Tell me what you think - Feed ingredients

[MyMiniGal]

The store where we get our Purina Miniature Horse and Pony started carrying Nutrena brand horse feeds. I contacted the company for an ingredient list of a couple of them, and asked which one they recommended for Miniature's. This is the one that they sent me. Can you all give me your opinion on this? Their claim is, it is low starch, low sugar, so can be used for Easy Keepers and even Insulin Resistant too. The reason I am asking is. I may need to switch feeds, as the place may stop carrying the Purina Mini, as they don't sell much of it. And I want Halo to have some feed. For one, I just enjoy giving her something like that, and for another, I don't know how old the hay is, where she boards and also what it is missing. So I feel like giving her some feed, helps balance her nutritional intake.

Here is the list:


INGREDIENTS:
Dehulled Soybean Meal, Rice Bran, Wheat Middlings,
Calcium Carbonate, Canola Meal, Whole Flaxseed,
Dicalcium Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Salt, Iron
Oxide, L-Lysine, Soybean Oil, Cane Molasses, Lignin
Sulfonate, Vitamin E Supplement, DL- Methionine, Yeast
Culture, L-Threonine, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Propionate (a
preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavors Added, Copper
Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Biotin, Magnesium Oxide, Sodium
Selenite, Manganous Oxide, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin
D Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin
Supplement, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese
Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Ferrous Carbonate, Copper
Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide,
Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Niacin Supplement, d-
Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Pyridoxine
Hydrochloride, Zinc Methionine Complex, Manganese
Methionine Complex,

 

[Minimor]

Honestly, get her a good made for horses mineral block and some nice clean oats and you will be further ahead.

 

[MyMiniGal]

Don't oats make a horse hot? She already has issues with being moody. I don't want to make that worse. I have a salt block in there, and she won't touch it, unless it is hot out. And there is a mineral block in there, that the BO had in there, and she won't touch it at all. So I can't trust that she will eat on one of those, or lick one of those, in Fall/Winter.

 

[Jenny]

That seems like there are a lot of fillers in there. I agree with Minimor that if she really needs something to keep her weight, oats are a good option. I give Breaker a cup of oats just so he'll eat his supplement, and he was WAY more "hot" when he was on a processed feed. If you want to feel better that she gets her vitamins, give her a vitamin/mineral supplement, it's much more natural. Pureform Equine Health has a supplement made specifically for miniature horses, this is what I use and also what a local miniature horse rescue uses. It's called Full Support Mini and you can order it online. You may find she might not even need any grain with lots of hay!

 

[MyMiniGal]

Ok, thank you. I just really wanted to know about these ingredients.

 

[Minimor]

My horses have always been way hotter on pellets than on oats. I have some that cannot handle pellets at all but they are good on oats. (and that isn't even when giving them the recommended amount of pellets--I rarely feed the full recommended amount of pellets.

As for minerals--I prefer a block or loose mineral over depending on what is in the feed. A mineral supplement provides much more than what a horse gets from pelleted feed. The mineral block she has....is it a made for horses variety, or just the standard mineral block that is much cheaper than the horse variety? Those cheaper blocks areade for cattle, not horses--my horses will not use those. But--there are excellent loose minerals on the market and would be a good alternative to a block--just top dress on oats and it's a done deal.

 

[MyMiniGal]

I have no idea what the mineral block is...horses have eaten on it, that I can tell, but it isn't her. I put the same minerals in her feed, already, that are in that block, so may be that is why she doesn't eat it. Not sure on that. She has no problem with pellets. Never has, as in getting hot, with what I have been feeding her. She is ok on her weight and gets enough hay. Always has some left over now. She looks good. Coat is good. I don't plan on switching her, unless I have to. I have read where oats are high in starch and sugar. So not sure about feeding that. I don't want to take away her feed completely, as like I said...I want to give her some. I enjoy giving it to her. My question still hasn't been answered...I am mainly wanting to know about the first few ingredients. Like the Soybean meal, Rice Bran and the Wheat middlings. The reviews of this feed is high, with very few being low, and those were mainly for that their horses wouldn't eat it due to taste, but the horses that do like it, seem to do well on it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Wheat middlings is a euphemism for floor sweepings.

I do not like soy bean products; evidence indicates they can have hormonal effects.

Do not know about rice bran--sounds like the hull of rice, but maybe I'm wrong.

As with all feed questions, you'll get a zillion opinions.

So glad to hear she is doing well!

 

[MyMiniGal]

Thank you...I've googled all three of those and didn't find exactly what I was wanting to know. You've answered it a lot, Marsha. I only was trying to get my question back on track, as yes, I know many feed differently, and I like how Halo is looking with what I am doing. I just hope they don't quit carrying the feed I am doing, since she does do well on it. The place does carry a lot of other Purina ones, and I know many feed the Senior to their mini's and such. And I could go that direction, if they take away the miniature one, at this store. Was just curious about this feed. Had never heard of it before. When they gave me the ingredients, even with there being high reviews, I wasn't too sure about the soy or the middlings...the rice bran...possibly sounded ok, but right has a lot of sugar, but may be the bran part doesn't? I use to give my son rice milk, until I heard how much sugar was in it, so switched to almond, so that is where when I saw rice, I went..sugar.

 

[chandab]

Which Nutrena product is this? Sounds like it could actually be high in fat, although it might be lower in sugar and starch. [rice bran is high in fat, flax seed is high in fat (but has good omega 3 level).] I agree with Marsha, wheat mids are basically glorified floor sweepings. What is the recommended feeding level of this feed? How about the nutritional analysis on it? Protein? Fat? fiber? to start. [i have fed feed with wheat middlings, but I have limited to no selection around here, so most recent change was to a vit/min supplement with a bit of oats for all my normal horses. Those with special needs get special feed.]

