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We've so enjoyed sharing our research and stories with you here on the Purina Equine Research Blog over the last few years. We'll be continuing to share new research and helpful tips with you at purinamills.com/horse-feed. We invite you to head on over to see more lessons from the Purina Animal Nutrition Center. And if you haven’t already, visit us on Facebook for fun stories from the farm.

We thank you for your years of faithful readership on this blog. 

See you at the Farm!

The Purina Equine Research Blog team

Karen Davison, Ph.D., Special Sales Support Manager

Mary Beth Gordon, Ph.D., Director of Equine Research and New Product Development

Kelly Vineyard, Ph.D., Research Equine Nutritionist

Katie Young, Ph.D., Lead Technical Equine Nutritionist

Kathy Williamson, DVM, Manager of Veterinary Services

Mike Jerina, Manager Equine Research

Reigniting the Passion - My Carol Lavell Adult Amateur Gifted Scholarship experience

In addition to developing new horse feed products, one of my other great passions is riding dressage. I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of the Dressage Foundation’s 2013 Gifted Fund scholarship for Region 3. This scholarship was established in special remembrance of Carol Lavell's great dressage horse, Gifted, and is offered to adult amateur dressage riders to allow them to “set aside quality-time, in concentrated training away from the daily pressures of job and family”. And boy, did I need that! This was an experience of a lifetime, and below is an excerpt of my report on the experience (you can read the full piece posted at the Dressage Foundation website). I encourage any fellow amateur dressage riders to learn more about the program…it is a wonderful opportunity!

Roman and I on the first day of training

Nearing the end of 2013, I was at what I call a “riding crossroads”. I was having difficulty finding both the time and motivation to keep my 19 y/o OTTB Roman in regular work. Between my full-time job, my 2 year-old son, and other life and family obligations (including building a new house), my time in the saddle was getting less and less. Roman and I have been through so much together over the past several years. He took me from first level to Prix St. Georges, and I earned both my Bronze and Silver medals on him. He is a horse that gives his all and is definitely my “horse of a lifetime”. He is not ready to retire (he still thinks he is 5 most days) and I will never sell him, but I was beginning to contemplate leasing him to someone who could learn from him and devote more time to keeping him in shape. At a time when I was unsure of the future direction of my riding career with Roman, spending 5 days training with Erin Brinkman at Valhalla Farm was exactly what I needed. Thanks to the Dressage Foundation, this opportunity completely changed my mind about where Roman and I are headed together, and the passion I have for dressage has once again been reignited.

Erin took me back to the basics, and we focused first on my warm-up routine. Depending on how he felt coming out in the morning, we did lots of walking in the beginning. I incorporated leg-yields and other lateral work to help get him through on the right shoulder (his “problem area”), all while focusing on keeping a steady contact in the bridle. Some days we went to the trot or canter early if he was feeling sluggish. During the trot warm-up, she had me go on a 20-meter circle and allow him to stretch over his back and take his nose all the way to the ground. He loved this work, and I made sure he stayed bent around my inside leg. We started the canter on a long rein as well, and she had me stay in a light seat to encourage his back to come up. This gentle warm-up helped loosen him up more quickly than what I had been doing previously.

Throughout the week, we continued to focus on exercises to loosen him up in the right shoulder and to get his right hind coming more through in the canter. Basically, she wanted me to be able to put any part of his body anywhere I wanted it to go at any given time. We did shoulder-in, haunches-in, renvers, and counter-bending A LOT…on the long side, on the short side, on a circle, on the quarter line, etc. Wherever he felt stiff or blocked, that is the part that I would ask to move. Addressing these weaknesses through suppling exercises was crucial; because once I got through to that part, it was so much easier to do everything else. I figured out that when cantering on the right lead, I must keep him in a shoulder-in to keep him straight and keep his right hind coming under my seat. When working on flying lead changes, he tends to swing his haunches to the right when switching to the left. Erin had me ride my line of changes in shoulder-in right no matter which lead I was in, and this helped immensely. She also had me leg-yield off my right leg during the changes if he got ahead of himself, and this also helped to keep his attention on me and reminded him to respect my aids during the changes. Another exercise at the canter she had us work on was to go on a circle and half-pass to the inside, then leg-yield back. Also when half-passing to the inside of the circle, I would bring him to pirouette canter and ride a pirouette, which really helped keep him more supple and over his back compared to when I approach the pirouette from a straight line. At the trot, she reminded me to stay more aware of the rhythm and to keep him solid in his connection. He was only allowed to go medium trot if the rhythm and connection we right, and if not I would bring him back to working trot. In the half-pass, I asked him go with a more slow and animated stride to accentuate the rhythm and to “get the big muscles working”. If he came out of the connection, I would take him in a circle. I tend to baby Roman just a little and let him get away with not putting 100% effort in, and it was great to have Erin there to remind me what he is capable of and when to ask him for more.

