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  Discussion on Organic horse feed
Author Message
New Member:
Gageten

Posted on Sunday, Dec 28, 2003 - 10:21 pm:

I am worried about the quality control at feed mills and the possibility of mammalian tissue getting into my horse's feed. I know several very well-known horse feed companies have been warned about violations for this very thing by the FDA and have been forced to recall tons of feed. Is there a company that makes organic horse feed, and if so, would this be better for our horses? Thank you, Molly
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 29, 2003 - 5:53 am:

Unfortunately the term organic will not protect you against meat contamination per-se, after all meat is organic. It may indicate a closer watch over ingredients, then again this appelation can be used as dishonestly as the feeds contents. When uncertain I suggest you stick with well known feed brands they probably try a bit harder to stick with accurate labeling because they are watched a bit closer and more to lose if they are caught cheating.
DrO
Member:
Gageten

Posted on Monday, Dec 29, 2003 - 8:54 am:

Dear Dr.

Thank you for your very sound opinion, and you make a very good point. Investigating what REALLY goes into dog and cat food disgusted me and started the wheels turning in my head. I switched my dogs to organic, no artificial preservatives or ingredients food, and then added raw meat to their diets as well. The results were nothing short of HIGHLY impressive. They stopped having skin problems, ear infections, and the older one stopped having epileptic seizures. I am NOT a "holistic nut" by any means, but it is hard for a logical person to deny the changes I have seen, and the "mammalian tissue" thing in horse feed is GROSS! If there is animal tissue in the food, that means that there could also be that ingredient that starts with an "R" (not sure of the name) that is in cattle feed and is toxic to our horses, right? It makes me wonder if the horse/pet foods industry needs a serious revamp, with vets leading the way.
Member:
Amara

Posted on Monday, Dec 29, 2003 - 11:43 am:

Molly-i think you're thinking of Rumensin...very bad stuff indeed...
we make sure that we buy only from the best companies, with well labelled ingredients-we try to avoid things like "by products"-you never know what you're getting from batch to batch..
you generally end up paying a bit more per bag then you might pay from the big companies who use cheaper ingredients, but i also find i use less, so i dont end up spending that much more per horse.. some companies use animal byproducts as a source of fat-so check to make sure that your grain company doesnt do that...it's not all that well digested anyways...

and as far as the changes seen in your dogs, i switched to raw several years ago-and no one believes that my 10 yr old "she's going to be crippled" dog is in any way old or crippled!.. (medium-large dog).. yes, she has slowed down a bit- this summer i clocked her at 20 mph...*sigh*(*LOL*)
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Dec 29, 2003 - 6:51 pm:

Hello All,
There is no connection between the prescence of animal byproducts and lasalocid (monensin and rumensin) growth promoter contamination in horse feed. The growth promoters are chemicals that can be added to 100% herbage feeds for cattle and are in very low levels in the tissues of the animals. When found in horse feed they have gotten there because of the food processors accidentally contaminating the horse feed, not through animal tissue contamination.

You may complain about modern feed production but if you look at it in a balanced way, we have gone from a long list of nutritional deficiencies in our pets and livestock 50 years ago to where the number one nutritional problem is obesity. I second the recomendation that when local feed stuffs are of uncertain quality, using well known products is a big plus.
DrO
Member:
Gageten

Posted on Monday, Dec 29, 2003 - 9:40 pm:

Yes, that's it...rumensin! Thank you Dr. for clearing that up...now I know what it is for and what it does. I just knew it was bad for horses. At the same time, it just proves my point; MORE unnessary chemicals that are not good for the animals or for us! Regarding the obesity in our pets, I think vets see a lot of fat dogs, cats and horses because big companies like Science Diet (often sold right in the vet offices) and Purina put a lot of grain in the pet foods to make them cost effective when it is really not the best thing for them. Carnivores are not meant to eat cereal day in and out. It makes them fat and it rots their teeth. And, is it really good for the horses to be eating all the grain that we give them, super-loaded with artificial preservatives and ingredients? I just want a clean, simple way to feed my horse, preferably with human grade ingredients, and I'd like to be able to ensure proper nutrition at the same time. Some dog and cat food companies are on to this...they are already starting to offer no-grain dog food (Prairie) and Wellness dog food company uses human grade de-boned chicken and whole fruits. I want the same SUPERIOR nutrition for my horse. I don't want my horse loaded with excess grain, chemicals and artificial preservatives.
Member:
Skye

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 30, 2003 - 10:29 am:

Hi, Molly. You've started an interesting discussion! I feed Wysong to my dogs and cat and am thinking of using it for my horses.

If you're interested in learning about it, here's the link:

https://www.wysong.net/

It makes for interesting reading!
Member:
Gageten

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 31, 2003 - 2:52 pm:

Hi.....I just looked into Wysong Equine Diet and it looks very good...whole grains and NO by-products! I could not believe the Purina comparison! No wonder Purina won't list ingedients on their website! I went to the feed mill and looked at Omelene and Strategy by Purina ingredient lists, and they are both LOADED with by-products and artificial preservatives! I can't believe we are told that this is GOOD for our EXPENSIVE horses! I am going to try Wysong. It seems like they've really done their research too.
Member:
Presario

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2004 - 3:23 pm:

I sell and use Dynamite products for exactly the reasons you have concern over - what EXACTLY is in my animals' food??! Most horse grains, for example (though lots of dog and cat foods too) will have "by-products" as an ingredient. This can mean a whole range of things, including beaks and feet and such (in the case of dog/cat food). It also gives the manufacturer free rein to change what makes up the by-products whenever they choose, as long as they still meet the analysis on the bag. Dynamite doesn't do that - they list every single ingredient in their grain product and guarantee not only the analysis (which most companies do anyway) but the ingredients themselves. None of this "put in more corn this time because it's cheaper" stuff. While there aren't enough certified organic grain producers out there for Dynamite to be able to afford and guaranteed an organic grain, they DO use suppliers that use little to no chemicals and could almost be certified organic. Dynamite themselves do not use chemicals in their plants - they use diatomaceous earth for pest control. I've been using their products for 4 years now and can't imagine not using them.
New Member:
Taylor96

Posted on Thursday, Jul 13, 2006 - 8:10 pm:

Hello,

I am looking for a product that is not processed, cooked, added sugar, filers etc. I just want something to mask the taste of my horse's supplements. Would giving a cup of unprocessed rice bran be OK? I have read information regarding too much rice bran etc. All I give now is a cup of Nutrena's Safe Choice. It's a processed feed, but the only one I have found that seems to be better than the rest. My gelding does OK with good quality grass hay. Why do all equine feeds need to provide the 'added" ingredients? You would need to feed pounds of it to get the benefit of the added vitamins/minerals. I would rather add a scoop of something I trust than go the way the feed companies would have us go. I would love to find an organically grown, highly digestible bagged feed to mix up with my supplements. Maybe I should just use apple sauce (organic) to get them down? LOL

Thank you.

Deborah
Member:
Skye

Posted on Thursday, Jul 13, 2006 - 8:34 pm:

Maybe this link will lead you somewhere?

https://www.crittersandme.com/for_horses/horse_feed.htm
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Thursday, Jul 13, 2006 - 11:31 pm:

A cup of flax seed is a healthy, beneficial and tasty thing to give, but it is highly perishable so I would not recommend it unless you are willing to use a small coffee grinder to crush the seeds for each feeding. (very simple to do, actually -- taking only a few seconds) Much of the flax seed sold comes from Canada, and if you can verify Canada as the source, it is (from what I've been told) organically grown.
Member:
Ilona

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 8:31 pm:

Ellie,
Thanx for the great site.
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