Has anybody used Gro N Win? I’ve been reading reviews on the Internet and a ton of people are saying wonderful things about it, and I keep seeing “my horse has so much more energy” pop up. Is it “healthy energy” (for lack of a better term) or does it really just make horses hot? My horse is already super high energy to begin with, so I don’t want to put him on something that will only make him MORE energetic…
It’s on par with pretty much every other ration/diet balancer out there. It’s not an “energy” product. It’s a “provide nutrition they are likely missing without a lot of added calories” product. Any anyone who is energy-less due to mal/under-nutrition, will have more energy once the proper nutrition is provided.
What are the details of the horse? Age, work load, current diet, and weight?
That was kind of what I was thinking - the horses that were showing more energy were probably just lethargic due to mal/under nutrition in the first place. Horse is 11 years old and her work load is pretty demanding. We are starting jumpers, and sometimes endurance riding. She’s in overall excellent health - extremely shiny coat, great hooves, and weight is normally right where it needs to be, but right now she’s a little pudgy because she’s on a round bale. She lives outside 24/7 and is on a strictly forage diet. So I’ve been wanting to add a ration balancer and make sure that she’s getting all she needs. Even though she looks like she’s in great condition, I just want to be sure. I’m trying to decide between Essential K and Gro N Win
I use GnW - it’s very palatable and my horse has done pretty well on it. I do have to switch him to something with more fat occasionally in the winter.
I’ve used it on and off for probably about 12 years now. It’s always been my favorite RB. I’ve found the palatability to be exceptional and the quality to be consistent. My horses have done great on it. Coats and hooves are terrific and they have the appropriate level of energy without being any hotter than their usual personality.
I do have a few criticisms, though. First, the company has changed hands over the years and each time has changed the formula slightly. They have decreased the levels of vits/mins slightly so that you have to feed more of it than you used to. It also used to be 100% corn-free, and now they do used some corn-based products… but so do must other companies. They now list “artificial flavor” in the ingredients, which never used to be there. The company also seems to change the price on a regular basis. It’s gotten better in recent years, but in the past there could be as much as a $5 difference in price from one month to the next, which is annoying.
I know a lot of people love Essential K, but I’ve always preferred Gro N Win. In 2011/2012, I was at a barn that switched from Gro N Win to Essential K. My horses lost condition like crazy. They lost topline and muscle, their coats looked duller, they got rain rot, etc. I switched them back to Gro N Win and their condition began to improve almost immediately.
The only reason I’m not currently using it is because my local dealer stopped carrying it.
[QUOTE=kenziecat;8798327]
That was kind of what I was thinking - the horses that were showing more energy were probably just lethargic due to mal/under nutrition in the first place. Horse is 11 years old and her work load is pretty demanding. We are starting jumpers, and sometimes endurance riding. She’s in overall excellent health - extremely shiny coat, great hooves, and weight is normally right where it needs to be, but right now she’s a little pudgy because she’s on a round bale. She lives outside 24/7 and is on a strictly forage diet. So I’ve been wanting to add a ration balancer and make sure that she’s getting all she needs. Even though she looks like she’s in great condition, I just want to be sure. I’m trying to decide between Essential K and Gro N Win[/QUOTE]
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I only make changes if I want my horse to change. If she starts to lose weight, maybe think about adding something. But a horse that is on the pudgy side and doing jumpers will benefit from dropping a few pounds. If she looks that great on just forage, you probably will not have a hard time keeping weight on her as her work load increases.
I had a young horse I bought as a (5 months old) that was a Wobbler and he had fusion surgery. The surgeon recommended I feed grow and win.
Living on the West Coast I had to have it shipped here. I was diligent about feeding him and he grew to be a strong, healthy three year old.
I started riding him and all was well. Then vet did vaccinations one day and he had a severe reaction. Fever and was very lethargic. He went to the equine hospital and after several diagnostic tests they said they “felt” it was a vaccine reaction.
Long story short; he ended up having to be euthanized due to one of the tests the hospital did punctured his brain stem.
But the reason for this post; the necropsy veterinarian asked if she could keep the vertebra of my horse for an example of the most perfect fusion surgery she had ever seen.
We concluded the great surgeon and the balanced diet attributed to his excellent healing.
Editing to add - I had another young horse I bought as a month old had epithisitis and the Grow N Win turned that around. He went on to being just fine with no complications.
And I never felt it gave my horses too much energy.
It’s the only thing my 4 year old gets, and I give it to my QH also. They each get 1 light cup, twice per day. They both look terrific, eat every pellet, and I wouldn’t change.
It’s just a ration balancer. It’s nice. It’s palatable. The horses like it. I find it a smidge pricey but not outrageously so.
