Hydration Hay is now available and we can finally talk about it!

Hydration Hay Package, Block and Fully Soaked

When I show customers the Hydration Hay for the first time, I joke that this product is worth 7 years of my life. When I joined Purina in 2005, they were already working on a similar project that involved compressed hay blocks that could potentially slow down intake time and reduce glucose and insulin response to feeding. At the time, we worked with a company that made custom, handmade machinery for the compression and research trials were underway. In that process, we learned that A) horses found ways to eat the dry, compressed blocks more quickly than expected (picking them up with their mouths, dropping hayblocks on the ground, crushing them with their hoof and then eating the pieces) and B) our manufacturers were not able to keep up with the projected demand for the product. So we kept going back to the drawing board and the hayblocks even went back on the research shelf for short while until we figured out our next steps.

It's time for New Year's Resolutions!

Happy New Year! Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? If not, there is no time like the present to think of a few goals you’d like to achieve in 2013. Why not? Last year, my resolution was to run a 5K race for the first time, and I ended up running 5 of those, along with a 10K and 15K as well. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve broken my fair share of resolutions over the years as well. Experts say that the keys to achieving a New Year’s resolution is to keep it simple, make it tangible, and make it obvious by writing it down and telling others. It goes without saying that a goal never set will never be achieved. So this year, my “simple, tangible, and obvious” resolution is to eat more whole and locally-grown foods by shopping at my local farmer’s market at least twice a month. What will yours be? Will any of them be horse-related? 

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2013, and thank you for your continued support of Purina!