Every member of the Pro Earth team has a vested interest in animal health. As horse and cattle owners, we know first-hand the importance of keeping your animals healthy — whether you’re competing in the arena or counting pounds in the feedlot. This is your primary goal, and it’s ours, too. That is why we are committed to bringing you affordable, effective, all-natural products that deliver reliable, noticeable results.
Horses are intelligent, sensitive animals. This makes them prone to stress-related issues such as ulcers, which can lead to numerous problems including behavioral changes, poor feed consumption and loss of focus. Neutralizing the acid in the gut is the first step toward a more comfortable, healthy horse.
Cattle are susceptible to developing acidosis for a wide range of reasons, including calving, environmental and nutritional stress, processing, weaning, transportation, etc. Poor consumption not only affects the animal but also the bottom line. Correcting rumen pH can help alleviate the impacts of these events.
Most preconditioners, producers, growers, and dairymen depend on concentrated feed formulated to promote rapid growth and consistent milk quality. While this will yield the desired results in the form of gain, a switch from a diet of grass or hay to one that contains a high concentration of carbohydrates can result in a drop in pH due to the rapid digestion of carbohydrates. When pH drops, it can lead to the death of beneficial microbes, allowing the growth of opportunistic bacteria that produce a large amount of lactic acid. This is common among calves, heifers, dairy cows and feedlot cattle.
Our natural bovine supplement, CattlActive®, is made of 100% natural ingredients, offering a product with no side effects and no exit period. Because natural animal products (including CattlActive®) do not contain chemicals or pharmaceuticals, they have no negative effects on the cow and calf or the milk and meat that is produced for human consumption.
CattlActive® can be safely used in conjunction with other forms of medication or preventatives, such as vaccinations or antibiotics. The natural ingredients in CattlActive® act as prebiotics, helping to increase the growth and maintenance of beneficial microbial populations.
Some of the most common health issues horses experience include:
Gastric ulcers are common in horses of all ages and are especially prevalent in horses with irregular feeding schedules, foals, or performance horses who are engaged in a lot of exercise. Horses are designed to graze 24/7 to ensure forage is always in the stomach to reduce acid, however, for most domestic horses, this feeding schedule is often impossible. When horses have an empty stomach — or are exposed to strenuous activity — acid may splash onto the delicate mucosal areas of the stomach, resulting in ulcers forming in the stomach. Ulcers are dangerous for horses as they cause several issues such as loss of appetite and thirst. This means that there is even less food in the stomach to absorb the acid, which results in higher stress levels and an increase in the production of stomach acid. Ulcers also result in extreme discomfort for the horse, causing irritability and loss of performance.
When horses are under a lot of stress, particularly those who travel or train extensively, they may experience an increase in water loss through sweat and expiration, not to mention a decrease in water consumption. Most horses should be drinking about 1 gallon of water (3.79 litres) per 100 lbs (500 kg) of body weight each day to ensure proper hydration. Water is crucial for horses as it helps them regulate their body temperature, facilitates in the digestion of their food and helps them absorb nutrients. In addition to dehydration, a lack of water intake may result in additional health issues such as colic, heat stroke, inability to properly digest feed, metabolize nutrients, and more.
Colic is a disorder of the digestive system which results in severe abdominal pain or discomfort for the horse. It can be fatal, making prevention of equine colic essential. While there are several types of equine colic with varying degrees of severity, typically, horses with colic will exhibit behaviors such as:
Many of the equine health issues listed above can be dramatically improved by reducing the stress level of the horse. Lower stress levels result in less acid being produced in the horse’s stomach, which means there is less chance the horse will develop stomach ulcers, chronic colic, and other health issues. Interestingly, in a catch-22 like scenario, excess acid can create discomfort which increases stress, further promoting the production of acid.
Zesterra, our 100% all-natural equine supplement, works by neutralizing the pH of the horse’s stomach to:
