Click & Collect
Horses are designed to trickle feed – grazing for up to 16 hours a day. This means that they need to constantly secrete acid to help digest this almost continual source of food entering their stomach. A grazing horse will also produce up to 9 gallons of saliva a day which as well as lubricating the food, also acts to help maintain a healthy gastric pH.
Furthermore, the physical presence of food in the stomach acts as a fibrous “mat” or barrier, helping to prevent acid splashing onto the upper, unprotected areas of the stomach. So if access to forage (pasture, hay, haylage) is restricted, acid continues to be produced, and with restricted chewing time, less saliva is produced which may affect a healthy gastric pH.
The lower portion of the stomach (the glandular area), where the acid is produced, has several natural protective mechanisms, including mucous production and bicarbonate secretion, but the upper portion of the stomach (squamous area) has no such protection. If the horse is worked with a mainly empty stomach, when he trots, canters or jumps, or even just tenses his abdominal muscles, this acid can splash or be squeezed up to the unprotected area of the stomach The horse has a small stomach, and food does not stay in there for very long, so even short periods during the day without access to forage can cause problems.
Technical description
For Gastric Health
- Powerful and effective liquid formulation to help maintain gastric health and comfort.
- Contains key ingredients traditionally used to help support gastric health, including pectins, lecithin, aloe vera, marshmallow root, glycine, liquorice.
- Provides nutritional support to help maintain a healthy gastric pH, including calcium and magnesium carbonates.
- Contains natural prebiotics from chicory.
Equine America is BETA NOPS and UFAS assured which means that full product traceability is in place, along with a quality assurance program that minimises the risk of contamination of the feed with prohibited substances and NOPS. Products are formulated to be suitable for horses competing under FEI regulations and the Rules of Racing.