Re: Re: Think! Animal By Products in feed

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

For what it's worth, Lisa, when I have my horses in the back yard and I'm
feeding them myself, that's what I feed, too---COB, beet pulp, good quality
grass hay and *one* vitamin-mineral supplement.

As long as the replacement diet is a good one for the horse, shoot, you
won't catch me complaining, no matter what your reasons are. :-)

Susan G
----- Original Message -----
From: Lisa <lpopp@pa.net>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 6:55 AM
Subject: RC: Re: Think! Animal By Products in feed


> 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!
>
>
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