My love of dressage runs deep, but I had let life get in the way of fostering that passion. The Gifted Scholarship brought me back “home” by giving me the chance to immerse myself into the sport that I love. Roman is healthy and sound, and at 19 years young I know that he and I have much more time together to keep improving. Every time I ride him I have fun, because he is that special. And now that my passion for dressage has been re-ignited, I am making a point to have as much fun as possible with him!

Budweiser Clydesdale commercial "A Hero's Welcome" for the Big Game!!!

We at Purina Animal Nutrition are so proud to be working with the folks at Budweiser and supporting the nutrition efforts of these magnificent Clydesdales!

Take a tour of our new palatability barn

We are now officially reopened for research since our ribbon cutting on Wednesday, January 15^th.  For the event, we hosted a group of senior management, staff and dignitaries on a tour of our new research facility, which started in our newly renovated palatability barn.  Here are some pictures to give you a “snap shot” of the experience. 

When you walk in the front door, you are greeted with our new lab space which is over twice the size of our previous area.  On the left, we have some Quick Facts about the horse unit.  Did you know we have run over 300 tests on our high speed treadmill?  And we currently feed 570 lbs of Purina horse feed to our own horses on the farm every day? And by the way, we are expecting 10 foals this year, but our first due date is March 1.

This large room also neatly stores and organizes our microscopes, centrifuge, sampling materials, weigh stations, health supplies and more.  We have so much new space, our shelves almost look bare, but we know they will be filled in no time.

Clydesdales Check Up

A few weeks ago Mike Jerina and I traveled to Grant’s Farm to visit some of our favorite customers – the Budweiser Clydesdales.  It’s always great to play with these fabulous animals, as well as check on the new arrivals from Warm Springs Ranch (the Budweiser Clydesdale breeding farm in Boonville, Missouri) and say “good luck and see you later!” to the boys heading to Merrimack, NJ, to start training for their careers on one of the traveling hitches.

This last fall, several of my favorite boys headed to Merrimack, including Austin and Preston.  Hopefully, they will both do great in their training and I’ll get to see them pulling one of the wagons someday.  Altogether, seven horses headed east in the fall, and another four (at least) will be going in the spring. Lester Nisley (head trainer of the Clydesdales) will be very busy getting all of them ready!

Austin, when I first met him as a two year old.  Hope to see him on a hitch!

     

      Axel (far left) and Preston (second from right) are now at Merrimack in training.
Yes, I do kiss a lot of Clydesdales!  How can I help it?? J

As far as nutrition, we make sure that all the horses going into training are transitioned to performance diets prior to the trip to help reduce potential stress from the changing environment.  We also make sure that they are maintaining appropriate body weight and condition to prepare them for the trip to the East coast and the new work program they will be starting.  Once they arrive at Merrimack and get adjusted to their new digs, they will begin Lester’s training program.  It’s a very different lifestyle at the Merrimack facility compared to the leisure they all enjoyed at Grant’s Farm!

Several weanlings (now yearlings) arrived this fall from Warm Springs Ranch to spend the next few years growing and maturing at Grant’s Farm.  The babies are always fun to watch and interact with. They are just like all equine youngsters – playful, inquisitive, and energetic! 

Madonna is telling Blueberry to get out of her picture, and Kelly is just hoping for a carrot!

Our goal for the growing horses is to ensure that each individual’s diet is appropriate to maintain body condition as well as provide essential nutrients for optimal growth.  We want to give each youngster the best opportunity to become a member of the Budweiser Clydesdale team, whether on one of the traveling hitches, or as a broodmare back at Warm Springs Ranch.

If you get a chance to travel to St. Louis in the spring, summer or fall, be sure to visit Grant’s Farm for a tour and you can meet these lovely animals for yourself!