It appears some of the reps really push people to use it to add calories but IMHO that’s far from the best/cheapest way to do that. I really dislike that “strategy.” I had a horse come here getting 4 lbs of Grow and Win and 4 lbs of their senior per day. That was a REALLY expensive way to up the calories. I switched to Sentinel LS (I have a way easier time getting Blue Seal products) and just feed the appropriate amount for his weight as indicated on the chart. Looks just as good and it’s way way way cheaper.
I don’t find Buckeye feeds that easy to source, myself.
As an actual RB, used in appropriate quantities, I think it can make sense.
I’am in the camp if it aint broke don’t fix it,horse is thriving on hay,even pudgy. Wait and see how she does with the increased work load,if losing energy and losing to much weight then add a feed.
[QUOTE=vxf111;8800431]
It’s just a ration balancer. It’s nice. It’s palatable. The horses like it. I find it a smidge pricey but not outrageously so.
It appears some of the reps really push people to use it to add calories but IMHO that’s far from the best/cheapest way to do that. I really dislike that “strategy.” I had a horse come here getting 4 lbs of Grow and Win and 4 lbs of their senior per day. That was a REALLY expensive way to up the calories. I switched to Sentinel LS (I have a way easier time getting Blue Seal products) and just feed the appropriate amount for his weight as indicated on the chart. Looks just as good and it’s way way way cheaper.
I don’t find Buckeye feeds that easy to source, myself.
As an actual RB, used in appropriate quantities, I think it can make sense.[/QUOTE]
This. There’s nothing inherently magic about it. It may be the best one for a given horse, in a given environment, but the same can be said for all feeds, not even just RBs. RBs are designed to help “balance” what a generic forage contains for nutrients. A very few have a grass and alfalfa formula (many more used to), and a very few have region-specific formulas - again, based on generic/average forage analyses.
The problem with this mentality is that you can too-easily end up with problems down the road due to long-term minor deficiencies that add up over time. Then “suddenly” you have a sore horse, or one who won’t keep weight (sound familiar?) or one who’s injured all the time, or whatever. The exterior appearance does not tell you the whole story. You can have a fat shiny horse who is infested with tapeworms, for example. Many years ago I read a short article on a healthy young-ish stallion who was brought to a hospital for something fairly benign, and while walking down the concrete aisle, slipped and fell. He shattered some bones and had to be PTS. The fall didn’t appear to warrant that sort of damage at all. Investigation showed he was (fatally) deficient in calcium, and it resulted in fragile bones. Nobody suspected a thing just by looking at him.
A fat horse has too many calories. He can still be malnourished. You have to separate the 2 and address them individually.
[QUOTE=JB;8801222]
This. There’s nothing inherently magic about it. It may be the best one for a given horse, in a given environment, but the same can be said for all feeds, not even just RBs. RBs are designed to help “balance” what a generic forage contains for nutrients. A very few have a grass and alfalfa formula (many more used to), and a very few have region-specific formulas - again, based on generic/average forage analyses.
The problem with this mentality is that you can too-easily end up with problems down the road due to long-term minor deficiencies that add up over time. Then “suddenly” you have a sore horse, or one who won’t keep weight (sound familiar?) or one who’s injured all the time, or whatever. The exterior appearance does not tell you the whole story. You can have a fat shiny horse who is infested with tapeworms, for example. Many years ago I read a short article on a healthy young-ish stallion who was brought to a hospital for something fairly benign, and while walking down the concrete aisle, slipped and fell. He shattered some bones and had to be PTS. The fall didn’t appear to warrant that sort of damage at all. Investigation showed he was (fatally) deficient in calcium, and it resulted in fragile bones. Nobody suspected a thing just by looking at him.
A fat horse has too many calories. He can still be malnourished. You have to separate the 2 and address them individually.[/QUOTE]
So i’am finding out the rather hard way.
[QUOTE=vxf111;8800431]
It’s just a ration balancer. It’s nice. It’s palatable. The horses like it. I find it a smidge pricey but not outrageously so.
It appears some of the reps really push people to use it to add calories but IMHO that’s far from the best/cheapest way to do that. I really dislike that “strategy.” I had a horse come here getting 4 lbs of Grow and Win and 4 lbs of their senior per day. That was a REALLY expensive way to up the calories. I switched to Sentinel LS (I have a way easier time getting Blue Seal products) and just feed the appropriate amount for his weight as indicated on the chart. Looks just as good and it’s way way way cheaper.
I don’t find Buckeye feeds that easy to source, myself.
As an actual RB, used in appropriate quantities, I think it can make sense.[/QUOTE]
From what I remember the vet said it was more for the Copper/Zinc support and other nutrients. Not for adding calories. Vet said if I wanted added energy/calories to add rolled or crimped oats.
I don’t feed it to my horses now - I had good success with it for a few young horses I had that I purchased with those kind of bone problems from prior bad nutrition.
It helped them a lot but as said here, and I agree; may not be what is needed for a particular horse.
Maybe why I am using an equine nutritionist currently 
