Full Fat Soya Flakes and Meal

Full-fat soya (whole beans, cooked then flaked or ground) is an extremely effective and economic product for rapid weight gain, especially muscle, and enhanced topline, or to improve breeding stock diets, based on some of the cheaper, sub-standard stud mixes and cubes currently on the market. It is rich in high-quality protein, essential for rebuilding lost muscle, and its oil is an excellent source of slow release energy.

There is considerable misinformation – “Fake News” in the popular press and on some websites written by people who don’t know the difference between a fatty acid & an amino-acid – in other words, scientifically clueless –  about harmful effects of Genetically Modified organisms in general & soya beans in particular – e.g “soya is both GM, soaked in chemicals…”
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Features.

Full-fat soya contains 35% protein – rich in amino-acids e.g. lysine, essential for muscle growth and maintenance; methionine and cystine for hoof and hair, and other tissues.

Muscle consists of protein. Proteins consist of amino acids. All animals require a daily supply of suitable quality protein (must contain enough essential amino acids, e.g. lysine, methionine, etc). Hard-working or growing animals have a much greater need for good quality protein than those resting.

Contains 18% oil – omega 3, 6 and 9 etc essential for good health especially skin and coat.

Digestible energy 18 MJ/Kg – slow release – won’t blow your horse’s mind!

Rapidly restores lost condition and topline (Beverley Brightman ‘...saw an improvement within a week…’)

Can extend the life of a toothless geriatric horse or pony – feed with, for example, soaked beet pulp, mineral/vitamin supplement and lots of long fibre, such as (molassed) chaff. This type of diet can also be used for horses sensitive to ingredients such as barley.

Economical: usage 0.2kg (a 250 ml mug holds 120 gm) to 1 kg or more per day.

Technical Information & background.

A considerable amount of the soya beans grown have the oil extracted for both human and animal use. The residue has about 46% protein and 1% oil, making it an extremely useful source of protein in high-quality animal and human diets.

Whole soya beans are also used extensively in the animal feed industry. After cooking and grinding, they are known as full-fat soya, which is supplied either as full-fat soya meal or in pellet or flake form.

The resulting product has a protein quality similar to that of egg-white, being relatively rich in essential amino-acids such as lysine, methionine, cystine, threonine, trypophan and arginine. Methionine and cystine have a relatively high sulphur content and are therefore important in helping maintain healthy coats and hooves. Lysine is especially important for muscle growth and maintenance. Full-fat soya is therefore an extremely useful product in mare and foal diets.

Soya oil contains substantial amounts of linoleic, linolenic and oleic, the omega fatty acids, essential for a horse’s health, and particularly, skin and coat condition.

Soya oil has a digestible energy level about three times that of barley. It requires much more oxygen to release the energy in it compared with a similar amount of carbohydrate (e.g. starch). This process takes much longer, and so soya oil (in common with other fats and oils) provides a slow-release source of energy.

The combination of high-quality protein and oil makes full-fat soya an ideal ingredient in diets for horses being asked to perform substantial work over long periods, for example activities such as eventing, hunting, endurance, draft work, dressage, riding schools, etc. It is invaluable in stud diets.

The author’s first use of full-fat soya occurred in about 1987. He had been supplying Horseheath Non-Heating Mix to a customer whose 7/8 T.B. Hunter had previously, on a traditional oats/bran/nuts diet, frequently overtaken the hunt master and suffered the rough edge of his tongue! The Non-Heating Mix restored control, but at the cost of condition. As an experiment, a pound of full-fat soya was added to the daily diet. This immediately gave more stamina and very soon restored condition; the rider retained control and was no longer subject to caustic comments from the master! Since then the author has used full-fat soya extensively in the horse feed products which he has formulated and manufactured.

Full-fat soya has also been used successfully to keep toothless geriatric horses and ponies alive; it is normally fed with chaff (straw or alfalfa), soaked sugar beet pulp, and a mineral/vitamin supplement, all mixed to a porridge-like consistency. The ingredients do not need substantial chewing and are easily digested. Diets of this type can also be used where horses are allergic to feeds such as barley. Feed rates range from 0.25 to 1kg per day.

Hipro soya (the residual meal after the oil has been extracted) is more widely available, because of its extensive use in animal feeds. As it has a higher protein content, hipro is used at a lower rate than full-fat soya, but will need balancing with a further supply of energy (e.g. from cereals or oil or fat).

Pricing Information.

Testimonials.

From Kerry Brown, Edinburgh.

‘I want to thank you as your full-fat soya has kept my two horses looking nothing less than spectacular over the winter, truly amazing. I had so many people asking me what I was feeding my warmblood as he looked even better than he did in the height of summer. I was a bit worried about him in late August/September as he is a bit of a jessy and dropped some weight and condition as it got colder up here and the grass wasn’t so rich. A couple of weeks on the full-fat soya and he looked glorious. My other horse is pure thoroughbred and has been on box rest since last October (just started getting out now!). It was my first winter with him and I was very worried he would become scrawny as lots of thoroughbreds do. On the contrary! On the full-fat soya, he is the roundest TB I have ever seen, I am pleased to say, and I now have the fantastic problem of getting rid of the big round tummy! But he has started gentle work now so that will happen naturally.’

From Emma Bird, Wolves Farm Essex.

‘I have a yard of 12 dressage horses ranging from foals to advanced competition horses. They are fed on a combination of competition mix, barley free BodyBuilda and full-fat soya, depending on their requirements. Three horses in particular have very different temperaments and the results have been astounding. I have a very sharp six year old who needed to build muscle and put on weight. Previously, all weight gaining feeds I tried either made him too hot or had little effect. After a few months of feeding BodyBuilda and full-fat soya, I cannot believe the difference. It had no adverse effects on his temperament and he looks like an equine version of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not too fat but in perfect condition and so muscled that I’m often asked if he is a stallion. The second horse needed to maintain condition but is a very fussy eater and often left half of his feed. He was fed on BodyBuilda alone. He again looks fantastic and eats all of his feed before even touching his carrots! The third horse is a laid-back character who needed to build muscle but again wasn’t the biggest eater. So we added a few cups of soya to his feed. Previously, he was fed on an oil-based supplement to add condition that was double the price of full-fat soya and he had to be fed a larger quantity of it. We found little effect with the oil-based product compared to the dramatic change after feeding soya for a few months; we had double the effect at half the cost. I would strongly recommend feeding full-fat soya and BodyBuilda to anyone in need of putting on muscle and condition to their horse. It gives them condition in all the right places so they build up topline and have such a healthy shine. The soya had no heating effects on my super-sensitive horse and was easy to add into a horse’s normal feed in small quantities for that extra effect without breaking the bank. John at Gravenhorse Feeds is extremely helpful and gives great advice on feeding horses. I would recommend them to anyone.'