Kohnke’s Own equine supplements and health care products are the result of in-depth scientific formulation, ongoing research and development with constant innovation.  Our focus on creating unique and high quality equine supplements has made the Kohnke’s Own range popular and trusted by Aussie horse owners who can see the difference to their horse’s health, vitality and performance.

Kohnke’s Own standard of quality is also reflected in our exclusive and patented Supplet® design and our high-tech manufacturing facilities featuring a full quality control program regulated and annually audited by the trusted industry partner, FeedSafe®.

Dr John Kohnke developed the innovative, patented Supplet® pellet system which is exclusive to Kohnke’s Own. It features the unique separation of nutrients into groups, forming 6 separate, cold-pressed, small pellets that mix easily into horse feeds.

Each pellet type contains only compatible nutrients, which increases the potency and stability of the blended supplement over competitor brands which use single pellet, powdered or liquid forms.  For example, trace-minerals such as iron and copper adversely react and reduce the critical vitamins A, C and E.  The Supplet® system splits these incompatible groups to ensure optimum potency of the vitamins during storage and when mixed into wet or dry feeds.

Supplets® also reduce wastage from dust, stop sift-out by fussy eaters, eliminate blow away from outdoor feeders, and don’t cause sludge in the feed bin compared to powdered supplements.

Supplets® are naturally colour coded and made using top quality ingredients, including European sourced vitamins and organic chelated trace-minerals.  They are blended in special ratios to form different supplements for all types of horses.  Kohnke’s Own range of comprehensive nutritional products exclusively use this Supplet® pellet system to give your horse the best possible benefit from all the nutrients in the supplement.

Some Kohnke’s Own supplements are powdered formulations but adopt the same principles of avoiding negative nutrient interactions that may damage the potency of the supplement.  Our powdered products use coated technology and protected forms of ingredients to avoid incompatibilities which may arise during storage.  Kohnke’s Own powdered supplements are manufactured in a special mixer which micro-coats the particles with oil to reduce dust and shield the nutrients, especially when mixed into wet feeds.

Research and testing play a critical role in the development of equine supplements. It is also essential to ensure that formulations are kept relevant and up-to-date, especially as new scientific developments and ingredients become available. Formulations that are old and outdated will often not give the best benefit to the horse, it is therefore important that products are continually monitored, tested and updated to give maximum effect and benefit. However, most competitor companies never change their formulations or simply copy other products when designing a new supplement!

The research and development team at Kohnke’s Own, led by Dr. John Kohnke BVSc RDA and Dr. Philippa Kohnke BSc (Molecular Biotechnology) PhD, keep up with developments in equine health and nutrition by attending conferences and researching reputable published articles which discuss the latest findings in equine performance, health and nutrition. We continually source and test new ingredients from trusted suppliers to help maintain the outstanding results and effectiveness of Kohnke’s Own products.

Quality control is essential to ensure the production of the highest quality product. From the management of raw materials, including the testing of ingredients, documentation and analysis procedures, to the thorough cleaning of all mixing and measuring equipment in the production and packing process, every step is crucial in the manufacture of a good quality, safe and effective product. Kohnke’s Own is a Feed Safe® accredited manufacturing facility which is audited annually and operates under the code of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Every raw ingredient is traceable and tested for quality before use. The manufacturing facility in Western Sydney is run to the highest possible standard with strict monitoring and control over each step in the manufacturing process.

Dr. John Kohnke has designed and overseen the construction of our facilities and equipment, ensuring every mixer, filling machine and even our specialised and unique cold-pressed pelleting system is constructed from quality stainless steel to avoid contamination, increase efficiency and enable thorough cleaning after every product batch.  Products are also manufactured in specially constructed, pressure-sealed and temperature controlled ‘clean rooms’ to eliminate cross-contamination and dust during mixing and packing of our products.

Kohnke’s Own staff are proud to make all our own top quality horse supplements and our stringent quality control extends to all manufacturing procedures, with staff attired in full length disposable coveralls, hairnets, gloves and facemasks to reduce contamination and ensure cleanliness in our production lines.

The concept of ‘scientific formulation’ differs between equine nutrition companies and their products. Many products are based on formulations of a single active ingredient, or a simple 2-3 ingredient mix. Whilst this may provide some of the necessary nutrition, the best way to gain maximum benefit and biological effectiveness is by taking advantage of ‘synergy’ through the use of multiple active ingredients with separate but compatible modes of action. In this way, concentrations of each ingredient can be standardised and the targeted results are more easily achieved in many different horses.

Kohnke’s Own use the concept of synergy in all their products to ensure a multi-action approach which encompasses all the nutrients possibly needed for a supplement to work effectively.  This is one of the reasons why Kohnke’s Own supplements have developed a reputation for achieving noticeable results and increased effectiveness over other brands.

In fact, most other brands make simple copies or mirror products, by contrast, Kohnke’s Own always researches and develops new and unique formulations that are not available anywhere else in the world!

Dr John Kohnke has also formulated the Kohnke’s Own range without fillers that are commonly used by other competitor brands.  The addition of fillers to bulk out products does not offer any benefit to the horse and only makes products less economical to purchase, as a larger dose is required for the product to have any effect.  Our supplements are concentrated, low dosage rate products that give value and economy per pack size, often making them the most affordable on the market when comparing cost per daily dose.

Horse owners will be shocked to know that many companies simply create a supplement and launch it into the market without any long-term testing or quality control.  Some companies talk up their research using 6 – 10 horses in a controlled stable, but this does not reflect the ‘real world’ situation and variations between individual horses.

Field research offers a wider range of data to be collected during the trialling of a new product on multiple horses. Horses of all ages, disciplines, levels of training, diets and locations around Australia are used to evaluate and prove the effectiveness of our products and their formulations.

At Kohnke’s Own, 50 – 100 Australian horses are involved in every supplement field trial, with the progress carefully documented throughout the course of the trial which can take from 2 – 5 years.  Long term field research trials are unique to Kohnke’s Own and represent an important investment to ensure the optimum safety, stability, efficacy and palatability of new supplements, for maximum benefit to every horse.