Ingredient Focus – Soya

Soya is a very common ingredient in animal feed and we use it throughout most of the Castle Horse Feeds Range, and with very good reason.

What is Soya?

The soybean or soya bean plant (Glycine max) is a species of legume, native to East Asia and widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.

Soya is grown all over the world because of its feed value. It is an excellent source of oil but it’s the quality of the protein it provides where soya really excels, and it is therefore, a major source of protein within animal feeds. Soya bean meal is the most common form of soya in horse feeds and is made either as a by-product of oil extraction, or by cooking or roasting the bean, to produce two main types –  Hipro (high protein) soya meal or full fat soya meal.

The Benefits of Soya:

• Soya has an excellent amino acid profile – the building blocks of protein.
• Soya supplies good levels of the essential amino acid – lysine, the first limiting amino acid and without which protein cannot be properly synthesised.
• Along with Lysine, soya also supplies the second and third limiting amino acids – threonine and methionine making it an excellent-quality protein source.
• The high-quality protein of soya supports optimum muscle tone and integrity and makes it ideal for pregnant and lactating mares and growing foals.
• Provides essential Omega 6 fatty acids, to promote skin and coat health.
• The higher calorie content of full fat soya helps to promote condition and weight gain.

At Castle we like to embrace functional ingredients that offer superior nutrition for your horse. As soya is one of the best protein sources available for horses, we include it within a range of our feeds including – High Fibre Cubes, Super Cool Mix, Smart Zero Cubes, Condition and Show Mix, Condition and Show Cubes, Heavy Horse Mix, Stud and breeding Mix, Stud and Breeding Cubes and Golden Age Mix.

If you have any questions regarding any of our feeds or the ingredients we use, please do get in touch. Or you can request a free diet plan for individualised recommendations on what best to feed your horse, from our equine nutritionist, Lisa Elliott