News
DENGIE HAS 4 PRODUCTS APPROVED BY THE LAMINITIS TRUST
4th May 2007
As market leader in fibre feed for horses and ponies, we are proud to produce four products that have been awarded the coveted Laminitis Trust's stamp of approval. Hi-Fi Lite, Alfa-A Lite, Alfa-Beet and new Healthy Hooves all have Laminitis Trust approval. Hi-Fi Lite was the first product on the UK market that was awarded this approval mark, and today it remains the safest product to feed to horses or ponies prone to laminitis as it has the lowest combined sugar and starch levels of any horse feed product.
Alfa-A Lite, Alfa-Beet and new Healthy Hooves where all introduced to address a different nutritional needs, but they all have in common the fact that none contains heating cereals, but all offer a safe, slow release energy source and guaranteed nutrition for horses and ponies prone to this horrible disease.
Recent research conducted for Dengie by Dr Jo-Anne Murray at the Edinburgh's Royal Dick Veterinary School has shown the potential Alfalfa has to counteract the negative effects of acidity in the gut, which can lead to laminitis. Horses fed a high cereal-based diet and those who consume high levels of fructans (sugars) in grass are often susceptible to laminitis precipitated by the high levels of acidity that result from such diets.
Alfalfa has a stronger buffering effect than other forages as Dr Murray explains; "Alfalfa naturally has a high buffering capacity which means it is capable of stabilising acidity is due to the presence of high levels of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that are able to buffer acidity by accepting donating protons. As other forages commonly used in horses' diets do not possess such high levels of these nutrients as alfalfa, this buffering capability is specific to alfalfa".
The results of the study suggests that feeding alfalfa alongside cereals and grass has the potential to counteract the negative effect of increased acidity. This study supports what is already known and documentated about the buffering potential of alfalfa and bears out the importance of feeding a high fibre diet to horses and ponies - particularly those prone to laminitis. All of the products listed above contain alfalfa as a key ingredient.
