Tribute Essential K

[fordtraktor]

I have recently switched my ration balancer from TC30 to Tribute Essential K, mostly for supply reasons. No one in my area stocks the TC30 and with the switch from Nutrena it is much harder to order.

Experiences with the Tribute product? It seems like the best of my local options but I have been using Triple Crown so long I am sort of gun shy about branching out…thanks.

So far the horses like it fine but it is far too early to say anything about condition. I have just been using it a week or so.

[JB]

I’ve used it and liked it. It’s downfall is being 28% protein instead of 30, so I fed a little more to make up for that. Otherwise there’s nothing wrong with it at all, and it’s on the higher end of quality products.

[RegentLion]

I like it, but I’m no feed expert.

[JLR1]

I love, love, love Essential K…it’s not available in my area so I have to order it from Amazon. I had my hay tested and this RB perfectly fills in the nutrition gaps. My horse has been on it about a year and has never looked better.

[GoodTimes]

I really like it. My horse lives out 24/7, we only have grass this far north from May/June to Sept/Oct, he gets free choice hay from multiple sources the rest of the year.
He’s a fairly easy keeper and only gets fed when I come out to ride, so basically 5 or 6 meals per week. The Essential K can be fed at a few pounds per day, most of the other ration balancers in my area still need to be fed at 6-10lbs per day. I like the %protein, and the added Selenium and vitamin E.

As a side note I love the smell

[meaty_ogre]

You can count me as another fan. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed at all with the switch.

It’s been a while since I compared the Ess K/TC 30. JB is right, the Ess K is 28% protein, but the guaranteed analysis levels for the amino acids (lysine, methionine, cysteine and threonine) are all higher on the Ess K so I don’t think you’ll need to feed more or worry about that. Ess K also has whey as a protein source, which in my opinion/experience has really helped with a couple who struggled to get a good top line. Both products have probiotics and digestive enzymes. The TC had more copper and zinc and was higher in some vitamins if I remember right so that might be a concern to you.

My favorite thing about the Ess K is that it is available with MSM and glucosamine. I love not worrying about running out of supplements or having my horses sort or reject them. And like GoodTimes I love the smell too. It didn’t taste quite as good as I had hoped though :lol:

[TrueColours]

Count me in as another who LOVES the Tribute line of products. My horses have NEVER looked better …

Tribute is also amazing when it comes to calls on questions on their products and have also bent over backwards when there was a short supply problem in our area - they were literally on the phone with me several times that day until the problem was sorted out and I was happy with the result.

The product is fabulous. Their customer service is impeccable. You cant ask for anything more of a feed company for your horses …

[lovemytbs]

I switched from TC to Tribute about 4 years ago and the horses have never looked better! Currently my draftx and pony are both on the Essential K Plus and I could not be happier.

[DarkBayUnicorn]

Mine simply thrive on this product.

[FEIwannabe]

I did spread sheets to compare ration balancers that are available in my area.
The Essential K had the best results. All the probiotics and enzymes that are included are a big bonus, and they are in greater numbers than other ration balancers I checked.
Also, from what I read, Tribute doesn’t adjust the ingredients of their products which ensures consistency thru different production batches.
Plus my guy really likes it.

[froglander]

It smells good too!

[soloudinhere]

Wish this stuff was available near me but it is a huge pain to get. Of course, so is triple crown, now.

[drawstraws]

Another happy Tribute user here! Switched from Triple Crown Senior (which I was happy with) when my headshaker decided he didn’t want to eat it any longer and have been happy with the results on all four of my geldings.

[JB]

[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8646899]
Wish this stuff was available near me but it is a huge pain to get. Of course, so is triple crown, now.[/QUOTE]

http://www.amazon.com/Kalmbach-Feeds-Tribute-Essential-Horse/dp/B00V55R6SI

[Brian]

Tribute Essential K is a good RB, however, like most feeds, needs to be fed correctly with the right quality hay. I was recently in a barn that fed Essential K and frankly, was disappointed in the how the horses looked. All were in good condition with decent hair coats, but IMO, top lines on the majority of horses were weak at best.

[JLR1]

[QUOTE=Brian;8648411]
Tribute Essential K is a good RB, however, like most feeds, needs to be fed correctly with the right quality hay. I was recently in a barn that fed Essential K and frankly, was disappointed in the how the horses looked. All were in good condition with decent hair coats, but IMO, top lines on the majority of horses were weak at best.[/QUOTE]

A topline doesn’t magically appear from feed alone…equally important is being correctly ridden:D

[Brian]

[QUOTE=JLR1;8649367]
A topline doesn’t magically appear from feed alone…equally important is being correctly ridden:D[/QUOTE]

The horses were all in work at a H/J show barn. All of the riding and collection in the world won’t do a thing to develop a strong top line, unless the nutrition is there to support the work. If anything, it may actually cause more harm in the way of fatigue and muscle soreness with out the supportive nutrition.

In the case with these horses, almost all of them would have BCS of 5, but the same horses had concaved withers (I guess some people call this high withered) and concaved loin regions along the back. Yet over the croup to the dock, most of them appeared to look almost fatty. Zero muscle definition across the buttocks. Sorry, not my idea of what an equine athlete should look like.