In the shadow of giants….

A few weeks ago, several of my co-workers and I had the opportunity to take part in a behind-the-scenes tour of Grant’s Farm, home of the up and coming and retired Budweiser Clydesdales.  Many thanks to Dr. Katie Young who organized the tour.  Dr. Young and Purina Animal Nutrition Center Equine Research Unit manager, Mike Jerina, are working closely with the managers of the Budweiser Clydesdales to optimize their nutritional programs and to learn more about how to best assess body weight and body condition in these incredible horses.  The supervisor of the Grant’s Farm facility, Amy Trout, and her assistant Michelle Speck, graciously spent over two hours with our group of Purina Animal Nutrition employees teaching us about the management of the Clydesdales, the Budweiser Clydesdale program of assessing and training the future hitch horses and many of the unique aspects of caring for and nurturing the Clydesdales young and old. 

Photo provided by:  Kent Lanter

Rudy is retired from the Budweiser Clydesdale hitch team and enjoying the “life of Riley” being pampered and adored by staff and visitors alike at Grant’s Farm.

Happy New Year, Happy New Barn!

Happy New Year everyone!  You may have noticed that we didn’t have a lot of blog posts directly from the Purina Animal Nutrition Center the second half of 2013, and that is because our palatability barn looked like this: 

Our team was really put to the test in 2013 as they managed horses and research projects despite bulldozers, cranes, jackhammers and all things construction related.  Furthermore, Mike, Andrea, John, Margaret and Tim literally joined the construction crew full force and were hands-on with all kinds of day to day prep, building and finishing work.  We could not have accomplished what we did without their willingness to learn, help and jump in on all kinds of projects from tear down to grass seeding.  I have often said that we have the greatest employees in the world at the research farm, and boy did this year prove it.  So we are very excited that our palatability barn now looks like this:

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Purina!

I love incorporating my animals into holiday cards, and I get asked from time to time how we actually get some of them done, especially the photos of the pony in Christmas lights and eating the snowman’s nose.  Here are my secrets:

Step one- Delegate: Get your poor husband involved and make him do the heavy lifting and construction-

Purina Ambassador Guest Post - Boyd and Silva Martin

Good nutrition is a key factor in performance, and we have been very happy with the Purina products that we have been feeding for the past several years. With two barns full of horses competing in both eventing and dressage, from greenies to world-class horses, as well as few older campaigners on maintenance diets, our horses’ nutritional needs cover a broad spectrum.

For instance, Boyd’s four-star eventer Trading Aces, who competes all over the globe and was the leader of the US team at the 2013 Boekelo CCI4* in the Netherlands, is on a high-energy diet of Omolene 500^® horse feed. Some of the hotter event horses who need plenty of fuel for cross-country but have trouble containing all that energy in the dressage are on Purina Ultium^® Competition Horse Formula.

Purina Ambassador Shawn Flarida Guest Post

Hi Purina fans! My name is Shawn Flarida and I am the National Reining Horse Association’s Leading Rider with $4.9 Million Dollars in earnings. I have been partnered with Purina for several years and it has been one of the best relationships I have had with a company. I spent many years experimenting with different types and brands of feeds before I discovered Purina and their great products. We also have the same outlook on what we do. Both Purina and I want to be the best at what we do and we work hard to make sure that we are providing a great product for our customers.

My training program has everything from yearlings, two year olds, three year old futurity horses, breeding stallions and aged horses in it so I need a company that can provide a wide variety of high quality feeds. Although my facility is focused on show horses, my wife Michele and I own several broodmares and raise four-five babies each year too. Horses need different feeding programs depending upon where they are in the growth cycle as well as the training cycle.

5 Tips for Preparing Your Horse (and Yourself) for Winter

Winter is just around the corner, and it is time to start thinking about how you are going to keep your horse in top health during the season. There are many aspects to your horse management, nutritional and veterinary health programs that should be assessed prior to the onset of cold weather. Here are 5 tips that may help you “winterize” your horse and get your management practices geared up for the weather changes ahead. 

