Frequently Asked Questions

What is the vitamin and mineral analysis for Base Mix?  I need to know so that I can balance the minerals against my forage.

 

The Base Mix is formulated to balance against average forage in the UK.  Most forage has sufficient iron, manganese, but is often low in copper, zinc, magnesium, selenium, etc.  Feeding Base Mix at 100g per 100kg bodyweight would provide 100% daily recommended rate of most vitamins and minerals, according to NRC horse feeding guidelines. Hence the recommended feeding rate of 100g per 100kg bodyweight for healthy horses at maintenance on restricted forage, or 50g per 100kg bodyweight for healthy horses at maintenance on good forage, or approx 150g per 100kg bodyweight for youngstock, competition horses, broodmares, convalescing horses, etc.  All vitamins and minerals are natural source, with minerals in chelated form.  Other than limestone flour (calcium carbonate), we use no cheap inorganic minerals.   One of the most important roles of the Base Mix is that it is formulated to feed healthy intestinal membrane cells, and a healthy gut environment.  These cells need to be functioning properly with the correct metabolic cofactors present otherwise mineral uptake is compromised, no matter how much extra minerals are added to the diet.  So the answer is not very straightforward.  Most horse feed companies can provide you with a very detailed vitamin and mineral analysis because they incorporate 'ready made' premix pellets into their feeds.  These pellets are manufactured in bulk by chemical companies and bought in by animal feed companies to specification.  They almost always contain synthetic vitamins (eg vit E and the B vits are synthesised from petroleum byproducts) and the minerals are usually included in cheap inorganic form. Many studies show that synthetic and inorganic forms are metabolised differently to naturally occurring or chelated forms.  So providing you with just a vitamin and mineral analysis does not give you the total picture as to how the Base Mix is formulated to nourish and feed healthy metabolism, immune system and as a result, healthy foot structure.  We don't encourage owners to mineral balance with their horse's diets because most owners use inorganic forms of minerals that can be abrasive to the gut lining cells, and as outlined above, mineral balancing is just part of the equation.  Many owners have been adding extra minerals to balance their horse's diet with some improvement to their horses health, but when they change to the Base Mix diet and - very importantly - stop feeding highly processed and refined chaffs, mixes, pellets, beets, etc, they see a marked improvement.  Gut health is the pivotal component.  A healthy gut will metabolise and balance minerals very efficiently, just as it has evolved to do for hundreds of thousands of years.  We encourage more owners to think 'outside the box' and begin to question the actual ingredients in the feed, rather than rely on the standard analyses on the bag (which give you very limited information compared to the ingredients label).  The many testimonials and pictures we are now able to post on the website are demonstrating this again and again.  Obviously, not all forage conforms to 'UK average' figures, so if you know your forage is seriously lacking in a particular mineral, then do give us a call to discuss your requirements.