“SAFE” OPTIONS FOR FEEDING HORSES
Katie Young, Ph.D.
Consulting Equine Nutritionist
What does the term “safe” mean in reference to feeding horses? Does it mean that the feed will eliminate the chances of a horse succumbing to colic, laminitis, etc.? If so, then no feed is truly “safe.” Does it mean that feeding a specific feed may reduce the risk of the aforementioned conditions? If so, then there are many options for feeding horses that may be considered “safe” when utilized appropriately. However, there are many other factors that I consider when I start thinking about what is the “safest” way to feed my horses.
First, I look at the feed mill. When manufacturing horse feeds, there are several aspects that influence the “safety” of the feed. As a horse feed customer, some questions to ask are:
1. Are the feed ingredients tested before being incorporated into a horse feed?
2. If so, what are the ingredients tested for?
3. Are there quality standards that ingredients must meet?
4. What is the risk of contamination by ingredients that are not appropriate for
horses?5. How consistent are the feeds?
At all Purina Mills feed mills, every feed ingredient is tested utilizing NIR (Near Infrared Spectroscopy) technology to determine nutrient content before that truckload is accepted. This accomplishes several things:
1. It determines whether the ingredient meets the nutrient specifications established by our ingredient standards2. It permits the nutritionists to make any small changes in the formulas to compensate for changes in ingredient nutrients, therefore maintaining consistency of the feeds. 3. NIR testing helps ensure that the “feed = tag.” For instance, if a load of oats come in that is slightly lower in protein than the previous load (but still meets the standards), the Omolene 200 formula can be slightly adjusted to ensure that the feed is always at the guaranteed 14% crude protein. Without NIR testing, the feed will vary as the nutrient content of the ingredients vary. Other manufacturers often use published “book values” for nutrient content of feed ingredients when formulating their feeds. This practice is legal, but it does not guarantee that the feed nutrients actually equal the tag guarantees. (Note: When Purina formulas change due to nutrient changes in ingredients, does this mean that the formulas can change drastically as ingredient prices change? No, the formulas for Purina premium feeds may be tweaked to maintain nutrient consistency, but changes are very small. This does mean, however, that when the price of an ingredient increases, the price of the feed will also increase because the formulas are not “least cost formulated” as are economy feeds.)The ingredient standards are set by the nutritionists for each species along with members of the ingredient purchasing group. For horse feeds, the standards are high and strict, ensuring that the horse feeds are of excellent quality. In some situations, the Purina ingredient standards are even higher than human grade food standards.
The Purina Mills feed mills also test ingredients for the presence of possible toxic substances, such as mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are fungi (molds) that are toxic in very small amounts. For example, every load of corn is tested for the mycotoxin fumonison. Fumonison can be found in corn, and can be toxic to a horse in as low amount as 5 parts per million (ppm). The only way to tell if fumonison is present in corn is to run a chemical analysis on each load, but losing a horse to “moldy corn poisoning” is not a risk that Purina is willing to take. We reject loads of corn that are unacceptable. This leads to the question “Where do those ingredients go?” Well, the ingredients probably end up somewhere where they are not testing.
One practice that has been instituted at Purina Mills to eliminate the risk of contamination is to manufacture horse feeds only at Purina mills with ionophore-free manufacturing systems. Ionophores are substances that are of great benefit to cattle (enhance microbial digestion in the rumen), but can be very toxic when fed to horses. In order to eliminate the risk of accidental ionophore contamination of horse feeds, cattle feeds containing toxic ionophores are not manufactured in the same location as horse feeds. Therefore, the toxic substances are not even present where horse feeds are made, so the risk of contamination is zero.
All of the procedures that have been discussed so far help to ensure the consistency of the Purina Horse Feeds. Also, all the manufactured feeds are further tested for nutrient content, pellet durability, etc. to ensure consistency. Finally, feed inspections are practiced at each feed mill, and also at the LongView Animal Nutrition Center in Gray Summit, MO. At each feed mill, feed samples are collected once a month and inspected by the quality assurance representative, at least one sales representative, and often the feed mill manager and other individuals, to make sure that the finished feeds are meeting standards and expectations. Several times a year, all feed mills that manufacture horse feeds are requested to send bags of each designated feed to Gray Summit, and members of the Purina Horse Group inspect feed from all the mills to ensure consistency across the country.
Some other questions to ask of the feed company representative include:
1. Who formulates the feeds?
2. What part does research play in formulating and testing the feeds?
At Purina Mills, we take pride in the fact that we have a group of Ph.D. Equine Nutritionists that formulate all the horse feeds. This allows the nutritionists to specialize in one species, and therefore stay up to date on current research, trends, and nutritional needs of the horse. Further, our nutritionists actively conduct research at the LongView Animal Nutrition Center, and work with other Ph.D.’s and veterinarians at universities and veterinary centers to ensure “state of the art” nutrition in the Purina Horse Feeds. All premium Purina Horse Feeds are also extensively tested at the research farm and various other equine facilities throughout the country before they are released for sale to ensure palatability and performance. To quote our own Ernie Rodina, “we test our feeds on our own horses before we feed them to yours.”
Once an appropriate “safe” feed is selected, the final aspect of feeding the horse “safely” is feeding management. There are several practices that horse owners should follow to minimize the risk of digestive disturbances, because mismanagement is responsible for many more digestive problems than “bad feed.” For a review of these practices, see the article “Feeding Management Guidelines” in the archives of the Checkerboard Corral (www.checkerboardcorral.com).
In conclusion, there is no “safe” feed that will eliminate all digestive upsets in the horse. The best that a horse owner can do is to make sure that the feed utilized is formulated and manufactured in a manner that provides quality, consistency and nutrition to meet the horse’s needs without increasing the risk of digestive disturbances. To find that feed, it is your right to question your feed supplier and even the feed company representative to determine the answers to the questions covered, as well as any other questions you may have. If you do not get the assurances and guarantees in the answers that you are looking for, it may be time to look for another feed company!
For more information on Purina Horse Feeds, or to find the dealer nearest you, visit www.purinamills.com or call (800)227-8941.