 

[MyMiniGal]

Here is the PDF that they sent me. When I copy and paste it all, it is all jumbled. It is high in protein, which has me concerned too. I was actually asking them about another one...can't remember what I put in their form, at the moment, and this is the one they said they suggest for mini's.

Empower Balance - 6185BW.pdf

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Rice bran does wonderful things, really shines up their coats, keeps the risk of colic down, and is a good filler and fiber source that "keeps em moving." Horsey activia (kinda)! We always have fed a bran mash to our horses, half bran, half senior pellets soaked in warm water during cold weather. In the summer we usually just tossed water from their buckets in it to soak it. They LOVED it, and we had 2 colics total over 18 years on 8 different horses, and one was due to ulcers and GERD and totally wasn't feed related (his horsey soulmate had passed away and he got stressed). I'll take that.

Soy is naturally high in estradiols. However, the level is so small that I wouldn't be concerned with it. You will run into problems from consuming too much soy before running into hormone problems. We feed soy to our dairy cattle a lot, as it is a great protein source and they do really well on it. However, for horses, they don't digest it as well. A ground meal like that de-hulled wouldn't be an issue, but feeding your horse straight soy isn't a good idea at all.

Wheat mids are another common 'filler' and energy feed. They are relatively high in energy, and are usually found in feeds that are fairly 'hot.' Pretty much its wheat ground into dust.

I like canola meal. A lot. High in lysine, it does awesome stuff for the coat. Its another great protein source, similar to soy but easier for horses to digest.

Instead of hyper focusing on one or two ingredients in feed, I find it better to focus on the ration as a whole. The highest quality ingredients not balanced right or the wrong ration for your horse is FAR worse than a feed made of 'meh' ingredients balanced correctly.

I also feel feed is a FAR over-used excuse for horses being hot or having an attitude. No, it doesn't help a chronically high strung horse, but you don't let a little kid talk back because they had a lot of sugar that morning, if the respect was there to begin with, he would have never talked back in the first place!

 

[MyMiniGal]

Thank you...I attribute her "moods" to being a mare and a teen, in horse years and no, she isn't allowed to be that way with us, but personally, I just don't want a feed to cause something, that I have to correct, all the time. If that makes sense? That is why I ask. Not because Halo has had any issue with any feed, as far as I can see, she hasn't so far. I think this feed is fed about 1/4 lb at most. per a 100 lbs. of horse for maintenance, and a tiny bit more for moderate work...I think is what is says. So actually, that is about half of what I have to feed her of the Purina Mini. I attached the pdf file they sent me. Not sure anyone can read that or not.

 

[happy appy]

That seems more like a top dress than a feed. You would be better off going with a supplement pellet for vit and min then a whole feed.

 

[Marty]

Dislike on the miniature horse feed in the biggest way.

Never top dress my feed with loose free choice minerals. They are supposed to be free choice, not forced which would certainly keep mine from eating the feed.

I feed oats. Plain and simple.

 

[ITW Miniatures]

Dehulled Soybean Meal is considered one of the best sources of protein available. Any meal is the product leftover after an oil is made, so it is low in fats and soluble starches. Since it is dehulled, the ingredient is not a filler (hulls would increase the about of complex, non-digestible fibers). Soybean Meal is known to have an excellent amino acid profile. Its limiting amino acids are generally Lysine and Methionine which is why theyve added additional sources of both.

Rice Bran is incredibly palatable and horses love it! It is also "safe energy."

Wheat Middlings are the byproduct of most wheat processing plants (please note that this does not mean they are floor sweepings just that they are less profitable as a human feed than as an animal feed). Middlings have less fiber than bran and are a good source of water soluble vitamins.

As you are primarily interested in balancing your horses diet, not adding additional sources of energy or fiber, I would look at ration balancers. Pretty much all of the big companies make one so if you have a preferred brand Id look at theirs. Purinas is called Enrich Plus and Nutrena makes one called Empower® Balance Horse Supplement.

 

[amysue]

If you like the grain she is on then you could ask the dealer to special order it. I switched dealers when they stopped carrying my TB's Ultium. I know tractor supply carries mini pony grain and those stores are popping up everywhere. Rather than change her feed you could try shopping elsewhere. I agree with what others have said about your selected product, it sounds like a top dress. If she is on good hay and her weight is good, she doesn't NEED grain, but stabled horses not on pasture benefit from supplemental nutrition. Personally im not a fan of any sort of "middings" because they're actual contents are questionable. Too much soy makes horses gassy so feed it in moderation. If you want a low sugar feed try nutrena safe choice if you're really considering changing her feed. Good luck.

 

[MyMiniGal]

Yeah, I am hoping they won't stop carrying it, as I don't want to change. She is doing great on it, and her hay. We don't have many options for horse feed, around here. I do know of one other place that carries the Purina Mini, that I just remembered. It is a ways out, but would be worth it not to have to switch. Or yes, I could make sure this place I go to now, would just special order it for me and buy more than one bag at a time.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I feed Nutrena's 'Empower Balance', which is a ration balancer, and I am very satisfied with it. My horses get a mainly grass forage diet, with a bit of alfalfa once daily, along with the minimal amount of Empower, per feeding instructions, and stabilized ground flax, with some very wet soaked beet pulp once daily in winter.

 

[chandab]

Reading the label you attached, it is basically a ration balancer; a protein, vit, mineral supplement to go with hay. This particular product is designed to compliment grass hay or a mixed hay (if you feed mostly alfalfa, then this wouldn't be the product to go with). A 250# mini would only get 1/4-1/2 pound daily (if that amount doesn't hold their weight with the recommended amount of hay, then you'd need to switch to a higher calorie feed like Safe Choice).