Intensify® Technology is a finely tuned nutrition package included in all horse feeds in the INTENSIFY® family. It is hard to describe in just a few sentences, so we created an entire page! Each component of the Intensify® Technology package is described below. All of these ingredients are great on their own, but when fed in combination, they take your horse’s nutrition program to the highest level. Time and time again, horse owners tell us their horses have never looked or performed better than when they started feeding an INTENSIFY® feed. This nutrition package is unlike any other in the equine industry.
Active Dried Yeast
A yeast which has been dried in such a manner to preserve a large portion of its fermenting power. Fermentation is an anaerobic process in which glucose is ultimately turned into energy (calories) for use within the body.
Amino Acids
Amino acids make up a large proportion of cells, muscles and tissues within the body and are essential for muscle development and healing and rebuilding tissues. While ruminant species such as cattle, sheep, goats, and deer are capable of making their own amino acids through microbial protein synthesis, this is not the case for non-ruminants. Horses, rabbits, poultry, and swine all require amino acids in the diet. Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and should be the main concern when formulating a diet for non-ruminant species. Crude protein percentage is not an adequate depiction of how much protein the non-ruminant will actually absorb. Instead, look at the amino acid content.
B-Vitamins
There are eight vitamins within the B-complex. All B vitamins help convert food into fuel for the body to use. They are also essential in metabolic processes within the body such as fat and protein conversion. B vitamins benefit the skin, hair/feathers, eyes, and central nervous system. All B vitamins are water-soluble meaning the body does not store them.
Beet Pulp
Beet pulp is an excellent source of easy-to-digest fiber that provides a good source of calories without high levels of starch or sugar.
Beta-Glucan
Beta glucan activates white blood cells in the immune system to increase resistance to bacterial, fungal, parasitic infections and tumor growth. Essentially, it promotes optimum health and function of the immune system. Beta-glucans are being used as an alternative to antibiotics in animal production systems because of their ability to help the animal fight off disease naturally.
Chelated Minerals
Amino Acid Complexed minerals are the most available, best absorbed and most retained of all the mineral forms on the market.
Cool Calories
Cool calories come from fat sources. Fat is 2.25 times more calorie dense than starch and is a safer way to provide calories to a horse without making them hot-headed and excitable. Cool calories have also been shown to improve endurance.
Condensed Grain Fermentation Solubles
This ingredient enhances digestive efficiency and benefits the health of the microbial populations in the gut. We know, it is a rather odd ingredient name, however this is the term required by the American Feed Control Officials. It is the product left after removing a considerable portion of liquid which was a result of the fermentation process.
Enzymes
Digestive enzymes break down food into nutrients that the body can absorb. Certain enzymes are required for unlocking certain nutrient bonds. By providing additional enzymes in the diet, we help the animal unlock more nutrients that can then be absorbed and utilized. This is one way to get more nutrition into the animal without feeding more.
Fenugreek
Fenugreek seeds are a natural flavoring agent with antioxidant properties.
Flax Seed
Flax Seeds are high in beneficial omega 3 fatty acids which act as a natural anti-inflammatory and help in nerve and brain function. Flaxseed contains ALA omega 3’s which must be converted by the body to DHA and EPA first to be utilized.
Hydrolyzed Yeast
A natural ingredient derived from whole Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells which contains high concentrations of mannan oligosaccharides and beta-glucans. This ingredient is helpful in improving weight gain, digestive efficiency and overall health.
Kelp Meal
Kelp Meal is a concentrated source of more than 90 minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and beneficial phytonutrients, including polysaccharides which have prebiotic properties. We use only premium kelp harvested from the cold pure waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Mannan oligosaccharides (MOS)
Mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) provide protection from pathogenic organisms present in the environment. MOS has the ability prevent bacterial attachment in the intestinal tract and prevent colonization of Salmonella and E. coli. This is especially important for mare and foal health. MOS also boosts the immunoglobulin content of colostrum which is highly critical in passive transfer of immunity.
“Microbe Fuel”
A proprietary ingredient designed to fuel the microbes in the hind gut. A healthy population of good bacteria in the gut ensures a healthy horse with a fully functioning digestive tract and stable mind.
Selenium Yeast
Selenium in the form of organic selenium yeast is thought to be better absorbed and utilized by the body than inorganic selenium. Selenium plays an essential role in metabolism, orchestrating normal growth, launching reproductive efforts, neutralizing free radicals and supporting the body’s normal defense mechanism against infection. One should not add additional selenium to already fortified feeds because selenium can easily reach toxic levels. Horses are especially susceptible to selenium toxicity. Signs include apparent blindness, colic, lethargy, hair loss (especially in the mane and tail), and cracking of hooves along the coronary band.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are unique fibers that bring about positive changes in the digestive tract. They serve as food or nutrient sources for the beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that live within the gut. Prebiotics are not live organisms, therefore they easily withstand the manufacturing process.
Probiotics
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for the digestive system. We usually think of bacteria as something that causes diseases. But the body is full of bacteria, both good and bad. Probiotics are often called "good" or "helpful" bacteria because they help keep the gut healthy. We have carefully selected unique strains that are resistant to heat and storage, while other strains undergo a specialized microencapsulation technique to ensure their stability through the manufacturing process.
Kluyveromyces marxianus (Lactic Yeast Strain)
A unique strain of yeast that acts as a probiotic. Since it is a yeast rather than bacterial strain it is not susceptible to antibiotics, therefore animals undergoing antibiotic therapy will see benefits from this digestive aid.
Toxin Binders
Aluminosilicates such as bentonite and zeolite are helpful in binding aflatoxins from the diet. Pathogenic binders such as Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) are natural additives derived from the cell wall of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a powerful anti-oxidant. It has many functions within the body and is particularly helpful in stressed horses. Researchers show that stressed horses supplemented with vitamin C recover quicker from travel stress than those given a placebo.
Yeast Culture
Yeast culture is the dried product of a yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae that has been handled in such a manner as to preserve the fermenting activity of the yeast. Yeast cultures contain mannan oligosaccharides and beta-glucans which are beneficial to animal performance, immunity, and digestive health.
Yucca Schidigera
Yucca Schidigera is useful in controlling ammonia levels. Ammonia sets up inflammatory conditions in the airways, increasing mucus, reducing the immune response, and interfering with the action of cilia (microscopic hairs) lining the airways--these cilia serve as a natural defense, preventing dust and debris from entering deeply into the respiratory tract. High levels of ammonia inhalation can reduce athletic performance in horses.
Yucca Schidigera works within the digestive tract to decrease intestinal ammonia so there is less nitrogen (ammonia) excreted in the urine and feces. This contributes to better air quality in stalled animals and better digestive health. Yucca Schidigera also has natural antibiotic and anticoccidial properties which is helpful in young or stressed animals.