Exciting New Equine Gastric Support Supplement Resulting in Years of Research

Purina® Introduces Outlast™ Equine Gastric Support Supplement

Attending the Purina Equine Professional Horsemen event were Claire Hoffman, Cheryl Bess, HorsesDaily's Mary Phelps and Ralph Graham.

During the last week of June in 2017 over 150 professional horse owners, trainers and breeders were invited to a three day Equine VIP Event. As one of the invited guests I was blown away by the passion, knowledge, and energy the presenters most with a PHD after their name, and most who are also horse owners themselves. I learned so many things about nutrition I did not know.

It was the presentation on gastric health that interested me the most, and made me very excited to try their new product Outlast™. Purina has always been a household name in animal feed, but as the years went on, I have been drawn to other “Designer Feeds” claiming the best results. If a trainer would mention something, I would try it. If there is a new supplement claiming great results, I’d order it.

There are a lot of great feed companies and products out there. This trip showed me the extent and dedication Purina has to developing the best products they can, and they have the research and expertise to back it up.

Accompanied by good friend Ralph Graham who cares for several retirees on his farm in Columbia, Kentucky, and Cheryl Bess, a nurse and fellow horsewoman living nearby in Somerset we were all well cared for during the entire trip by Claire Hoffman, Livestock Production Specialist with a B/S. Degree in Animal Science.

Claire Hoffman and Clyde visit at the Budweiser Brewery Stables

Lucky me, Claire moved to my farm last year, and the ponies have their own live-in consultant. Working with our local feed provider (and so much more) Day and Day Feed, we finally found the perfect tenant for the farm. Claire never tried to get me to change my current program, but just offered advise based on her extensive knowledge on equine nutrition. She is always going for more training programs, and is loving her job at Purina.

Related to the care of my ponies who are competing at the FEI Advanced level of Combined Driving, I have learned to trust my Purina feed to be properly balanced with the nutrition and supplements they need. I no longer have to add or second guess supplemental products for my ponies’ feed. Even though they are ponies, they have issues keeping weight on given their training schedule and frequent travel and competitions. Claire started them on Purina Strategy with Amplify a fat supplement, and in 3 months they were blooming dapples, had a glow to their coats, and their top lines filled out and developed.

Horsesdaily's "Bossmare" Mary Phelps and "The Gangsters" Al Capony and Bugsy Maloney. Ponies are thriving on Purine Strategy Edge with Amplify.

When anyone works with their Purina provider, they have accessible to them the wealth of knowledge provided by Purina employees and ambassadors. So when one of my ponies went off his feed last winter after our move to Florida, I got immediate advise. It was suggested I try dressing his feed with apple cider vinegar, which produces salivation, and lo and behold, in two days his eating was back to normal. That said it was a temporary additive which can be acidic.

Purina at the Budweiser Clydesdale Stables. Purina works closely with the Budweiser Clysdales, who helped develop Outlast over the past 2 years of research.

On our arrival in the afternoon we were whisked away for a tour of the Budweiser Brewery and Stables where the legendary Budweiser Clydesdales were in town. Purina works closely with the most famous horses in America, and in fact just completed a 2 year study developing Outlast. Large Equines have their own unique challenges with gastric health, and the Budweiser Clydesdales are exposed to many of the challenges and more, that competitive sport horses are.

Purina Outlast Gastric Support Supplement

“We can’t keep it in stock.” A Purina supplier who was next to me on the bus ride back from a full day at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center. And the product has just been introduced the beginning of June 2017. 90% of active horses experience gastric discomfort, even as we learned ones that do not appear to be having issues.

Designed to be top-dressed on a regular feed portion, or served as a snack one hour prior to engaging in a potentially stressful even such as exercise, travel or confinement, Outlast™ Gastric Support Supplement has sun cured alfalfa, wheat middlings, seaweed derived calcium, cane molasses, magnesium oxide, and citric acid. Purina’s seaweed source comes from a proprietary and exclusive region in Iceland.

Since putting my ponies back into their training and conditioning schedule, I am more conscious of long walk time before and after elevated exercise and feeding every 6 hours.

So here are some talking points we learned.

Recognize the contributing factors associated with gastric discomfort. 

• Elevated exercise level and intensity
• Performance and racing
• Hectic training environment
• Nervous disposition
• Trailering
• Lack of turnout
• Lack of direct contact with other horses
• Talk radio vs. music
• Thoroughbred breed
• Previous gastric ulcer diagnosis

Horse Management and Diet Factors:

• Lack of pasture access
• Fasting
• Large meals with high starch content
• More than 6 hours between meals
• Inadequate forage quality and quantity
• Stall kept or on stall rest
• Water deprivation/intermittent access
• Use of paste electrolytes or electrolytes in water
• Use of NSAIDs for a prolonged time

Be sure to visit Purina’s website chock full of great information and access to nutritional advise. purinamills.com

Purina Animal Nutrition announces a new product line formulated to support gastric health in horses. Outlast™ Gastric Support Supplement, Race Ready® GT and Ultium® Gastric Care horse feeds are now available at participating retailers.

Research shows up to 90 percent of active horses experience gastric discomfort, affecting health, attitude and performance.1 Purina’s Gastric Support products contain a proprietary seaweed-derived blend of natural and bio-available calcium and magnesium in a unique honeycomb structure that allows for a greater buffering capacity to support gastric health and proper pH.

“Horses evolved as grazing animals, designed to consume forages 18 to 20 hours a day. To support this grazing behavior, the horse’s stomach consistently secretes stomach acid, which is naturally buffered by bicarbonates in saliva, and is produced as the horse chews,” explains Robert Jacobs, Ph.D., research equine nutritionist at Purina Animal Nutrition. “In modern management practices, however, horses spend more time confined and eat distinct meals, leading to less chewing, less saliva and less buffering of acid in the stomach.”

In a fasting state, a horse’s stomach maintains an acidic pH of 2. In-vitro and in-vivo research trials demonstrated Outlast™ Supplement to quickly and effectively buffer natural and simulated gastric environments to a physiologically normal pH of 6.

“We’ve done a significant amount of lab work at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center, as well as in multiple university trials to better understand how Outlast™ buffers the equine stomach,” says Jacobs. “Compared to some of the competitive products on the market, Outlast™ Supplement acts more quickly, lasts longer and has a significantly higher buffering ability .”

In field trials around the country and research trials at the Purina Animal Nutrition Research Farm, more than 200 horses consumed more than 95,000 feedings of Outlast™ Supplement. Purina ambassadors competing and training across all disciplines were among those participating in field trials.

“Our ambassadors and field trial participants have reported improved body condition and appetites, as well as better overall attitude and more relaxed horses when supplemented with Outlast™ Supplement,” says Mary Beth Gordon, PhD, director of equine research and new product development at Purina Animal Nutrition.  “Additionally, horses notorious for girthiness and grinding teeth showed improvement, even in stressful situations.”

Designed for flexible use, Outlast™ Supplement can be fed as a snack or top dressed on a daily ration. Ultium® Gastric Care and Race Ready® GT horse feeds both contain full rations of Outlast™ Supplement when fed as directed. Additionally, Ultium® Gastric Care and Race Ready® GT are formulated with optimal fuel sources and a proprietary yeast-derived beta glucan to best support the unique needs and immune function of the equine athlete.

Purina Outlast Supplement, Ultium Gastric Care and Race Ready GT are all part of Purina’s new gastric health program to help horse owners recognize and manage gastric discomfort in their horses. For more information about Outlast™ Supplement and other feeds and the Purina® Equine Gastric Health Program, visit www.FeedOutlast.com.