1.  Water, Water, Water. 

Providing a clean, abundant water source in the winter can be a real challenge. But adequate water intake is especially critical in the winter as dry cold air can cause a horse to dehydrate quickly and additional hay intake increases the horse’s need for water. Most instances of impaction colic occur in the winter and the middle of summer because this is when horses are most likely to not consume enough water which compromises gut motility, fiber digestion and the movement of manure through the small colon. Consider adding Purina^® HyrdaSalt^® supplement to your horses’ daily ration to encourage maximum water intake. Be sure your horse always has easy access to water; avoid overflowing your water troughs and creating ice around them; and make sure tank heaters are in good working order and that electrical cords are out of reach of the horses. Some horses have a strong preference for a particular water temperature. Water that is too cold or too warm may make horses back off from drinking. Providing water at the horses’ preferred temperature range will help to encourage drinking.

Purina® Hydration Hay® Blocks Improved Hydration Levels During High-Heat Transport

Since we launched Purina® Hydration Hay® in early 2013, we have had numerous reports of horses benefiting from the combination of quality hay immersed in water for an all-in-one meal. Horses during transport, at horse shows, in the veterinary clinic, during cold snaps and more were staying hydrated and healthy from this innovative product. But with most things at Purina, we love to rely on hard numbers and scientific experiments. We had completed a lot of manufacturing trials and field study work with this product, but wanted to follow it up with a controlled experiment looking at hydration in horses, especially during transport, comparing Hydration Hay® to long-stem hay. I am happy to report, the data are now in! And it’s very “cool”:

• Horses eating Hydration Hay® before, during and after transport averaged a 3.3L higher water intake than horses eating long-stem hay

• Horses in the Hydration Hay® group during the first (higher ambient temperature) haul had lower rectal temperatures during transport

• Horses in the Hydration Hay® group had lower respiratory rates by the end of the trailer ride compared to horses eating long-stem hay

• Horses in the Hydration Hay® group had a trend for lower packed cell volumes during transport

What does this mean? Horses that received Hydration Hay® during transport demonstrated multiple improvements in hydration status compared to horses with access to long-stem hay. Overall, these horses arrived back at the university cooler and less stressed than their hay-eating counterparts.  These are very exciting results with implications for helping horses to remain hydrated and healthy on the road, especially during long trips under high temperatures. 

In conducting the study, we collaborated with a colleague of Dr. Vineyard’s at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Dr. Jackie Wahrmund. We felt the high Texas heat was a perfect place to test Hydration Hay® in action.  Next, we designed a cross-over study looking at feeding Hydration Hay® before, during and after trailering, compared to feeding typical long stem hay. Then we measured many variables related to hydration status before, during and after long transport of approximately 9 hours.  Some of those measurements included body weight, water intake, heart rate, rectal temperature, respiratory rate, blood urea nitrogen, creatine, packed cell volume, skin turgor and capillary refill time.   As predicted, it was hot and humid during our two hauls. The ambient temperature for the first haul was 105º F with a heat index of 109º F!  The second haul a week later was thankfully about 10 degrees cooler.

Visit purinahorsehayblocks.com for a $10-off coupon on Hydration Hay® and get your horse ready to roll for his next trip!

Citations:
H.N. Graham, J.L. Wahrmund, M. E. Gordon, K.R. Vineyard, K.L. Dowdle, and L.L. Walton. Effect of Hydration Hay™ on blood metabolites, vital signs, and bodyweight change of horses transported long distances during summer conditions. American Society of Animal Science Meeting (Southern section).
 H.M. Huff, J.L. Wahrmund, H.N. Graham, M.E. Gordon, K.R. Vineyard, and K.L. Dowdle. Effect of Hydration Hay™ on Water Intake, Blood Urea Nitrogen to Creatinine Ratio and Vital Signs of Horses Transported Long Distances During the Summer.  American Society of Animal Science Meeting (Southern section).

2013 Purina Equine Veterinarian and Vet Technician Conference – Another great meeting!

The 14^th Annual Purina Equine Veterinarian Conference, held at the Double Tree Hotel within the historic Union Station, downtown St. Louis on October 11 – 13 was by all reports, a resounding success.  Consistent with the standard that Purina has set over the years for hosting a high-quality, informative yet fun meeting, this year’s conference was rated highly by over 350 attending veterinarians, vet technicians and vet students.  The group was hosted by over 30 Purina Sales Specialists and the entire Purina Horse Business team.  We all learned a great deal and had a wonderful weekend. 

