Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Feed question

You would have to know the ingredients before you could decide whether it's
an adequate substitute for beet pulp.  Very often, it's not just the
analysis of a feed, it's the exact source of those nutrients that makes a
difference---ie, the quality of the protein source, whether the energy is
derived from  grain, beet pulp or fats, etc.  Just looking at the info you
provided, the crude fiber content indicates that the feed is esentially a
bag of hay---not that that's a bad thing, but if you need the concentrated
calories of fat or simple carbohydrates, feeding more structural
carbohydrates (fiber) isn't going to help nearly as much.

BTW, it's also worth mentioning that 6% fat in a feed does mean there's some
added fat in there, but not much.  Virtually any commodity feed naturally
contains 3-4% 'ether extracts', but only about half of that is biologically
available to the horse for energy.  The other 1.5 - 2% is generally assorted
stuff like natural pigments, fat-soluble vitamins, things like that.  So a
feed with an analysis of 6% fat is in reality closer to a 3% fat
product---not much.

Lisa and I were recently trading war stories about teaching nutrition
courses and I used the example of a "horse ration" I used to use that  I
used to hand it out and ask the students to evaluate its suitability for a
performance horse.  By its analysis alone it looked perfect. However, the
ingredients for this 'perfect' ration were made up of menhaden fish meal, a
mineral mix of components that are bitter as hell, a whole lot of a
particular source of fat that's guarenteed to be rancid and I think there
were some leftover doughnuts in there as well.  Just an example that the end
doesn't always justify the means. :-)

Get the ingredients list and that'll give you a lot more information to work
with.

Susan G
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lysane Cree" <lysanec@xxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2002 5:07 PM
Subject: [RC] Feed question


>
> Hi,
>
> I would like to know if anyone can tell me whether the following feed
content sounds like a good combo for a distance horse? It is made by Purina
and it is called "3583 Hi-Fat Hi-Fibre (Chunk)"
>
> This is the guaranteed analysis on the label:
>
> Crude Protein   min. 13.0%; Crude Fat  min. 6.0%;   Crude Fiber   max.
25.0%;
>
> Sodium (Na)   actual   0.2%;   Calcium (Ca)  actual  0.65%;
>
> Phosphorous (P)  actual 0.4%;  Vitamin A   min.  6,500 I.U./kg;
>
> Vitamin D3   min.  1,200 I.U./kg;    Vitamin E   min.   220 I.U./kg
>
> It is said to be for performance horses, show horses, breeding horses and
yearlings. I was told that it was a good alternative to grain because "it
doesn't make the horses so hot." So I am wondering if it could be a good
feed for a ctr/endurance horse in the same "way" as beet pulp. I am thinking
of contacting the manufacturer to find out exactly what is the
source/ingredient which gives rise to the protein, fat and fibre content,
but I was wondering if anyone had any initial comments, suggestions, etc.
Thanks,
>
> Lysane
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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