Feed Dealers

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net
Robyn said:

> In the case of feeding, there is no third party in between us and the feed
> producers - no equivalent of saddlers and farriers - whom we can easily try
> to blame for our problems. 

On the contrary. My feed dealer is between feed producers 
(hay growers and grain mills) and me, and I regularly consult 
him on what is available, what other people's experiences are 
with any kind of feed (including different types of hay, where 
it comes from, which field it came out of, etc.)

He "knows his stuff" when it comes to what he has in stock, 
what he doesn't have in stock (but can get), and what he 
can't/won't get (and will sometimes give me some ideas of 
where else I can get it).

We regularly talk about what his dad is feeding his horses, 
what I am feeding my horses (and why), what I am looking 
for in a feed, and what other customers have had success 
with under what circumstances.  I will also let him know 
about any new products that I may hear of that may sound 
interesting to me and will ask if he knows anything about 
them.  And he has these conversations regularly with many 
of his customers (figuring the more information he has about 
what people are feeding their horses and why will help him to 
stock and sell the best feeds).

He is a veritable fount of information about just about 
everything.  In addition  he can get me sample bags of things 
that I might like to try out, and just last week we discussed 
ingredients, pulled tags off of feed bags, he requested a fax 
from a local grain mill, and we meandered around his warehouse 
cutting holes in bags so that I could get a look/feel for what 
is in the bag, and I can do the same with any bale of hay that 
he has on his lot.

He also, presumably, has some such conversations with feed 
reps, so he can tell them, this is what my customers want and 
this is what they will buy from me.  

And he doesn't make any money selling me one bag of feed.  The 
reason this guy makes money off of me is because he sells me 
just the right feed for my horses.  When it comes right down 
to it, if I am not happy with how my horses respond to the feed 
that I give them (i.e. the feed that he has sold to me), I am 
gonna let him know and he is going to do something about it, or 
I am gonna get a new feed dealer.

And since my horse feed bill is the single biggest bill that I have 
to pay every month (even though a substantial portion of my horses 
are grazing on the non--irrigated, non-tended pasture that Susan G.
has referred to), I think it is safe to assume that my feed dealer 
has more to lose by losing my business than anybody else that I do 
business with.  There is no way that he is going to steer me wrong 
"just to make a quick buck" off of me.  It is one of the most 
fruitful relationships that I have with any of the horse professionals 
I deal with.

I certainly consult with him more regularly than I do my saddler or 
my farrier (although I consult with them in the same manner and 
they provide the same quality of service).  I shoe my horses once 
every 5-6 weeks.  I feed them every damn day.

And if you think that people don't regularly try to blame their feed 
problems on their feed dealer...well, I suggest you ask your feed dealer 
about that...he will probably tell you otherwise. :).

And just like a good farrier and a good saddler, a good feed dealer is 
worth his weight in gold.  I recognize that not all feed stores provide 
this same service (or if they do, I don't know who I should talk to at 
their store), but they can be found.

kat
Orange County, Calif.