The meeting kicked off on Friday evening with a joint presentation by Dr. Mike Pownall, DVM and Mr. John A. Chalk, Jr., CPA, JD, CFP who talked to the audience about tools for managing and even building business in today’s tough economy.  The presentations on Saturday and Sunday were focused on equine endocrine and myopathic conditions, topics that were timely and important to the attendees.  Purina was very proud to have Dr.’s Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD, DACVIM  and Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, DACVIM present the latest research findings on conditions including PPID, EMS, PSSM, Shivers and other equine myopathies, along with case-based information and experience to help practitioners with differential diagnostics and treatments.   

Red Maple Toxicity (RMT) – A Fall Danger for Horses

The drought in Missouri has caused an early leaf change in our trees this year at the research center.  As I got into my truck this morning, there were fallen leaves from the huge silver maple that sits next to my driveway stuck in my windshield wipers and it got me to thinking about the dangers dead maple leaves can pose to horses and I decided to write a blog post about it.

Red maple tree just beginning to show its’ fall colors – Photo by K. Williamson

Red maple trees (Acer rubrum) are absolutely gorgeous in the fall when their leaves turn bright flame red, which is one reason why they are among the most popular ornamental trees in the United States.  However, red maples can pose a serious health risk to horses.  The dried or wilted leaves of the red maple contain an unknown oxidant toxin or combination of toxins which cause damage to red blood cells leading to a condition known as acute hemolytic anemia and/or increased formation or abnormal accumulation of methemoglobin (an abnormal form of hemoglobin that is not capable of carrying oxygen).  Horses are more susceptible and commonly affected by RMT than other species.  Red maple toxicity may occur throughout the growing season but cases are more common during the late summer and fall.  The seasonal increase in cases of RMT appears to be due to 2 main factors:  First, the toxic principle(s) in the leaves appear to increase later in the growing season and are especially abundant in the fall.  Second, horses have more access to the toxic leaves during the fall months when the trees are shedding their leaves which may fall or be blown into pastures.  Consumption of as little as 1 gram of red maples leaves per kilogram body weight can result in fatality.  

Mottled Muzzle Puzzle???

As a veterinarian who works for an animal nutrition company, I frequently have the opportunity to interact with customers who have questions about health issues that may be nutritionally related. I frequently hear from horse owners whose horse has developed white spots on their face, usually around the muzzle and/or eyes. The conversation typically goes something like this: “My horse suddenly developed white spots on his muzzle and around his eyes. I read on the internet how this was called vitiligo or leukoderma and is caused by a deficiency of vitamin A (or copper or zinc or iron or vitamin D or….). How could this be since he is on Strategy^® horse feed and excellent pasture, and I know he is getting all the vitamins and minerals he needs? I tried to find more information about this online, but couldn’t find much that was very scientific. When I asked my vet, she told me that it was a cosmetic problem that won’t affect his overall health and that not much is known about what causes it or how to treat it. I’m confused, and don’t know what to believe or what I can do about it. Can you help me?”

The confusion is understandable. There are at least two distinct conditions which result in virtually identical outward clinical appearance: depigmentation (loss of color) of pigmented bare (no hair cover) skin. As a result, there is a great deal of uncertainty about which term should be applied and what the inciting cause of the depigmentation may be. Therefore the terms “leukoderma” and “vitiligo” are often used interchangeably, even though leukoderma and vitiligo are definitely not the same. And misinformation propagated on the Internet further muddies the waters.

Purina ambassador Guest Post – Beezie Madden

Purina has been our choice of feeds through the past two Olympics, numerous World Cup Finals, including one fantastic win and through the development of many top horses. I have been honored to represent Purina® products since 2007 and this relationship has always been about providing the best for the horses. John and I made a decision to feed Purina® products for an entire year before signing a sponsorship deal, to make sure we were happy, our staff was happy and most importantly, our horses were happy. At the end of that test year, we were convinced that Purina offered products, research and service that we could feel confident lending our names to.

We always say that winning is just a byproduct of what we do every day outside of the show ring. We strive to provide the best in care for the horses in everything from shoeing to vet-work to consistent training. Our feed program naturally fits into this. Purina products, especially the Enrich Plus™ ration balancing feed we've been using recently, have offered our horses consistent quality. It is great that our staff can be secure knowing that whether we're at our home farm in Cazenovia, New York, our winter home in Wellington, Florida or at any of the many other shows we frequent throughout a show season, when we pick up a bag of feed for our horses, we know the feed will have the same quality products inside.

