Back to Ranvet 500 Plus Plus

For late Pregnant and Lactating Mares
Ranvet 500 Plus provides pregnant mares with the building blocks for sound foetal bone and tissue development to provide a solid foundation for early maturity. Ranvet 500 Plus raises the initial quality of mares' milk and extends the length of lactation by balancing the total mineral and protein intake. 

Foals, Weanlings and Yearlings
Many of the bone problems and much of the unsoundness that plague breeders and trainers - the sprains and splints - are the tragic result of improper skeletal development during the foetal and early growth stages.

A daily measure of Ranvet 500 Plus will provide the balancing nutrients for sound growth, but the challenge for the stud manager is to CONTROL the amount of grain in the feed. For the total feed intake to meet the requirements for growth it is fundamental to increase the amount of grain fed in colder months and decrease the grain component when grasses put up a head of seed. But the daily intake of mineral, amino acid and vitamin supplement should not decrease.

How to use Ranvet 500 Plus
Ranvet 500 Plus is a complete protein, amino acid, mineral and vitamin supplement combined into a single pellet. You add your own grain and chaff. Simply combine Ranvet 500 Plus with the amount of grain you need to feed; either mix your own oats plus chaff and add a measure of Ranvet 500 Plus or simply add Ranvet 500 Plus to your own grain mix.

Early introduction of a creep feed actually induces self-weaning. Start foals with 50-100g of Ranvet 500 Plus mixed with steam rolled oats, salt and chaff plus 15ml or Ranvet IRON PLUS. The sweet iron syrup will attract foals to the creep feeder.

Nutritional Information
Protein 31.2%, Oils 3.7%, Fibre 8.8%, Ash 22.8%, Calcium 5.75%, Phosphorus 1.26%, Copper 210mg/kg, Zinc 350mg/kg, Vitamin A 25,000 IU/kg, Vitamin D 17,000 IU/kg.

Ranvet 500 Plus is a complete protein, amino acid, mineral and vitamin supplement combined into a single pellet. It adds a balanced spectrum of amino acids to deliver full value from the protein in grasses and legumes and at the same time balances the minerals in the feed to lay down dense bone. With Ranvet 500 Plus the amount of grains in the diet can be increased or decreased to control the growth rate of growing foals.

The aim of Ranvet 500 Plus is to achieve optimum size and development at all stages of the young horse’s growth, with the ultimate goal being to produce a more fully developed and stronger yearling capable of performing as an early two year old. To achieve this aim, the rapid growth of the foetus must be catered for during the last quarter of gestation, the quality of the mare’s milk must be high and maintained and the nutritional needs of the rapidly growing foals and weanlings must be catered for.

Developmental orthopaedic disease (DOD) is a term used to describe a range of skeletal problems associated with growth and development of the foal including osteochondritis dessicans (OCD), physitis, angular limb deformities, flexural deformities (contracted tendons, club foot), subchondral cystic lesions (bone cysts), cervical vertebral malformation (wobbler syndrome) and cuboidal bone malformation. While not all cases of these disorders will be a problem of development, most authorities agree that developmental problems lie behind the cause of the majority of cases. It has been estimated that DOD collectively costs the Australian Thoroughbred industry $60 million each year1. A correlation between the occurrence of DOD in horses and reduced amounts of calcium, phosphorus, zinc and copper, but not with the amount of other nutrients in weanling’s diets has been observed2.

Nutritional imbalances as a cause of DODs include excess dietary energy, imbalanced dietary protein, calcium and phosphorus imbalances and inadequate copper and zinc.

• Excess energy intake, particularly in the form of soluble carbohydrates will consistently produce lesions of OCD which can occur within a few months3. Overfeeding the pregnant mare may also affect the incidence of DOD in her foals1.

• While DODs occur most commonly in the overfed horse, it may also occur in the underfed horse. This is thought to occur as a result of inadequate protein in the diet, resulting in impaired bone and muscle development in the horse1,3.

• Calcium and phosphorus together make up approximately 70% of the mineral content of the body and 50% of the skeleton. A deficiency of calcium or phosphorus will cause impaired endochondral ossification and decreased bone mineralisation, resulting in a wide range of skeletal disorders. The diet must not only contain adequate amounts of calcium and phosphorus, the animal must be able to absorb and utilise these nutrients. A sufficient excess of either mineral will decrease the absorption of the other. Ideally, the ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be between 1.2:1 and 2:1 however young horses will tolerate between 0.8:1 to 3:1. Outside this range, alterations in endochondral ossification, resulting in DOD may occur.

• Copper is involved in stabilising bone collagen and elastin synthesis. A copper deficiency impairs these functions, resulting in developmental orthopaedic disease (DOD)3. A correlation between the occurrence of DOD in horses and reduced amounts of calcium, phosphorus, zinc and copper, but not with the amount of other nutrients in weanling’s diets has been observed2. The incidence of these diseases decreased significantly when these minerals, particularly copper, were increased in the diet. Copper supplementation of young foals has been shown to reduce the prevalence of cartilage lesions4,5. Furthermore, supplementation of pregnant mares decreased radiographic indices of physitis in the distal third metatarsal bone of foals and the prevalence of articular cartilage lesions6. Dietary zinc deficiency has also been postulated as a cause of DOD2. The National Research Council publication “Nutrient Requirements of Horses” (1989), recommends that all horses receive 10 ppm (parts per million) copper and 40ppm zinc.

However, research indicates that growing horses consuming these levels (or lower) are more likely to develop DOD. Despite other studies suggesting that lower amounts of dietary copper and zinc may be adequate, because of studies suggesting that increasing copper and zinc in the growing horse’s diet may decrease the risk and occurrence of DOD, and because there is no risk of harm from doing so, it has been recommended that the levels of copper and zinc added to the growing horse’s diet be increased to between 25 and 40ppm copper and between 40 and 60ppm zinc.

Ranvet 500 Plus has been developed through a series of research trials and has been specifically formulated for the growing foal and pregnant mare. The product is being continually updated as new research findings on DODs emerge. The use of Ranvet-500 has resulted in excellent growth rates as shown below.

* Source of data: Journal of Animal Science (1995) 75, 2513-2517


Ingredients: Oilseed products and by-products, Minerals, L-Lysine, Oils and Fats, Dried forages, Dextrose and Molasses, DL-Methionine, Milk products, Vitamins, permitted antioxidants, Flavouring and non-prohibited substances to improve nutrient utilization.