Mitavite Racegro is the original complete feed upon which the Australian Feed Company was founded back in 1988.

At the time, the introduction of Racegro was a tremendous step forward in scientifically balanced complete feed products. It remains one of the most successful 'muesli style' complete feeds being marketed today because of the Company's continuing commitment to improvement and innovation.

Without changing the feed philosophy behind the Racegro formulation, upgrades and refinements have been initiated over time to capitalise on the results from the latest equine research into nutrition, performance physiology and feed technology. Among the many benefits Racegro offers the horses of today are a significant increase in digestibility from Micronized barley, cleaned and upgraded oats, milled maize, chromium yeast culture and more cool, safe energy from Omega 3 oils. Mitavite Racegro has proven ideal in catering to the demanding nutrition needs of late pregnant mares, weanlings, yearlings and racing two year olds. An effective feed for spelling horses, it helps rebuild body protein and vitamin/mineral reserves which are depleted in training and competition.

THE STUD ENVIRONMENT FOR MARES, WEANLINGS AND SPELLERS.
For horses within a stud environment pasture often makes up a large part of the bulk diet. However, because mature grass hays and pasture only provides between 3% and 7% protein and are low in minerals, body reserves quickly become depleted, particularly so with horses used for racing and breeding.

Lucerne, often used to correct and prevent protein deficiencies does nothing for mineral needs. Racegro has an important role to play in this situation providing a 16% protein grain mix balanced with essential minerals.

Summer and Winter
can be times of major challenge to horses' condition, with hot and cold extremes increasing energy requirements at a time when pasture is low and mares are entering peak lactation. Energy requirements can increase by as much as 27% and if intake isn't increased, body weight, growth and milk production will decrease. Grains alone cannot meet the multiple vitamin, mineral and amino acid requirements of pregnancy, growth and spelling, especially when horses are depleted of body reserves.

In hot weather horses' appetites and intake reduces and any concentrate feed needs to be 'balanced' and high in energy. Racegro is higher in energy than oats, corn or barley due to the added oils and micronization of the barley content.

Whereas rolled and steamed barley has low digestibility (over 50% is unavailable to the horse), micronized barley is 95% digested. The higher oil content of Racegro reduces the weight required to meet energy demands, decreases heat production and provides 3.5 to 6 times as much energy as the same volume of grains.

In cold weather the high nutrient density of Racegro allows more roughage to be fed, increasing metabolic heat production.

MARES
have the lowest reproductive efficiency of domestic animals with only 55-60% producing live foals. Nutrition plays a critical role and influences conception, early embryonic loss and abortion, foal growth and soundness of the suckling foal.

The pregnant mare has to contend with the demands of foetal foal growth while facing the rigours of winter, which can deplete body reserves when they are most needed. Mineral, protein and energy deficiencies at this time can affect general health and result in increased hoof problems, white line disease, wall cracks, seedy toe and lameness - while denying the growing foal the critical minerals which are unable to be effectively supplemented following birth.

Pasture and hay cannot provide the mare's full vitamin, mineral and energy needs. Racegro is scientifically balanced in nutrients to ensure the pregnant mare receives what is required to help prevent deficiencies and maintain the level of condition necessary to contend with foaling.

Another benefit is the increased digestibility of Racegro. Through micronizing of barley, the load on the gut is reduced, so providing more abdominal room for the foal.

WEANLINGS AND YEARLINGS.
Soundness, muscle development and correct bone growth is of paramount importance and the key objective when preparing young horses for sale as yearlings, to be raced as two year olds. The competitive environment and high stakes for two year old races has resulted in increased nutrition and the accelerated growth rates of young horses, which demands careful management if longer term problems are to be avoided.

Racegro helps solve the problem many studs face in balancing feeds to ensure correct amino acid and energy requirements are met. With Racegro, greater control can be exercised in the achievement of appropriate muscle development versus the laying down of 'cover'.

The failure of young thoroughbreds to meet their correct growth rate targets, compromises their productivity and longevity as racehorses.

Bone Diseases
The high incidence of bone disorders in the racing industry, in part, can be traced to failure to adjust the energy and protein intake to accommodate changing musculo-skeletal development.

Hard exercise and an unbalanced diet affect the pattern of bone growth. Epiphysitis occurs most often in yearlings and two years olds. The lesion is characterised by flaring of the long bones and is most frequently observed on the inside of the knees, stifles and fetlocks. Also swelling and lameness of the stifles and hocks are more common in this age group.

If protein and/or energy intake are increased without appropriate increases in minerals and vitamins, the risk of developmental orthopedic disease increases substantially. Feeding a mixture of raw grains and protein meals does not address mineral requirements and if supplements are added, a constant juggling act is involved, with inherent risks of errors in matching energy and protein intake. Reliance on pasture to provide necessary minerals can be an error as nutrient levels vary widely and for example, seemingly lush pasture can be diluted of mineral content. The Racegro formulation was developed with consideration for all these issues, recognising the complexities that trainers and stud managers face, in getting the feed nutrient balance in growing horses right. Racegro's precisely balanced minerals, vitamins and essential amino acids matches increases in feed and energy intake and takes the guesswork out of feeding.

SPELLING HORSES
Spelling provides an opportunity to rebuild body protein, mineral and vitamin reserves which become depleted in training. Nutrient intake must be maintained during spelling to enable horses to return quickly and to tolerate the work required to reach racing fitness.

A short spell has minimal effect on cardiovascular and muscle fitness however when exercise is reduced, bone is lost from the skeleton and calcium intake must be maintained and exercise re-introduced gradually.

Longer spells of between 2 and 12 months are generally necessary when horses are recovering from surgery or more severe athletic injury. In both instances increased body tissue breakdown occurs, placing heavier demands on nutrition. Often spellers are turned out onto pasture and the sudden change to a largely roughage based diet causes horses to lose condition and develop deficiency states. Although horses adapt to pasture diets, recovery and fitness can be compromised through lack of essential amino acids in the right balance for muscle building and repair, and insufficient vitamin and trace element mineral intake.

In the case of essential amino acids, if just one of the ten is deficient the others cannot be used and are stored as fat. Even if the balance is correct, if digestion does not take place in the small intestine the benefits are lost.

Supplementation of vitamins and minerals more often that not results in under supply or overdose due to vitamin/mineral interactions. This can be compounded further with group feeding where aggressive feeders receive excess, and the rest, insufficient.

Spellers, obviously, have reduced energy demands and as a result there is a reduction in both feed and nutrient requirements. However, the mistake frequently made is one of incorrectly assessing the essential levels and ratios of amino acid / energy / vitamins and minerals to maintain condition and good health.

Racegro comprehensively addresses the needs of spellers in a complete feed that complements pasture and roughage with increased digestibility of micronized barley, protein meals, scientifically balanced vitamins and minerals and the cool, safe energy of Omega 3 oils.

In keeping pace with research in nutrition, equine performance physiology, and feed processing technology, Mitavite Racegro will continue to evolve and will continue to be one of the industry's leading complete feeds.