HORSE SUPPLEMENT

Abstract

The present invention relates to compositions and their uses, specifically provides supplements for equines, in particular horses and ponies. Such a composition is ideal for horses and ponies where supporting skin health is desired or required.

Claims

1. A equine feed or supplement consisting of: a source of vitamin C; a source of zinc; a source of biotin; a source of omega 3 fatty acid; one or more of any species of chamomile, any species of divers, or any species of nettle; optionally, a source of docosahexanoic acid, amino acids, and/or yeast; and optionally, one or more binders, flavorants and/or carriers.

2. The equine feed or supplement of claim 1, comprising from about 0.25 g to 10 g vitamin C, about 50 mg-350 mg zinc, about 1 mg-100 mg biotin and about 10 g to 1000 g omega 3 fatty acid and one or more of from about 1 g to 10 g chamomile, 2 g to about 20 g divers, 2 g to about 20 g nettle.

3. The equine feed or supplement of claim 1, optionally comprising 50 mg to 300 mg docosahexanoic acid, from about 1 g to 6 g methionine, from about 0.5 to 5 g arginine and/or 1 g to about 20 g yeast.

4. The equine feed or supplement of claim 1, consisting of vitamin C, zinc, biotin, linseed, one or more of chamomile, divers, nettle and one or more of methionine, arginine, yeast, and docosahexanoic acid.

5. The equine feed or supplement of claim 4, comprising 1 g vitamin C, 200 mg zinc, 20 mg biotin, 40.5 g linseed, one or more of 3 g chamomile, 10 g divers, 5 g nettle and one or more of 3 g methionine, 1 g arginine, 5 g yeast, and 180 mg docosahexanoic acid.

6. A method for supporting healthy skin or improving the skin and/or coat condition of an equine comprising administering to the equine an equine feed or supplement consisting of: a source of vitamin C; a source of zinc; a source of biotin; a source of omega 3 fatty acid; one or more of any species of chamomile, any species of divers, or any species of nettle; optionally, a source of docosahexanoic acid, amino acids, and/or yeast; and optionally, one or more binders, flavorants and/or carriers.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the equine animal weighs from 350 kg to 650 kg and the feed or supplement comprises from about 0.25 g to 10 g vitamin C, about 50 mg-350 mg zinc, about 1 mg-100 mg biotin and about 10 g to 1000 g omega 3 fatty acid and one or more of from about 1 g to 10 g chamomile, 2 g to about 20 g divers, 2 g to about 20 g nettle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the feed or supplement optionally comprises 50 mg to 300 mg docosahexanoic acid, from about 1 g to 6 g methionine, from about 0.5 to 5 g arginine and/or 1 g to about 20 g yeast.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the feed or supplement consists of vitamin C, zinc, biotin, linseed, one or more of chamomile, divers, nettle and one or more of methionine, arginine, yeast, and docosahexanoic acid.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0081] The following specification may be better understood with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

[0082] FIG. 1 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0083] FIG. 2 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0084] FIG. 3 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0085] FIG. 4 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0086] FIG. 5 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0087] FIG. 6 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0088] FIG. 7 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0089] FIG. 8 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0090] FIG. 9 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement;

[0091] FIG. 10 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement; and

[0092] FIG. 11 is a graph depicting the results of a feeding trial conducted with an embodiment of the feed or supplement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] The composition of any of the aspects of the invention may be in the form of a food, in particular, in the form of a food supplement. The food supplement can additionally contain ingredients, which enable the food supplement to be formulated in a particular form. For example, the food supplement can contain molasses or molasses/oil mixture (including vegetable oil) for example cane molasses with approximately 6% or above oil such as Molglo (eg. to bind the ingredients together or as a palatability agent) or, oat feed, wheat feed or another suitable filler ingredient (as a filler ingredient). The food supplement may also contain a fiber source such as grasses, grass meal, alfalfa, sugar beet, soya hulls and oats, a fat source such as corn oil, soya oil, processed canola oil, coconut oil, palm oil or sunflower oil and/or a starch source such as cereals (e.g. corn or maize, barley, oats). Thus, the food supplement may be a food. The invention is described with reference to the following examples, which show the practical use of the aspects of the invention in day to day horse care and management.

Examples

[0094] The aim of the trials is to prove the product has benefits to the horse which are recognizable by its care giver and which relate to the product's intended use.

[0095] To ensure that the supplements are palatable to the horse.

[0096] The following supplements were evaluated.

TABLE-US-00001 Product Functional Specific Functional Total Horses Required Identifier Area Area in Trial 6th Joint Maintaining joint 20 Horses (already being aspect of health fed or in the past been invention fed a competitor supplement) 5th Joint Supporting 20 Horses (cross-over)* aspect of Challenged Adult (Horses not to have fed invention Joints a competitor supplement) 3rd Behavior Supporting 20 Horses (cross-over)* aspect of Positive (Horses not to have fed invention Behavior a competitor supplement) 1st Behavior Energy Boost For 20 Horses (already being aspect of Laid Back Horses fed or in the past been invention fed a competitor supplement) 2nd Skin Supporting 20 Horses (already being aspect of Challenged fed or in the past been invention Skin fed a competitor supplement) 4th Performance Supporting 20 Horses (already being aspect of Challenged fed or in the past been invention Muscles fed a competitor supplement) Total horses recruited: 120 Cross-over trial *Within the Joint and Behavior groups 20 horses were recruited from within each group who had an issue in the related area but were currently not feeding a competitor supplement. These 20 trialed our respective supplement for 5 weeks and a competitor supplement for 5 weeks with a 2 week wash out period in-between. Half the group feed the supplement to be tested first and the other half the competitor supplement first. Those who already feed a competitor supplement were recruited into the maintaining joint health functional area.

