How to read a label of a horse supplement?

Etiketten, what a drama sometimes to clearly understand what exactly is in there. It's full of legal obligations and with that the "sales pitch". But even that sales pitch is sometimes very cryptically described. So how should you actually read a label?

Labels of horse feed and supplements are different!

We always emphasize that you should carefully read the labels of a feed bag so you know exactly what the ingredients are and also review the analysis. Because that information says a lot about how good this feed is for horses. For horse feed, for example, you don't want it to be full of just grains and you want the sugar and starch percentage to be nice and low. Unfortunately, this knowledge about labels of horse feed is not completely applicable to the labels of horse supplements. It has different regulations and therefore you should also read the labels differently.

A lot of legislation regarding a label of a horse supplement!

For us as a brand, it is a challenge to create the labels in the right way. We want to tell as much as possible about how the product works, what's in it, and for which problems you can use a product. But.... Then the legislation comes into play and that prohibits us and obliges us a lot. We can hardly tell anything about the functionality on the labels and in terms of naming the composition of the product, we are also very bound by legislation. The NVWA (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) has developed very specific regulations for label production (based on European rules). We follow those rules, but unfortunately this sometimes makes labels unclear for consumers. For example, on labels we are not allowed to mention that it can be used against rain scald, laminitis, sweet itch or other conditions. No claims can be made that the product helps with a problem or cures it. That's why you often read product texts that are not very clear, unfortunately. This is not because we don't want to mention more, but because we are not allowed to mention more.

What must be mandatory on a label?

Labels are full of obligations, so the following must always be included:

• “Feed material” or “Complementary feed”

• Instructions for use

• Content, batch number, and expiration date

• Composition and possibly additives

• Analytical data

• Product owner and production number

And within these headings the information must also comply with certain regulations. For example, only feed materials may be listed under composition. A feed material is a substance that actually nourishes the horse, such as magnesium oxide or sodium chloride. Not everything is a feed material, for this a European list has been compiled. If an ingredient is not on this list, it may be an additive (for example, vitamins and many herbal extracts). But because it is split up, it can sometimes seem as if the composition of a supplement is very "unhealthy" and contains almost no active ingredients, while in reality the product is full of herbal extracts.

So how do you read a label of a HELTIE supplement?

Taking the label of an herbal supplement for the respiratory tract as an example. This is a label that when you first see it, you might think it contains almost no functional ingredients to support the respiratory tract. But that's an optical illusion, because this product consists of more than 99% herbal extracts! We understand that this causes a lot of confusion, but this way it complies with legal guidelines.

This product consists of herbal extracts and added vitamin C. Therefore, it automatically becomes a complementary feed. And to legally call it a complementary feed, 2 feed materials must be added. These 2 feed materials must be listed under "composition". In the case of this respiratory product, there is only 0.01% magnesium sulfate and 0.01% magnesium chloride. But it appears differently!

The herbal extracts are listed under additives under the heading "Sensory additives". This is the collective name for herbal extracts, tinctures, and flavors. This gives consumers the impression that this product only contains magnesium with a few additives.

Also read the texts carefully!

Based on the composition and additives, you cannot clearly see how a horse supplement is put together. However, you can see if products contain sugars, in the example above you can see that there are no sugars included.

But to get more clarity about a product, also read the texts on the bottle carefully and don't just focus on the columns. In the case of HELTIE, the text specifies which herbs are included. Our products always contain large amounts of herbal extracts in high concentrations! We would prefer not to add the 2 feed materials, but this is a legal requirement with a very minimal amount.

Conclusion: we are not allowed to mention everything!

Unfortunately, we are bound by a lot of laws and regulations when it comes to labels and of course that's a good thing because it prevents a tangle of labels with false information. But for us as a brand, this poses many challenges. Because ideally we would like to tell you everything about the product, what conditions it works against and we would like to give you a composition that clearly shows what is in it. Do you have questions about labels/ingredients? Feel free to contact us!