Frequently Asked Nutrition Questions

Horses with laminitis or founder should have limited access to lush pasture that may be high in sugar and starches. If the horse is obese or maintains weight easily, LOW 'N STEADY™, GRO 'N WIN™, or SAFE 'N EASY™ should be fed. If the horse requires additional calories for body condition or performance, EQ8™ Gut Health or EQ8 Senior should be fed.

Horses with insulin resistance and/or Cushing’s Disease require a diet lower in sugar and starch.  Depending on the horse’s current body condition, the lowest level sugar and starch products, LOW 'N STEADY, SAFE 'N EASY and GRO 'N WIN, can be fed to meet daily requirements. ULTIMATE FINISH can be added if the horse requires additional calories for body condition.

Horses affected by polysaccharide storage myopathy – or PSSM – require a total diet lower in sugar and starch. Ensure the forages fed, both pasture and hay, do not contain high levels of sugar or starch.  The lowest level sugar and starch products, SAFE 'N EASY and GRO 'N WIN, fit perfectly into the diet of a horse with PSSM.

GRO 'N WIN or LOW 'N STEADY can be fed to horses and ponies that are obese and do not need any extra calories in their diet. GRO 'N WIN and LOW 'N STEADY contain a balance of protein, minerals and vitamins to balance the forage in the diet and their low feeding rate per day ensures your horse or pony receives their daily requirements.

Fat will provide calories without affecting a horse’s temperament or behavior. Known as a “cool” source of calories, fat can easily be added to the pre-existing diet without a drastic increase in volume of feed. Choose either a product high in fat, such as CADENCE™ Ultra,  or add a fat supplement to the diet, like ULTIMATE FINISH.

Both exercise and diet have an effect on the horse’s topline. From a diet standpoint, providing adequate protein and essential amino acids will help to build muscle over the topline. Using GRO 'N WIN as a supplement to the diet can be used to increase good quality protein. We can help you evaluate your horse’s current diet, including forages and grain, and suggest any changes necessary.

ULTIMATE FINISH SRB+, ULTIMATE FINISH 25, ULTIMATE FINISH 40 and ULTIMATE FINISH 100 provide calories from fat at different levels: 25%, 40% and 100%. ULTIMATE FINISH SRB+ is 18% fat, with stabilized rice bran and stabilized milled flaxseed to support weight, performance, and healthy skin and coat. ULTIMATE FINISH 25 contains a blend of vegetable oils, including soybean oil, rice bran and flaxseed in an extruded form fed at rates from one-fourth up to three pounds a day. ULTIMATE FINISH 40 contains a similar blend of oils in a soft pellet form added at rates of two to eight ounces per day. ULTIMATE FINISH 100, a dry vegetable oil product made in granular form, most easily mixes with a sweet or texturized feed and can be included in the diet at two to eight ounces per day. 

Horses require a specific amount of protein in grams per day. The average 1,100-pound idle horse requires about 600 grams of protein per day. Most of that protein requirement can be met with good quality forage. If fed at the recommended feeding rate of 1 ¼ pounds, GRO 'N WIN adds only 178 grams of protein to the total diet (32% crude protein x 1.25 pounds per day [0.56 kg] = 178 grams).

Due to the physiology of the digestive tract, horses can be sensitive to dietary changes, especially with moderate to high levels of sugar and starch. Therefore, we suggest the following schedule:

Fixed formulation describes one method of horse feed manufacturing where the formulas and ingredients remain the same regardless of changing ingredient costs. What does this mean for your horse? A more consistent and quality product bag to bag.

Code dates are listed in the Julian format. The first digit is the year and the next three digits are the day of the year. The last digit is the location. As an example, 4088D would be the 88th day of 2024 (March 28, 2024), produced in "D" for Dalton, OH.

Each of our feeds has a specific shelf life in which feeds will meet guarantees, under safe storage conditions. Please contact us, and we'll provide the shelf life for your specific product.