Re: Think! Animal By Products in feed

[Lisa <lpopp@pa.net>]

Now I certainly don't want to get into a discussion on equine nutrition 
with Susan, as I know I will end up a steaming pile of goo on the floor 
when she is through with me :)  I just want to say Robyn, that I agree 
with you.  I feed my horses COB which I mix myself, beet pulp, good 
quality hay and a daily vitamin and mineral supplement that (claims to) 
meet all their nutritional needs.  My horses are healthy, fat and sassy 
and rarely, if ever, have health problems.  I avoid most bagged feeds 
mostly because of the ingredient *animal by products* of which is my 
understanding that it can be anything from road kill to milk.  And what 
the heck are "processed grain by-products, plant protein products, 
forage products....?"  Maybe I have been misinformed, but it is just as 
easy for me to buy the steamed and washed oats and barley and cracked 
corn and mix it myself.  I feel better knowing what my horses are eating 
on a daily basis and not some sticky goop in which gobs of molasses is 
covering up who knows what.  And my horses all feel good, maintain good 
weight and are happy....what's wrong with that? 
This is just ****MY OPINION****!!! 
I, myself, am a vegetarian, and avoid meat products for many reasons for 
myself, one of those reasons being chemical residues in the meat.  The 
standards for animal products in animal feed is even lower than that for 
human consumption, so why would I feed this to my beloved horses?  I 
think science is wonderful, but certainly not the ONLY answer and that 
we do need to follow our own instincts, which *used* to be pretty good!  
It's easy to just open a bag of feed and  pour it in your horses feed 
pan, trusting that what's in there is good for him, because we have to 
work our butts off to earn the money to feed and care for these beasts 
and have little time or energy to spend reading volumes or going to a 
nutrition class.
IN MY OPINION it IS ultimately about money for the feed companies.  They 
certainly aren't in the business for the shear pleasure of making 
quality feed for our horses and to see us, as consumers, happy and the 
pure joy on our faces as we open a bag of their feed.  It's about 
profit, pure and simple.  I'm sure they do the best they can to make or 
market a good product, but it is only to get our business and money and 
to lure us away from the competitor.  We, as consumers, have taken a 
much greater interest in our horses and pets nutritional well being over 
the last several years and I believe that is why we are seeing this 
latest revolution in "healthy" "well balanced" feeds. 
Maybe I am cynical, but I would much rather trust my own instincts when 
it comes to my family's and my animals well being.  I feel that oats, 
corn and barley are way closer to a vegetarians diet (as horses are by 
nature) than animal fat or animal by-products.  What is the reason a 
feed manufacturer would use animal fat over say, corn oil?  Cost, pure 
and simple, and NOT the welfare of our horses.  So, I'll just keep doin' 
what I'm doin' thank you very much. 
No flames intended for ANYONE here at all!  Just had to put in my 3 
cents and will wait for the fallout! 
Regards,
Lisa (and the herd of 9 in south central pa, who are all TOO fat right 
now on their vegetarian diet!)


> it is wise for all of us to know what is on the feed
> tags. For example, ABC Plus supplement puts fish meal, dried whole milk,
> among other things (sorry I don't have the feed tag right in front of me). I
> have a problem ***personally**** with feeding my horse ingrediants like that
> (especially) when they are in the top five ingrediants of a book full
> ingredients. So, I choose to not feed that product. It just seems like some
> (certainly not all) feed companies throw in any ingrediant that satisfies
> their requirement for calcium for instance, regardless of whether it is
> suitable for the horses digestive system or not. That is what I have a
> problem with. I don't have a problem with feed companies, only the quality
> of ingrediants that 'some' of them throw in there to balance the ration.
> Good luck on your exam!