Purina Ambassador Laura Kraut – Guest Post

For as long as I can remember the red and white checkerboard has been part of my life. We fed my first pony Purina® horse feed. I’m not sure which type we used, but I remember the checkerboard on the label and the great smell when we opened a new bag.  My pony loved it of course, and I was very proud to feed him grain made by such a famous company. Now, many years later (more than I want to count) my horses are all fed Purina® products. From my pony, “Siamese Kat,” at the barn down the road, to “Cedric” at the games in Beijing and countless international competitions, Purina has been with me every stride along the way. 

My stable in Wisconsin was a test barn for Strategy® horse feed over 20 years ago. I found this to be an interesting process during which my sister and barn manager Mary Elizabeth and I learned a great deal about equine nutrition. We were happy to be part of the team who helped bring the Strategy® formula to market, and now, many years later Purina® Strategy® horse feeds have provided over a billion feedings to horses across the country. We also utilize other grains such as Equine Senior® horse feed, Ultium® Competition Horse Formula, Omolene#100® and Omolene #400® horse feeds and the recent addition of Strategy®Healthy Edge® horse feed. Horses have different nutritional needs depending on their age and level of work, but we have found that these products meet the needs of everyone in the barn. 

Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis continues to be an issue in 2013: are your horses protected?

2012 was a fairly bad year for Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis (EEE) in the US.  209 cases were reported to the USDA-APHIS Veterinary Service.  This was a marked increase compared to the 60 cases reported in 2011, but still not quite as high as the 2 previous years.  (For a breakdown of the historical cases of EEE in the US for the last 10 years please visit:  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahss/equine/ee/2012_eastern_equine_encephalitis_final.pdf ).

As of August 13, there have been 55 reported veterinary cases of EEE in the US.  Florida leads the way with 25 cases, and Georgia is second with 10.  Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas and Maryland are also reporting cases.

Purina Ambassador Brittany Pozzi Guest Post

Hi Purina Readers! My name is Brittany Pozzi and I am a 2x World Champion and 9x NFR qualifier for Victoria, TX. I have been teamed up with Purina for about 7 years now and would not feed any other product. Purina strives to be the best and I want to give the best feed on the market to my horses. Before Purina ever became one of my sponsors I was on the test program for Ultium® Growth Horse Formula and loved it.

My small operation that I started with has grown to a semi large operation with 11 broodmare, 2 studs, 30 horses in barrel training, race horses on the track, and 3 full time rodeo horses. Needless to say that is a lot of horse to feed and take care of and make sure they are always on top of their game and with Purina I can do that. 

Ration Balancers - What are they and how do I use them?

Note: This is an update to a blog originally posted in March 2011. Purina Enrich 12 and Enrich 32, mentioned in the original blog, have been discontinued and replaced by the new and improved version of Enrich 32, Purina Enrich Plus. 

You may have heard the term “ration balancer” before, but do you know what it means and how to use it in a feeding program? Even though I’d been around horses most of my life, I had never heard the term until I was in graduate school. Feeding a ration balancer is a relatively new concept in feeding horses, and it is one of my favorite products in the Purina line because of its versatility of use. A ration balancer is a concentrated feed (usually in pelleted form) designed to be fed at a low feeding rate (~1 – 2 lbs/day) that supplies protein, vitamins, and minerals at the correct level to balance a forage-based forage program. There are several scenarios when you may want to consider feeding a ration balancer, such as Purina Enrich Plus.

The Easy Keeper
Does your horse maintain bodyweight on plenty of good quality forage? Is he currently not in work or only ridden lightly? Then he is the perfect candidate for a ration balancer. Many people think that these types of horses do just fine on forage alone, but this is not necessarily the case. Yes, these horses do not need extra calories from a grain concentrate, but they still need essential amino acids like lysine, vitamins, and minerals like copper and zinc that are not present in adequate amounts in forage. Even though it may look like a horse is “fat and sassy” on forage alone, they could be suffering from a deficiency that would not show itself until the horse becomes stressed (i.e. exposed to a virus, hauled somewhere new, etc.). A ration balancer won’t contribute a significant amount of calories to the horse’s diet because of the low feeding rate, but it will provide the essential nutrients to “balance” a ration based on forage. You can almost think of a ration balancer as a horse’s daily multi-vitamin (+ protein). Many easy keepers are also suffering from metabolic syndrome, and Enrich Plus is low in soluble carbohydrates and appropriate for horses requiring a carbohydrate-restricted diet.

