Commercial Feeds and Endurance Horses

[guest@endurance.net]

Karen Webb kpwebb@aol.com
Well I have given up on the Manna Pro Superhorse Elite 10.  My stallion
hates it and while the mares will eat it, they are not enthusiastic about
it and I didn't buy it for them in the first place.  Plus, I can tell it
must gum up around their teeth like peanut butter as I saw alot of
concentrated sucking of teeth while the girls were giving it a try.  I am
going to feed what I have left of in between meals as a snack and be done
with it.

I did then go out and purchase two bags of the Flint River Mills Endurance
Gold (10% Protein, 10% fat; 9% fiber) which is specifically formulated for
endurance and event horses.  The first ingredient listed is oats whereas
[you were right Susan!] the first ingredient listed on the Elite 10 is
corn.  Anyway, my stallion sucked down the Endurance Gold without
hesitation.  I do like the fact it contains beet pulp and the Elite 10
does not.  I dislike forcing a feed on my horses and refuse to starve them
into eating something.

The Endurance Gold is a textured grain feed, is very clean and looks
great.  Kentucky Equine Research has a website.  I don't have it handy,
but if you do a Google search, it will pop up.  Susan G. pointed out that
they really know what they are doing there and it might be worth finding
out if there are feeds in your area that are formulated under the auspices
of KER.

I am paying $10.85 a bag for the Endurance Gold and it has everything
already in it that I want my horse to have for competition.  Thus sparing
me adding oil, beet pulp, rice bran, chelated minerals, etc., to a good
grain mix.  I otherwise feed Omelene 100, and by the time I added in all
the other stuff, I easily have another $3 or $4 in the feed, so this is
very economical.