Most of my South African customers will not have heard of this product. It is a product specifically developed for the Middle Eastern market. Horse owners in the Middle East have to deal with extreme heat and dryness. Horses are often stabled for most of the day. Grazing is sparse or non-existent. And yet, some of the best sport horses in the world come from this region, especially in racing and endurance.

In this climate, the feeding of probiotics is very important. They support the gut flora and help to keep the digestive system functioning well, despite the elongated stabling period and lack of grazing. In Stamina Plus, I use Bacillus coagulans. Apart from being an excellent veterinary probiotic, Bacillus coagulans has the unique ability to form spores. This makes it extremely stable to store. (Unlike other probiotics, which require refridgeration and go off really easily.) Then, in the horse’s gut, the spores break open and the probiotic colonises the gut.

The other really important thing to supplement in these horses is antioxidants. Extreme weather creates stress. Stress creates free radicals.  Free radicals can cause stiffness and pain. Antioxidants are nature’s way of eliminating free radicals from the body. Antioxidants present in Stamina Plus:  Vitamin E, Selenium (the chelated form), Chromium, dimethylglycine, Arginine and Carnitine.

It goes without saying that a horse without fresh green grass to eat is bound to suffer from vitamin deficiencies, unless these are provided in the feed as well. In Stamina Plus, I have added these vitamins.

I guess what I have tried to do with this product is to meet the unique nutritional needs of the sport horse in the desert. And it must be working, because Stamina Plus is one of the best selling products in our range. 

Stamina Plus is exclusively marketed in the Middle East by Zabeel Veterinary Medicines Trading in Dubai (Tel: 00971 505 392 973).