The Horse:Your Guide To Equine Health Care provides monthly equine health care information to horse owners, breeders, veterinarians, barn/farm managers, trainer/riding instructors, and others involved in the hands-on care of the horse.
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43 March 2018 THE HORSE TheHorse.com NUTRITION SARAH EVERS CONRAD TheHorse.com/Nutrition H orses have long enjoyed the addition of concentrates and complete feeds to their forage rations. We take regu- lar trips to the feed store to pick up these products—packaged neatly in brightly colored, sweet-smelling bags—or, perhaps, we have the feed supplier deliver them to the farm. But have you ever wondered how your horse's feed is made and what quality controls are in place to ensure he's consuming a safe product? In this article, two independent nutritionists who have worked with a variety of feed manufactur- ers will share what they've learned. Horse feed manufacturers range from small local mills to large ones that can produce hundreds of tons of feed per day. At some mills people produce the feed by hand, while at others mechanized equip- ment controlled by the latest technology does the job. And it's not just the largest feed mills that are most advanced. Clair Thunes, PhD, owner of Summit Equine Nutrition, in Sacramento, California, recalls a small mill she visited that was completely computerized, while a larger feed manufacturer still relied on manpower for its bagging line. Neither method is better than the other because every mill must abide by the same regula- tions and quality assurance practices. "Our feed, just like our food, is safer than it used to be," says James Lattimer, MS, PhD, assistant professor of equine nutrition at Kansas State University, in Manhattan. "We continually come out with new processes that allow us to use new ingredients to increase the perfor- mance and digestibility and improve intakes." Rules and Regulations Lattimer says the equine feed industry follows annual guidelines published by the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) outlining feed label recommendations, such as what appears on ingredient labels and the "Guaranteed Analysis" of nutrients. The individual state departments of agriculture enforce these guidelines through legislation, and state officials must inspect each state- licensed mill. Some mills might also have a federal license and get inspected by either the Food and Drug Administra- tion (FDA) or the state acting as a federal representative. "Some states allow what we call collec- tive feed terms," on labels, says Thunes. "You can say things like 'plant protein product,' and that could be one of more than 20 different things. AAFCO defines what a plant protein product can be." Thunes adds that manufacturers that use collective feed terms are likely using least-cost formulation, in which feeds must have the same nutritional makeup from one batch of raw ingredients to the next, rather than fixed-ingredient formulation, in which ingredients always stay the same, regardless of price. Fixed- ingredient formulation provides continu- ity of ingredients, whereas the least-cost formulation reduces ingredient costs while providing continuity of nutrition, even if the feed company decides to swap out ingredients based on availability and price. This formulation is not ideal for horses with food sensitivities, she says. In states that don't allow collective feed terms, manufacturers must list every in- gredient on the label. This allows custom- ers to know exactly what their horse is consuming. The downside is these feeds might be more expensive, says Thunes. If ingredients include a medication or the manufacturer makes certain claims about a product, the FDA gets involved in its approval and regulation. From Field to Feed Bag Ingredients go through rigorous quality-control and processing steps before ending up in your horse's feed. LEFT: MAUREEN BLANEY FLIETNER; RIGHT: PAM MACKENZIE Learn how your horse's dinner arrives nutritionally balanced and quality-control tested