We’ve got two retired Thoroughbreds… a 6 yr old & a 20 yr old that belong to a border which are never ridden. Both of their top lines are better than any of the horses at the barn I was at.

[fordtraktor]

[QUOTE=Brian;8648411]
Tribute Essential K is a good RB, however, like most feeds, needs to be fed correctly with the right quality hay. I was recently in a barn that fed Essential K and frankly, was disappointed in the how the horses looked. All were in good condition with decent hair coats, but IMO, top lines on the majority of horses were weak at best.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. I totally agree about the hay. It’s the basis of my feeding program. Lots of excellent hay. I don’t believe in buying poor quality hay, even for the “fatties.” I buy excellent first cutting hay for them – nice, soft grass/timothy hay cut early so it isn’t overripe. I buy nice second cutting alfalfa for the harder keepers. Then I need to feed very little even of the ration balancer. Only 2 horses here get more than a ration balancer – one a senior that has struggled with her weight all her life and has had a hard time just now because she’s had a neck abscess the vet has struggled to clear up (argh! thinks foreign body but it just won’t resolve which is hard on an older horse’s weight), and the other a hard keeper who looks great now but I keep him that way by giving him more concentrate.

The Tribute Essential K has more amino acids than the Triple Crown product I was feeding before, but I will keep an eye on the toplines for sure. Right now I have the opposite problem, the herd is mostly too fat with too MUCH topline! I’ve got to get rid of those crests. My 7 year old OTTB looked like a mack truck when I took his blankets off after a winter on alfalfa, he’s on a diet! Plus he runs around a ton, he’s all muscle. I swear he could be mistaken for an old-style AQHA halter horse, he’s a Deputy Minister with that huge hip and shoulder. He’s kind of ridiculous right now.

I agree with you, I don’t care to have horses look thin. That one mare is a bit thin for my taste, her owner says she is fine but I keep trying to tempt her to eat more…I like my horses around a 6 and super glossy. I want to be able to bathe them and have them look at home in the show ring anywhere. That comes from good nutrition, IMO.

FWIW, as an update the Essential K seems fine so far. Thanks for everyone’s input. My only issue with it is that my baby horse doesn’t care to eat her vitamins mixed in it. I have her on a Mare Base Mix P55 vitamin supp from Uckele to support good growth in addition to what she gets from the Essential K, and it doesn’t stick to the pellets. (BTW the amount of Essential K you give to weanlings is quite high. Almost twice what you give to grown horses.)

it is also quite heavy, .4 pounds per cup when I weighed it up the cup I use. I weigh everything on a scale and write out what it is so that I can feed consistently based on recommendations without weighing every feeding, and it was similar to the TC30 but a lot heavier than TC Senior.

[Brian]

[QUOTE=fordtraktor;8649808]

FWIW, as an update the Essential K seems fine so far. Thanks for everyone’s input. My only issue with it is that my baby horse doesn’t care to eat her vitamins mixed in it. I have her on a Mare Base Mix P55 vitamin supp from Uckele to support good growth in addition to what she gets from the Essential K, and it doesn’t stick to the pellets. (BTW the amount of Essential K you give to weanlings is quite high. Almost twice what you give to grown horses.)

it is also quite heavy, .4 pounds per cup when I weighed it up the cup I use. I weigh everything on a scale and write out what it is so that I can feed consistently based on recommendations without weighing every feeding, and it was similar to the TC30 but a lot heavier than TC Senior.[/QUOTE]

We don’t feed Essential K, but we do feed a RB. Our weanlings will mature somewhere around 1000-1100 lbs. Based upon that we feed 3.5 lbs or almost 3x’s what an idle, adult horse would get. Since weanlings do not have fully developed cecum, we feed our fiber/fat pellet for added calories and to keep hay consumption down. From an anecdotal point of view, it works for us considering our weanlings and yearlings do not get that “pot belly” or gant/wormy appearance.

If you feed at the recommended rate, there should be no need to add Mare Base Mix P55.

Here’s a link to Buckeye’s BNU feeding chart (almost identical to Progressive) that is a good reference for most RB’s. Since Dr. Dan was with Buckeye prior to Tribute, I’d think the chart would be applicable to Essential K as well. The only thing to watch for in using this chart is the Se level in the individual RB.

http://www.buckeyenutrition.com/media/2329/gnw-feeding-chart.pdf

I would assume the density of Essential K may have something to do with the mineral content.

[fordtraktor]

Thanks…you are right of course. My vet recommended it because it has a few things in it this and other RBs don’t have…I checked the ingredients closely first because I thought it would be redundant, but a good number of things aren’t. It seems to be a bit of a pet theory of his (he actually recommends Foal Aide but this has all the same stuff and doesn’t require daily syringing.) Whatever, if the filly has issues I would blame myself if I didn’t do it. :D. Though she looks great now, I have a lot invested in her including a lot of hopes!

I agree she doesn’t really need it but nutrition is both a science and an art in some ways. Giving it a try on this baby and seeing how she turns out. No one else is on extra vites except the pony who only gets a handful of RB. She is too fat to get a full amount of RB.

I looked at the Progressive RB, but geez, expensive. At least at my feed store. This is much more affordable. I might try that one if the horses don’t look good on the Essential K in a month or two. We don’t have Buckeye here. Is that what you use?