Primero Total - Holistic, Health Food for All Horses.
14/11/2011

The Feed Story of the Decade

Primero Equine means 'Horse First' and the feed concept was created by its founder and owner Linda Linnane BSc (Hons) in 1998. Primero was the first feed company in the world to pioneer and take to market the complete, fibre based and cereal free feed TOTAL. Linda obtained a degree in Equine Science and Physiology with first class honours at the University of the West of England. Her degree thesis on using monoclonal antibodies to identify specific muscle fibre types in Andalusian horses at the University of Cordoba won top thesis of the year and the research was subsequently published in the international 'Journal of Anatomy'.

During her time at the University of Cordoba, Linda realised that the greatest limitation on health and performance was suitable nutrition for the species as the majority of horses were being fed agricultural products such as cereals that are unsuitable for the equine digestive system which is fundamentally designed to metabolise fibrous foliage. Many of the diseases seen in horses seen today such as nutritionally induced laminitis, gastric ulceration, metabolic syndrome/diabetes, Polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM), etc, are the result of overfeeding soluble carbohydrates such as cereals.

Having witnessed endemic levels of nutritionally induced laminitis and colic in southern Spain, Linda was inspired to formulate the solution and went on to pioneer a unique, ground breaking and holistic approach to equine nutrition and feed. This approach was based on the digestive physiology of the horse and comprised a formulation of highly digestible natural fibrous ingredients, (nicknamed super fibres) combined with the most elevated nutrient profile on the market. Of particular note were the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium since recent research had indicated that higher quantities of these nutrients were necessary in order to optimise health and well being. Pure Soya oil (non GM), live yeast and electrolytes, freshly dried herbs completed the premium feed recipe. Soya flakes were also included to provide optimum levels of essential amino acids often lacking in other protein sources.

Soon after it’s launch, TOTAL was trialled by a renowned equine hospital on post operative, laminitic, and cushingoid cases with proven success. Now, ten years on, the same veterinary clinic not only still use TOTAL but also became distributors and can bear testament to remarkable stories about how the feed has aided and played a major part in clinical rehabilitation in a wide variation of cases. Interestingly, their client base also boasts a large Eventing clientele who also use nothing but TOTAL horse feed.

So how does one feed meet so many requirements? Forage (grass, hay, alfalfa) should always form the foundation of a horse’s diet. The only reason why horse owners would feed at all is that a pure grass diet is generally unbalanced in nutrient levels and can’t provide enough energy for working/competition horses. The essence of ‘one feed for all life stages concept’ is that when a feed delivers the optimum nutritional requirements for the equine species, without the detrimental effects of soluble carbohydrate overload, the only changing factor is the quantity of feed which needs to be adjusted to meet the individual needs. Furthermore, the simplicity of feeding one feed to meet all their horse’s nutritional requirements ensures feeding and management practices are straightforward and easy. The proven company motto is ‘One Feed Is All You Need’.

In the last 10 years, Primero has developed a strong and UK loyal client base with a 30% increase in business year on year over the last two years despite economic recession. 90% of Primero clients who begin to feed TOTAL remain loyal and never feed anything else. Primero TOTAL can uniquely prove that one feed can support all life stages of an equine, from foal through to veteran AND ALL EQUESTRIAN SPORTS. Over the past decade TOTAL has successfully fuelled horses in every equestrian discipline with outstanding results.

Primero Equine was also the first feed company to freshly mill feed for each customer order and deliver direct to the customer premises within 48-72 hours providing cost and time savings. Primero Equine continues to remain unique with this service which looks set to remain popular and a growing buying trend. After it’s UK launch at the British Equine Event 2000, Primero has since become an international company with distributors in UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Sweden and Dubai.

Customers can place orders of TOTAL on the Primero Equine INT website via an approved distributor at http://www.holistichorsefeed.com 

“Gulliver’s Travels” A story of Hope, Care and rehabilitation.... Managed by Linda and Total TM

What caused Gulliver to suffer this condition in the first place? Linda’s view . . .

Even though Gulliver (and thousands like him) race for a living, they evolved with the same gastrointestinal system as all horses which was designed to primarily digest fibrous foliage as opposed to a diet high in water soluble carbohydrates such as cereal starch. Add an intense, stressful management regime & insufficient forage and it is no surprise that over 90% of racehorses studied suffer from gastric ulceration to some degree.

How to avoid this in the future. Prevention is always better than cure ...............

When feeding race horses or other elite sports horses, it is important not to lose sight of the basic, fundamental, digestive needs of the horse. Many owners and trainers focus too much on energy requirement but need to address fibre first. Unlike humans, horses continually secrete gastric acid which is suited to their natural trickle feeding pattern, where they would be continually eating small amounts of fibrous foliage. Mastication, the mechanical process of breaking down food in the mouth, results in the production of saliva, which is alkaline by nature and therefore acts as a ‘buffer’ to acids being secreted within the stomach. When horses are fed high cereal/energy based ‘meals’ and left for many hours without access to forage, the acid secretion starts to build up and damages the mucous lining of the stomach which often leads to formation of painful ulceration. If the large intestine (hind gut) is kept stable by chewing and digesting frequent amounts of fibre the horse will not only be healthy from a gastrointestinal perspective, but will also be constantly producing acid buffering saliva, which in turns helps prevent gastric ulceration.

Horses survived in the wild by sprinting and sustaining energy over long periods on a diet of plants, herbs and grasses, and we have now discovered that oil is well digested by the horse and is a good supplementary form of energy, so it makes sense that we include these ingredients as the basis of our horse’s diets, whatever their job. If the horse’s digestive system remains stable, he will not only maintain digestive equilibrium but also be able to perform to his optimum ability without the debilitating effect s of painful gastric ulceration.

Total TM Keeping The Horse at Heart

Gullivers Travels, seen here before and after a Total TM recovery.

http://www.holistichorsefeed.com

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