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Frequently Asked Questions

For any further questions, please reach out to us

renewgoldhorse@gmail.com

 How does Renew Gold do so much with so little being fed?

This is the most often asked question that we get about how to get the most value out of your feeding program using Renew Gold. To answer this, it is important that you first understand just what a horse's digestive system really needs for optimum health.Horses evolved to use roughage as their primary source of nutrition. This would be hay, pasture, or several other very high fiber low energy food sources that are consumed as the largest part of the daily diet. While lower in energy than grain, roughage is safely fed at much higher rates.This evolutionary journey did not include stops at the grain pile nor, in most cases, the mineral pile. The horse met its needs almost entirely by eating the roughage that was literally growing at their feet.As we use horses for effort that requires more energy than the available roughage can provide we increase available nutrient energy by adding a higher calorie source of nutrition. In the past, that was commonly done by adding more energy dense hay, or with a commercial grain based feed. Better hay can often be all that is needed to meet additional energy needs. Usually a horse will thrive on better hay with no ill effects.Adding grain based feed, however, will create a disruption in the digestive system that can negatively affect proper digestion of the real source of nutrition, the roughage. Since there was no place in nature where horses could eat more than a very small amount of high starch mature grain at one time, the horse did not evolve the ability to properly digest more than that small amount. That is how evolution works. Just because grain is high in energy and easy to get the horse to eat does not mean that it was ever meant to be in there. This is the same as using Nitro-methane racing gas in your family car's engine. Just because it is higher in energy does not mean that the engine in your car can use it without causing damage. High grain rations in horses cause damage. It is as simple as that.So, what does this have to do with Renew Gold? Everything. One pound of Renew Gold can replace up to four pounds or more of grain based feed. That one pound of Renew Gold fits in the digestive system and is properly digested while supporting improved digestion of the roughage portion of the diet. This means more calories, vitamins and minerals are captured from the hay or pasture that the horse eats. Overall improved digestive efficiency is cost effective, safer, and healthier for the horse.

Is Renew Gold a Supplement, a Feed, or a Ration Balancer?

Renew Gold really does not fall directly into any of these categories. It is a direct grain replacer that allows the complete elimination of high starch grain based commercial feed from the horses diet. While some customers add vitamin and mineral supplements to a diet with Renew Gold, if hay quality is good, this is usually not necessary because of the improved contribution of water soluble vitamins and minerals from the roughage due to the increased digestion efficiency that Renew Gold supports. We do have some customers that simply can’t stand the thought of taking all grain away from their horse. If you wish to add that as a small treat, or it makes you feel better doing so, please go very lightly with it and let Renew Gold do the work for you and your horse.

What are your suggestions about a good ration balancer?

Most horse owners do not understand what a ration balancer is best uesd for. In general, ration balancers are very high protein (around 30%), soy based supplements that are best used if there is not enough quality protein provided by remainder of the diet. If you have quality alfalfa in the diet, additional protein requirements are minimal or not necessary. A simple Vit/Min addition or a small inclusion of a fortified higher fat / medium protein additive may be a better choice. For growing horses a total protein level of around 15% is healthy and safe from developmental problems. For mature horses 11% protein for the whole diet will meet their needs. Some horses handle high protein from soy fine, but many do not. Because of this, I never use soy in formulations, and recommend that it be kept out of the diet if possible. While the protein quality of soy is good, that can't necessarily be said of the remainder of the soy make up or the high estrogen present in soy. If you are feeding very low protein hay, a ration balancer at the appropriate amount may be one of your options. A better option, in my opinion, is always better hay if available. Either way, I would not feed a soy based ration balancer along with alfalfa to growing horses as the combination of higher calcium and higher protein can create a risk of developmental issues.

What are the benefits to feeding Renew Gold?

Renew Gold costs less per month compared to conventional grain based feed, uses no vague ingredients, and improves overall efficiency of the horse by allowing the system to function naturally without overwhelming it with ingredients that it cannot properly digest.

Why is Renew Gold better than just feeding Rice Bran?

As the people who created the use of Stabilized Rice Bran for horses in the 1980s, we remain strong advocates for its use. It is a great grain replacement, and fat supplement.
Renew Gold takes SRB a step farther by increasing digestive efficiency through the entire system. This eliminates the use of other feeds and supplements.

Is there any need for additional supplements while feeding Renew Gold?

90% of our customers don't feed additional feed with Renew Gold as long as their hay quality is good! 

What is the difference between Renew Gold and non-pelleted Maxi Glo Rice Bran?

While we use food grade stabilized rice bran in the Renew Gold formula, the additional ingredients contribute to make Renew Gold more effective in making the whole digestive system more efficient. Coconut meal is highly anti inflammatory and fills some amino acid gaps that Stabilized rice bran has. Flax meal adjusts Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratios. Our prebiotic increases digestion of the hay that you feed. Overall it is simply a more efficient formula. 

What is Renew Gold's NSC? (non-structural carbohydrates)

Total NSC (non-structural carbohydrates) for Renew Gold is 17%. Composed of 10% starch and 6.8% sugars. Total contribution to the diet from a one pound daily feeding is 77 grams.

Any experience feeding this to horses prone to or recovering ulcers?

A Renew Gold diet is great for ulcer prone horses. Eliminating excess starch and sugars from the diet by replacing grain based feeds with Renew Gold takes one of the most common causes of ulcers out of the horse. Additionally, keeping some hay available at all times. Have some alfalfa available, and see that teeth are up to date, and managing ulcer horses becomes much easier. 

What stage of life should I start feeding Renew Gold? 

We usually feel that 6 months is a good place to start at 1/3 to 1/2 pound per day. Many horse owners will feed RG to a brood mare with a foal at its side. If the foal eats some of it, that is perfectly safe.

Why is the feed rate for Renew Gold so low?

While Renew Gold is very energy dense, part of the value is that it is formulated to allow your horse to capture more calories from the roughage portion of the diet by making the horses hind gut to work without disruption. With conventional grain based concentrates, the hind gut does not function effectively, allowing much of that nutrition to end up on the ground behind the horse. With Renew Gold, the digestive system works properly allowing the nutrition of the hay to be actually used. The result is that you don’t need to add a lot on concentrate to try to make up for what your horse could not digest while that nutrition was in there. Result is that Renew Gold makes big changes with small feed rates.