Classic Formula

A System Of Success

Thrive Feed is a feeding system built around one objective: predictable, repeatable results through superior digestibility and intelligent ingredient processing. For two decades, it has helped horses across the world recover condition, settle their gut, and perform with calm, steady energy by doing the fundamentals properly and doing them consistently. Most commercial feeds rely heavily on raw starch and sugars, creating a problem the industry rarely explains clearly. Horses do not handle large raw starch loads well. Digestion is compromised, and what is not properly digested in the small intestine is pushed into the hindgut, where it ferments in a way that was never intended. The result is a cascade of issues owners are often encouraged to fix with more products rather than better feeding. Thrive Feed takes a different path. It uses highly digestible, carefully processed ingredients designed to be utilised efficiently in the small intestine, allowing the hindgut to do what nature intended: ferment forage and maintain stability.

The goal is not stimulation or quick change, but comfort, consistency, and long-term resilience. This website is designed to make you a sophisticated user of Thrive Feed without overwhelming you. You will find clear explanations, practical guidance, and real-world context so you can understand what you are feeding, why it works, and how to use it correctly. If you are tired of confusing labels, vague promises, and feeds that create as many problems as they solve, you are in the right place.

A different starting point

Thrive Feed was developed from a different starting point. Instead of asking how much energy or weight a feed can deliver, the question asked was how efficiently a horse can digest and utilise what it is given. The answer to that question shaped every decision that followed.

The problem with feeds

Many modern feeds are built around raw starch and sugar because they are inexpensive, easy to formulate, and easy to market. What is less commonly discussed is how poorly horses handle large amounts of raw starch, and how digestive compromise often begins long before outward symptoms appear.

Digestibility comes first

Feeding horses well is not about chasing energy, weight, or performance. It is about supporting digestion in a way that allows the horse to remain stable, comfortable, and resilient over time. When digestion works properly, everything downstream becomes simpler.

How to Use Thrive Feed Classic

Thrive Feed is designed to be used differently to most commercial horse feeds.

It is not intended to be treated as a concentrated supplement or a measured scoop added to an otherwise unchanged ration. It is designed to be fed in a way that reflects how horses are built to eat, as short stem grazers with continuous chewing, steady intake, and high saliva production.

Correct use is part of the Thrive Feed system. When fed as intended, the feed works with digestion rather than challenging it.

Feeding as a Grazing Activity

Horses are short stem grass eaters by design.

Their digestive system is adapted to frequent intake, extended chewing, and constant saliva production. Saliva plays an essential role in digestion, beginning the breakdown of starch through enzymatic action and supporting digestive flow as feed moves through the stomach and into the small intestine.

For this reason, Thrive Feed is best fed in a manner that encourages grazing behaviour rather than rapid consumption.

Feeding Method Is Critical

Thrive Feed should be offered in a large, shallow, flat bottom tub or feed area where the feed can be spread out in a thin layer.

Spreading the feed rather than presenting it in a deep pile slows intake, increases chewing time, and promotes thorough saliva saturation. This supports the earliest stages of digestion and allows starch to be presented to the small intestine in a form that can be handled efficiently.

This method closely mirrors how horses consume short stem forage and reduces the risk of rapid bolting or gulping.

Deep piles of feed are not recommended. While Thrive Feed softens readily with saliva, shallow presentation further reduces any risk of choke and supports correct feeding behaviour.

Feeding Posture Matters

Thrive Feed is intended to be fed at ground level.

Horses are designed to eat with their head and neck lowered, as they do when grazing. This posture supports the natural shape and function of the oesophagus and promotes smooth, efficient transit of feed from the mouth to the stomach.

Feeding from raised mangers, buckets hung on fences, or elevated tubs is common practice, but it does not reflect how horses are designed to eat. Elevated feeding alters head and neck position and can interfere with normal swallowing mechanics, particularly when dry feeds are consumed.

For this reason, Thrive Feed should always be fed at ground level, using shallow containers that allow the horse to eat in a natural grazing posture. This supports effective transit, encourages calm intake, and complements the grazing style feeding method central to the Thrive Feed system.

