b'NUTRITION TheHorse.com/NutritionSARAH EVERS CONRADFrom Field to Feed BagLearn how your horses dinner arrives nutritionally balancedand quality-control testedorses have long enjoyed the addition H of concentrates and complete feeds to their forage rations. We take regu-lar trips to the feed store to pick up these productspackaged neatly in brightly colored, sweet-smelling bagsor, perhaps, we have the feed supplier deliver them to the farm. But have you ever wondered how your horses feed is made and what LEFT: MAUREEN BLANEY FLIETNER; RIGHT: PAM MACKENZIEquality controls are in place to ensure hes consuming a safe product? In this article,two independent nutritionists who have worked with a variety of feed manufactur-ers will share what theyve learned. Horse feed manufacturers range from small local mills to large ones that can produce hundreds of tons of feed per day. At some mills people produce the feed by hand, while at others mechanized equip-ment controlled by the latest technology does the job. And its not just the largest Ingredients go through rigorous quality-control and processing steps before ending up in your feed mills that are most advanced. Clairhorses feed.Thunes, PhD, owner of Summit Equine Nutrition, in Sacramento, California,Officials (AAFCO) outlining feed labelfrom one batch of raw ingredients to recalls a small mill she visited thatrecommendations, such as what appearsthe next, rather than fixed-ingredient was completely computerized, while aon ingredient labels and the Guaranteedformulation, in which ingredients always larger feed manufacturer still relied onAnalysis of nutrients. The individualstay the same, regardless of price. Fixed-manpower for its bagging line. Neitherstate departments of agriculture enforceingredient formulation provides continu-method is better than the other becausethese guidelines through legislation, andity of ingredients, whereas the least-cost every mill must abide by the same regula- state officials must inspect each state- formulation reduces ingredient costs tions and quality assurance practices. licensed mill. Some mills might also havewhile providing continuity of nutrition, Our feed, just like our food, is safera federal license and get inspected byeven if the feed company decides to swap than it used to be, says James Lattimer,either the Food and Drug Administra- out ingredients based on availability and MS, PhD, assistant professor of equinetion (FDA) or the state acting as a federalprice. This formulation is not ideal for nutrition at Kansas State University, inrepresentative.horses with food sensitivities, she says. Manhattan. We continually come outSome states allow what we call collec- In states that dont allow collective feed with new processes that allow us to usetive feed terms, on labels, says Thunes.terms, manufacturers must list every in-new ingredients to increase the perfor- You can say things like plant proteingredient on the label. This allows custom-mance and digestibility and improveproduct, and that could be one of moreers to know exactly what their horse is intakes. than 20 different things. AAFCO definesconsuming. The downside is these feeds what a plant protein product can be. might be more expensive, says Thunes.Rules and Regulations Thunes adds that manufacturers thatIf ingredients include a medication or Lattimer says the equine feed industryuse collective feed terms are likely usingthe manufacturer makes certain claims follows annual guidelines published byleast-cost formulation, in which feedsabout a product, the FDA gets involved in the American Association of Feed Controlmust have the same nutritional makeupits approval and regulation.March 2018 THE HORSETheHorse.com43'