[0097] The competitor products are as follows:

Behavior (Competitor B)

Ingredients

[0098] Magnesium oxide, grass meal, hops, passion flower, calcium carbonate, white mineral oil, Brewers' yeast, magnesium chloride, fenugreek seed, oligofructose (dried), saccharomyces cerevisiae extract.

[0099] Dose: 50-75 g loading dose and then 25-50 g maintenance dose. Dose is per day.

[0100] Joint (Competitor A)

[0101] Ingredients:

[0102] Dehydrated alfalfa meal, isolated soy protein, dextrose, avocado/soybean unsaponifiables (ASU), glycine, glutamine, chondroitin sulphate, glucuronic acid, proline, glutamic acid, hyaluronic acid, ammonium propionate (preservative), vegetable oil, monosilicic acid, aspartic acid, arginine, histidine, manganese sulphate, pyridoxine HCl (vitamin B6), ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), sulphur, alanine, serine, valine, isoleucine, copper sulphate 5 mg/kg (added).

[0103] Dose: 14 g loading dose and then 7 g maintenance dose. Dose is per day.

[0104] Additional Trial Aims Per Product (Care Giver Evaluated):

TABLE-US-00002 Challenged Joints (Cross over Healthy Joints trial) Stiffness, when ridden Stiffness when turned Stiffness, when turned out out, compared to competitor product Stiffness, when ridden, compared to competitor product Calm Behavior (Positive Behavior) (Cross over trial) Energy Boost Spookiness/nervousness Energy/enthusiasm vs. competitor product Focus/concentration Excitability/fizzy vs. competitor product Challenged Skin and Coat Challenged Muscles Coat shine Recovery rate after high intensity Coat scurf exercise Stiffness after high intensity exercise

[0105] Trial Time Scale

TABLE-US-00003 Functional Area Product Identifier Time Split Total Time Joint-Normal 6th aspect 12 wks 12 weeks Behavior-Normal 1st aspect 12 wks 12 weeks Skin 2nd aspect 12 wks 12 wks Performance 4th aspect 12 wks 12 wks

Cross Over Trials

[0106] Each horse was provided with enough supplement to last throughout the trial

TABLE-US-00004 Functional Area Product Identifier Time Split Total Time Joint-Cross Over 5th aspect 5 wks-2 wks 12 weeks washout-5 wks Behavior-Cross 3rd aspect 5 wks-2 wks 12 weeks Over washout-5 wks

[0107] Data Collection and Analysis

[0108] Questionnaires were designed for the horse care giver to complete.

[0109] 6th Aspect

[0110] Each horse care giver was asked to score each horse for stiffness, when ridden. The results are shown in FIG. 1.

[0111] Each horse care giver was asked to score each horse for stiffness, when turned out. The results are shown in FIG. 2.

[0112] In addition, the product was noted as palatable: 100% horses ate it. It was fast acting; 27% of care givers noticed a beneficial change within 1 week; 65% within 4 weeks. It was efficacious; see results graphs.

[0113] 5th Aspect

[0114] Each horse care giver was asked to score the improvements in their horse stiffness when turned out. The results are shown in FIG. 3.

[0115] Each horse care giver was asked to score the improvement in stiffness when ridden. The results are shown in FIG. 4.

[0116] In addition, the product was noted as palatable. 87% horses ate it. It was fast acting; 48% of care givers noticed a beneficial change within 1 week; 72% within 4 weeks. It was efficacious; see results graphs.

[0117] 1st Aspect

[0118] Each horse care giver was asked to score a change in energy/enthusiasm. The results are shown in FIG. 5.

[0119] Each horse care giver was asked to score a change in focus/concentration. The results are shown in FIG. 6.

[0120] In addition, the product was noted as palatable. 91% horses ate it. It was fast acting; 36% of care givers noticed a beneficial change within 1 week; 68% within 4 weeks. It was efficacious; see results graphs.

[0121] 3rd Aspect

[0122] Each horse care giver was asked to score a change in the horse being spooky/nervous. The results are shown in FIG. 7.

[0123] Each horse care giver was asked to score a change in the horse being excitable/fizzy. The results are shown in FIG. 8.

[0124] In addition, the product was noted as palatable. 94% horses ate it. It was fast acting; 65% of care givers noticed a beneficial change within 1 week; 76% within 4 weeks. It was efficacious; see results graphs.

[0125] 2nd Aspect

[0126] Each horse care giver was asked to score a change in coat shine. The results are shown in FIG. 9.

[0127] Each horse care giver was asked to score a change in coat scurf. The results are shown in FIG. 10.

[0128] In addition; it was palatable; 92% horses ate it. It was efficacious; see results graphs.

[0129] 4th Aspect

[0130] Each horse care giver was asked to score recovery rate after high intensity exercise, stiffness after high intensity exercise and topline/muscle tone, both before and after the trial. The results are shown in FIG. 11.

[0131] In addition; it was palatable; 95% horses ate it. It was fast acting; 24% of trialists noticed a beneficial change within 1 week; 68% within 4 weeks. It was efficacious; see results graph.