingredients will all be of some use!

THanks for the idea for different sports, but I am having to look at it from the perspective of a performance with a high work load, as opposed to a specific sport. However, some of those ideas are useful all the same!

I have heard of fennel, but not yeasacc so I will get on to that!

It is an arse to find a 'healthy' feed for horses in medium work that isn't full of sugar, creal and crap, so I have grumped rather alot about it!!!

I don't know what a horse needs, lots of people do the Dr. Kellon course to help with this, I just got my grazing analysis and feed plan sorted together (If you pm me your email add I would be happy to email it over incase it is helpful?).

Moglo often appears in low sugar options - it is just a mix of molasses and soya oil.

Good luck!

 

[SO1]

Yes that is what I would like something bulky that you can feed lots of which is not fattening yet tasty eg not just straw.

I'm looking for the exact opposite - a completely "empty" feed of zero calorific value that I can feed as a reward, stick in a treat ball if he's bored, etc (so it really needs to be a nut), without adding calories!

Good luck with the project, sounds really interesting

 

[smellsofhorse]

The pony

You should market that!

Total winner!

 

[FairyLights]

a feed based on the purest natural ingredients with all the essential nutrients ;amino acids; vits and mins; which can be fed in small quantities; I am thinking along the lines of freeze dried grass and wild flowers with some added linseed meal and mins and vits. Also a chaff based on dried old types of grasses and wild flowers; herbage of yesteryear so to speak.

 

[JenHunt]

i'd like to see something like The Pony suggests.

the main thing IMO would be how you would 'theoretically' market it and get it into enough suppliers to make it easy to get hold of. Also, and this is something we found when I was designing a supplement range, most people in the horse world are really sceptical of feeds that claim to do too much and that are from brands they don't recognise. I would be working out how you could get a big brand to buy the formula and rights off you (whilst getting a return, obviously!) and let them sweat it out to get it going!

there's a book called Nutrient requirements of horses, published by an american reserch committee that is a very useful book!

 

[Oberon]

Understanding that the bulk of the horse's feed is actually going to be grass/hay/haylage and any feed you create needs to compliment that - not work against it like most feeds do....

If it's based on Copra then you need to understand the analysis of copra and adjust the calcium, phosphorous, manganese, magnesium, selenium, iodine, zinc, copper, iron, sulphur accordingly.

Additional things like Yea-sacc, Lysine, micronised linseed, l-glutamine, biotin and vit E means you could market it in a therapeutic way (ulcer prone/lami prone etc).

Turmeric is very popular at the moment as a joint aid.

No one will want to buy a feed that horses won't eat, so adding mint/fenugreek/fennel will make it smell interesting to owners and tasty for horses.

But if you want to make a really successful feed - blind people with science and charge a fortune for cheap ingredients

 

[Oberon]

Mogolo is a mix of soya oil and molasses. It's marketed as a low sugar alternative for laminitics...

Molasses is 47%
Mogolo is 40%

Wow....just wow

But it's OK...The Laminitis Trust approves feeds with it