by Nikki Alvin-Smith
The depth of experience and leadership in the feed supplement industry that a company exhibits in its successful innovative products will always be copied by others.
It may surprise horse owners to learn that comprehensive feed supplements were not always quite as comprehensive and balanced in their formulations as were claimed. In fact, even as recently as a few years back, feed supplements that were touted to be complete, an all-in-one bucket solution for everything from hoof support to joint health boosters casually omitted essential ingredients for actual uptake and absorption of the sometimes-expensive feed supplement ration.
The ’keep it together’ idea of providing multiple supplements in one product for simplification of feeding regimes to take the guesswork out of what to add to a horse’s diet was undeniably innovative. But even today, the horse owner needs to be proactive in understanding what to look for in a product to ensure it will do the job the manufacturer espouses it to do.
The idea that such an all-encompassing product could even save the buyer money to boot, was a market changer. But unfortunately, some companies missed out the need to offer a balanced multi-vitamin, mineral ratio smart product that offered the all-important omega-3 and omega-6’s, fatty acids required to ensure the priority listed labels of ‘sexy’ products like HA {hyaluronic acid}, MSM and Glucosamine etc. were actually able to be utilized by the horse.
The boon of the joint supplement marketing heyday often proffered extremely expensive options for the inclusion of these highly sought ingredients while claiming that the amount of other important essentials such as hoof support constituents were sufficient to do that job too. With the advent of more direct marketing B2C in the horse industry, the middle-industries of distribution and wholesalers were cut out by innovative companies that sought to produce a more cost-effective feed supplement solution for their customers.
Another oft overlooked factor by many manufacturers in the ‘all in one’ feed supplement approach was the palatability of the products themselves. What’s the point of spending hard earned dollars on a feed supplement to see it left in the feed bucket at the end of the horse’s meal. Horses are foodies just as we are and just like us, taste matters and directly affects a horse’s likelihood to not just try a product, but to enjoy it.
What Does A Glass Of Vodka and A Feed Supplement Have In Common?
The synergy of feed supplement ingredients obviously hinges on their careful formulation. But our horses don’t care much about that. They are much more concerned about how their grain ration tastes. Equines don’t care much otherwise about what appears on their dinner plate or breakfast brunch, and certainly don’t care about how the feed supplement is composed to affect the absorption and likely benefits of what is in their entire daily diet.
With over 30 years’ experience in the feed supplement business and with an almost ‘geek’ like interest in the equine digestive process (that he freely admits), Nick Hartog, owner and feed supplement innovator at Grand Meadows embraces the horse foodie challenge by trying every product the company produces for palatability himself. Even if may entail him embracing a sip or two of vodka to down the breakfast granola-like experience. Here’s a quick 11-minute video on topic you won’t want to miss.
While ‘follow the leader’ may be a fun children’s game we’ve likely all played at some point, there is always a stellar reason to check that those that follow and mimic are actually putting their best foot forward. Think about this in terms of ingredient quality, the stabilization of specifically vulnerable aspects of the formulation, and the accuracy of both the labelling and the actual components present in the feed supplement. Find a top-quality feed supplement at a reasonable price and stick to it. Leaders in innovation within an industry are that for good reason.
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About Grand Meadows: Founded in 1989 by visionary Angela Slater, Grand Meadows is a leading horse health product and equine supplement manufacturer driven by the guiding principle of providing affordable, extremely high-quality science-backed horse products to help ensure horses look and feel their best.
For the past 35 years the company’s mission has been honored and developed further, by President Nick Hartog, who among other accomplishments is one of the founding members and current board member of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), an organization that has a profound impact on the safety, transparency, and legitimacy of the animal supplement industry.
Grand Meadow products are widely used and trusted across the entire horse community from Olympic medal winning competitors and successful horse racing trainers to backyard horse owners. Their equine supplements are highly regarded for their excellent quality resourced ingredients and completely accurate labelling and effective formulations. Learn more at https://www.grandmeadows.com/
Grand Meadows, Orange, CA
Media Contact: NAS@NikkiAlvinSmithStudio.com
Tel: 607 434 4470
https://www.grandmeadows.com/
Photos are available on request.
About Nikki Alvin-Smith:
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