To meet the demands of training and racing, performance horses need access to a concentrated energy source. Grains such as oats, barley and maize are ideally suited because of their high starch content. Because these grains are not part of their natural diet, horses are limited in the amount of starch they are able to digest at one time. If too much grain is fed at once, or if the passage of ingested grain through the small intestine is too rapid, undigested starch will pass into the large intestine where it will undergo bacterial fermentation.  Hindgut fermentation of starch, especially with a reduced fibre intake, can lead to a condition known as hindgut acidosis.

Ingestion of  pasture grasses rich in fructans results in the production of  acids in a similar way to cereal grains, so horses on a mix of rich pasture and grain feed can be very susceptible to this condition.

The acids produced by the fermentation process can affect performance, causing problems like stressful behaviour, over-excitability, muscle tye-up and importantly for trainers and owners - produce poor results.

Essentially the excessive acid level causes a horse to lose the efficiency of its own microbial flora to digest the feed, thus reducing the effectiveness of the feed in the production of energy.  Hindgut Acidosis can manifest itself in simple indicators such as wood chewing, paddock or box walking, soft stools, loss of appetite and irritated attitude. If left uncorrected the condition can not only reduce performance in the short term, but can lead to the more career ending condition of Laminitis.

Scientific tests have shown that the feeding of á-amylase and â glucanase enhanced starch digestion and reduced the risk of hindgut acidosis and laminitis in horses.   It makes sense then, that feeding a product  that can slow the passage of feed through the gut and that contains the two á and â enzymes, plus a pre-biotic that will help maintain a functional gut wall, can only result in reduction of the problem of hindgut acidosis and therefore improved performance!

Digest-Rite contains pre-biotics (mannan oligosaccharides), digestive enzymes (á amylase and â glucanase), rice bran oil and silicated oxides.

Its four-way action:

1. Slows the passage of food through the small intestine, allowing more time for the horse’s own digestive enzymes to work.

2. Enhances digestion through the inclusion of enzymes (á- amylase and â glucanase) that break down sugar and starch.

3. Uses a pre-biotic which helps ensures that nutrients are absorbed efficiently.

4. Finally it contains a toxin binder in the form of silicated oxides which bind harmful toxins, preventing them from being absorbed and so are passed out in the horse’s faeces. This binding also helps to prevent the absorption of the harmful by-products of hindgut fermentation.

 Digest-Rite contains no prohibited substances so can be safely fed before racing.