Intake and Free Choice Use

Thrive Feed has been used over many years across a wide range of horses and management situations.

In certain contexts, including rehabilitation and rescue situations, horses may consume large amounts when given free choice access. This approach is well established within rescue and refeeding programs and reflects the horse’s ability to regulate intake when feed is digestible and feeding behaviour is appropriate.

Quantity alone does not determine digestive response. How the feed is eaten, how it is presented, and how it is introduced matter more than the absolute amount consumed.

Group Feeding and Multiple Tubs

When feeding groups of horses, multiple tubs or feed stations are recommended.

Providing more than one feeding point reduces competition, encourages calmer intake, and allows horses to graze rather than rush. The same principles apply, shallow containers, thin feed layers, and adequate space for relaxed feeding behaviour.

Creating a Clear Transition

Thrive Feed behaves very differently to conventional horse feeds.

For this reason, conventional grain based horse feeds should be withdrawn before Thrive Feed is introduced. Rather than overlapping feeding systems, a 24 hour separation period allows the digestive system to settle and removes interaction between feeds with very different digestion and transit characteristics.

A practical approach is to withhold conventional horse feed and offer forage only for a short period before introducing Thrive Feed. This creates a clear boundary between feeding systems and avoids mixing feeds that behave differently within the digestive tract.

After this pause, Thrive Feed can be introduced at the intended feeding rate, using the grazing style method outlined in this guide.

Why This Separation Matters

Conventional horse feeds and Thrive Feed move through the digestive system differently.

When feeds with different digestion and transit characteristics are fed together or in close succession, interactions can occur that undermine digestive stability. Creating a clear separation reduces unnecessary variables and supports a smoother adjustment.

This approach has been used consistently over many years without observed digestive complications attributable to the feeding method.

Experience Informs Practice

The recommendation to separate conventional feeds from Thrive Feed is deliberate.

It reflects long term use, observation, and refinement across a wide range of horses and management situations. It is not based on assumption or convenience, but on repeatable experience.

Correct separation protects the integrity of the Thrive Feed system and supports predictable digestive behaviour.

Saliva and Starch Digestion

Saliva is the first step in starch digestion.

The enzyme alpha amylase begins breaking down starch during chewing, before feed reaches the small intestine. Adequate chewing increases saliva production and supports this early digestive process.

Feeding Thrive Feed in a thin layer encourages chewing and saliva flow, supporting enzymatic digestion upstream and reducing the likelihood of undigested material progressing further into the digestive tract.

Feeds That Must Not Be Mixed

Thrive Feed must not be mixed with conventional horse feeds based on raw grain.

Feeds that rely on raw starch and grain have different digestion and transit characteristics. When mixed, Thrive Feed can accelerate the movement of raw grain through the small intestine, increasing the likelihood that undigested material reaches the hindgut.

This interaction increases digestive risk and undermines the principles of the Thrive Feed system. Thrive Feed is designed to be fed as a complete system, not combined with conventional grain based feeds.

Observation Over Intervention

Correct use of Thrive Feed relies on observation rather than constant adjustment.

Horses should be observed for feeding behaviour, chewing time, and general comfort. Changes should be made gradually and thoughtfully, not reactively. The system is designed to reduce the need for frequent ration changes.

Patience and consistency are part of correct use.

Using the System as Intended

When Thrive Feed is fed in a way that encourages grazing behaviour, saliva production, and steady intake, it aligns with the horse’s digestive design.

Correct use protects the integrity of the Thrive Feed system.

Guaranteed Analysis for Thrive Feed

Crude Protein (min): 17.7%

Crude Fat (min): 3.2%

Crude Fiber (max): 21.8%

Moisture (max): 8.0%

Ash (max):9.5%

Calcium (min): 0.99%

Phosphorus (min): 0.45%

Magnesium (min): 0.41%

Potassium (min): 1.44%

Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) (min): 62.7%

Additional Energy Estimates (calculated):•

Net Energy for Maintenance: 0.68 Mcal/lb•

Net Energy for Gain: 0.42 Mcal/lb•

Net Energy for Lactation: 0.72 Mcal/lb• Digestible Energy: 1.29 Mcal/lb