Understanding Equi-Jewel®

For many owners the colder winter months offer an excellent opportunity to shift those extra pounds that have crept onto their horses during the summer!

However, for poor-doers, veterans and performance horses the winter months offer a challenge as owners desperately try to keep on the weight and condition that has been gained with the summer grass. It can be a minefield trying to decide which feed to use without risking overfeeding large bowls of cereal-based conditioning feeds, which can lead to over-excitability, digestive issues and metabolic problems. In these situations Saracen will often suggest the use of Equi-Jewel®. But what exactly is Equi-Jewel® and why do we recommend it so much?

What is Equi-Jewel®?

• A high-fat supplement based on stabilised rice bran
• Rice bran is the outer layer of the rice grain, a by-product of the white rice milling industry.
• Rice bran is naturally very high in highly digestible fibre and oil, making it a popular nutritional ingredient for many human and animal supplements.
• Due to the high oil level of rice bran (about 20%) it is very important that the rice bran is stabilised before feeding or it will go rancid very quickly.

What about the ingredients?

Equi-Jewel® is solely based on stabilised rice bran with no other additional ingredients, apart from calcium to balance the calcium:phosphorus ratio and vitamin E and Selenium to protect against free radical damage that is increased when high oil diets are fed

What are the benefits of Equi-Jewel®?

• Naturally high in oil and fibre, but low in starch, Equi-Jewel® is a versatile and concentrated source of energy (calories) for horses of all ages and activity levels.
• Oil is two and a half times more calorie dense than cereals, meaning the high oil level of Equi-Jewel® makes it extremely effective at supporting weight maintenance with only a small amount required.
• The high oil levels help to support optimal healthy skin and coat condition. Horses fed on Equi-Jewel® quickly exhibit excellent skin condition and coat gloss and bloom.
• The oil content in Equi-Jewel® is highly digestible and much more palatable than liquid oil. In addition, you would need to feed in excess of 250mls of liquid oil per day to get the same result as feeding Equi-Jewel®, which can be a very messy process!
• Equi-Jewel® also offers an excellent slow release energy source for performance horses with elevated energy demands.
• The low starch level helps avoid behavioural, digestive and metabolic problems associated with feeding traditional high cereal based diets.

Research has also shown that during strenuous exercise horses fed Equi-Jewel® had lower lactic acid levels, combined with lower heart rates, compared to horses fed corn or vegetable oil. This in turn showed a positive impact on stamina and recovery rates (Kennedy et al. 1999).

• Adding just 500g – 1kg of Equi-Jewel® to a horse’s normal feed ration per day will also support muscle and top line development when fed in conjunction with a suitable exercise regime.

Remember that….

Equi-Jewel® is not a fully fortified feed and does not, therefore, contain all the important vitamins and minerals the horse needs on a daily basis. Equi-Jewel® should therefore be fed alongside a feed or supplement that will supply these nutrients. Popular feeds from the Saracen range that are used alongside Equi-Jewel® include Re-Leve®-Mix, Condition-Improver Cubes and Super Fibre Cubes.