Feeding below the Recommended Feeding Rate
Did you know that feed manufactures have a minimum recommended feeding rate for their feeds? At Purina, we pay close attention to this. We formulate feeds to be fed at rates ranging from 0.3 lbs – 0.9 lbs/100 lbs bodyweight, depending on the specific formula. This information can usually be found as a sentence on the feed tag stating “do not feed less than 0.X lbs per 100 lbs bodyweight per day”. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize this and end up underfeeding their horses. For example, if you are feeding a 1000 lb horse 2 lbs per day of Strategy (this might equate to ~1/2 “scoop” per day, depending on the scoop size), you are most likely not meeting all nutrient requirements, since the recommended feeding rate is 0.3 lbs/100 lbs bodyweight. I see this even more commonly with complete feeds like Equine Senior or Omolene 400. The minimum feeding rates for complete feeds are a bit higher at 0.6 lbs per 100 lbs bodyweight. This means that a 1000 lb horse should be receiving 6 lbs per day. Many horses are fed well below this level. This is where a ration balancer comes in handy. Enrich Plus works really well to “fill in the nutritional gaps” of a diet where a horse is only being fed a small amount of concentrate.

I find that I use a combination of Enrich Plus and Ultium frequently for Warmblood horses in light to moderate work (i.e. low level dressage). Warmbloods tend to be easy keepers, but those that are working do benefit from some of the unique attributes of Ultium. However, if you fed the minimum recommended amount of this calorie-dense feed to an easy-keeper 1500 lb Hanoverian (6 lbs/day), that horse could quickly become obese! In order to be sure all nutrient requirements are met while avoiding unwanted weight gain, this horse could be fed 1 lb Enrich Plus and 2 – 4 lbs Ultium per day. This program can work quite well in many situations and is not just for Warmbloods or limited to Ultium, but for any easy keeper horse with any feed you prefer.

Feeding Straight Grains or other Unfortified Ingredients
Many people like to feed straight oats, barley, beet pulp, alfalfa pellets, etc. These are all great ingredients, but unfortunately they are not nutritionally balanced by themselves. Another great use for a ration balancer is to supplement this type of a feeding program. Basically, the plain ingredients are used as calorie and fiber sources, and the ration balancer is used to “fill in the nutritional gaps” of these ingredients, supplying essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Feeding as a protein supplement
Sometimes, a horse may benefit from additional high-quality protein in the diet. Perhaps he is returning to work after a long lay-up and needs to rebuild muscle. Perhaps he has lost muscle due to an injury or illness, and needs some additional protein in his diet to help him recover. Enrich Plus can be used in this type of situation as well, simply by top-dressing ½ - 1 lb per day over the horse’s regular daily feed.

But isn’t 32% protein TOO MUCH???
This is something that horse owners usually are concerned with if they are not familiar with a ration balancer. To understand why 32% protein is most definitely not too much, you must consider two very important things: 1) the horse’s daily protein requirement, and 2) the recommended feeding rate.

To easily illustrate this, let’s take a hypothetical 1000 lb Quarter Horse in light work. See the table below to see where the dietary protein and lysine would come from:

	Protein (g)	Lysine (g)
1 lb Enrich Plus (32% protein; 2.7% lysine)	145	12
3 lbs Strategy (14% protein; 0.9% lysine)	191	12
12 lbs grass hay (10% protein; 0.4% lysine)	545	22
Horse’s daily requirement	635	25

So, as you can see, the amount of protein contained in the recommended amount of Enrich Plus is actually LESS than the amount of protein in the recommended level of Strategy for this particular horse. You can also see that the majority of the protein requirement would be provided by the forage, but that forage alone does not meet the horse's lysine and protein requirement. Feeding either Enrich Plus or Strategy would meet the horse’s daily protein and lysine requirements, and the decision on which to feed should be based on his body condition and calorie requirements.

There are a variety of uses for a ration balancer, and many times it is the most appropriate choice for your horse. If I had one Purina feed product that I could not live without, it would definitely be Enrich Plus!