geronabean - 2015-02-26 5:33 PM

My allergic to every feed horse is doing great on RG and alfalfa. Sad news is I cant get RG easily but I did like the product for my mare for the month I used it. Will be interesting comparing results to the substitute product I am using.

LabRat - 2015-03-07 8:18 AM If a horse is losing weight based on what they're getting for grain, they're not getting enough hay!

BBrewster - 2015-03-07 3:44 PM I'm feeding Renew gold to everything from easy keepers to my yearlings...all doing great i do adjust obviously how much each get individually but they all are on free choice coastal and alfalfa they get morning and night...i love it...my horses love it they lick their buckets clean and they didn't do that before....i add purina senior to all of their renew gold just to make their msm and electrolytes stick to it but their only getting like 2 cups full of senior max each some a little less...anyway love the science behind it and my horses all seem more rational on it...none seem lethargic but they have anyway very balanced diet now alfalfa is definitely a key ingredient to their diet and don't let anyone tell ya alfalfa makes em hot..it has high protein but it's actually lower in starch than most all grass hays ( starch is what gives energy ie carbs/glucose )...pic of my 2 yr old filly last week..definitely not lethargic !

BBrewster - 2015-03-07 3:44 PM

I'm feeding Renew gold to everything from easy keepers to my yearlings...all doing great i do adjust obviously how much each get individually but they all are on free choice coastal and alfalfa they get morning and night...i love it...my horses love it they lick their buckets clean and they didn't do that before....i add purina senior to all of their renew gold just to make their msm and electrolytes stick to it but their only getting like 2 cups full of senior max each some a little less...anyway love the science behind it and my horses all seem more rational on it...none seem lethargic but they have anyway very balanced diet now alfalfa is definitely a key ingredient to their diet and don't let anyone tell ya alfalfa makes em hot..it has high protein but it's actually lower in starch than most all grass hays ( starch is what gives energy ie carbs/glucose )...pic of my 2 yr old filly last week..definitely not lethargic !

winwillows - 2015-02-26 1:16 PM


There are so many points here, that it is hard to discuss all. There are several indicators of digestive efficiency that stand out when a horse or more importantly a group of horses seem to thrive on one type of feeding program and not on another. Lets look at it this way. A horse needs a certain amount of digestive energy to thrive and carry proper weight. If it takes over 4 pounds of concentrate with your hay to keep the horse fit, then the horse clearly has to rely more on the concentrate for it's nutrition as those levels of concentrate generally become disruptive to an efficient hind gut and efficient hay digestion. In other words, the more concentrate you feed, the less your horse has the ability to completely digest its hay. You can keep a horse fit this way, just look at how they feed on the race track, but you compromise the hind gut in doing so. Remember, on the track they really don't care how long a horse can have a healthy productive life. I did not say in my previous statement that there was a high risk of colic, is said "higher" meaning more risk than in a program that does not feed this way. This type of higher concentrate program can also work if the hay is so poor that there is just not enough calories in it, even if you could capture most of them. The calories have to come from somewhere. If you are stuck with poor hay and your only option is to feed high concentrate rates you need to break them into as many feedings as you can so that the enzymes in the small intestine are not overwhelmed and can break down the starches and sugars there with out it getting into the hind gut. Here is a point where I would rather feed better hay, or add alfalfa to boost poor hay, than feed more concentrate and unbalance the system. Worrying about excess protein here from alfalfa is not an issue, because the failure to thrive clearly shows that the grass hay is most likely short anyway. As to a Cal/phos ratio, you are safe there also. If plenty of roughage along with 1 to 1.5 pounds of RG is fed and the horse is not thriving then either the hay is short of energy, or the horse is not properly digesting the hay that it is eating. 500,000 bags of RG sold tells us that this is true. So, my point, assuming that the hay quality is adequate, is that either not enough roughage is fed, or there are other factors that are preventing the horse from efficiently breaking down that roughage in the hind gut. I have said many times that the most common factor when this happens is the horses inability to chew the grass hay portion of its diet efficiently. Usually this is a teeth problem causing the horse discomfort and therefor causing it to chew less than it normally would. Grass hay that is not chewed well is not digested well. Every horse owner should learn to access the condition of their horses teeth for rough edges on the outside of the uppers and the inside of the lowers. Most people rely on the vet to do this and, in general, they ignore small issues with the teeth until a major float is justified. In my opinion, this is a mistake. As to my statement about the immune system, that is about 80% driven from the hind gut when it is working efficiently. High concentrate rations limit that and therefor proper immune function. Lastly, I agree that Renew Gold is not for everyone, or every horse. Just the vast majority of them.

cheryl makofka - 2015-03-07 10:39 PM


You have good points, but when I read this, my question is why would anyone want to feed your product?

From what you are saying, people's money is better invested in teeth, worming, and hay.