Rice Bran vs. Oil

I feed all of mine Safe Choice. I have a MFT that is prone to colic. Had collicked 4 times in one year and it was bad. I switched his whole feeding regimen and he hasn't collicked since. It's been 8 months. I also fed this to my QH/Arab who was a hard keeper. He finally sustained his weight on the Safechoice. The only one I am currently having problems with on this feed (STILL NOT CONVINCED IT'S THE FOOD) is my TWH. She is pretty hyped up, but has been since the day I got her. It also helped my OLD QH ranch horse gain weight after losing many of his teeth. It's a pretty good feed for an overall feed. Then you can add whatever you need for each horse if this is doable.

I'm so glad you were able to find the ingredients on the Safe Choice bag, as I have been accused of lying about finding a complete list! HHMMMM, looks like they do print their ingredients on the tag! I was also told this was not a good food as it had too high of NSC's....hhmmmmm!

What does this mean? I didn't see this on the tag...23% for what.

Just out of curiosity, what are the ingredients of the enrich32...now that I have found a list for safe choice, I can compare, and maybe become educated as to why one is better than the other.

Ahearn, I have noticed that a lot of people are using safe choice. My vet, who is an actual horse owner, is quite fond of it, and recommends it.

I was talking to a friend about feeding habits the other day, and discovered what I think is half of my problem...there are a couple of types of feeders.. the religiously routined and exact type, and the less consistent type. I discovered that I was the latter. Not that I forget meals or anything, but rather than carefully measuring exact poundage and sticking with a feed choice long enough to see what effects it has, I get nervous when I don't see weight gain, so change feed types a lot (without giving time to see change the first feed might have been causing), or change multiple types at once thinking I have gone all wrong with my formula and must reformulate for the magic combo. Then, when my horses get the weight on, I stop graining...what an idiot I am... my horses must really hate me sometimes!

I just had this revelation, and though I should know better (having all of the background knowledge to know this is bad practice), I apparently lack common sense. The only reason I think my practices didn't have bigger impact in the past was because my horses were not nearly as active as they are now, so they were more resilient.

Well, I have made a resolution...I have marked weights and volumes on all of my feeders, I have made a feed chart for each horse, and I have developed a daily routine for prepping that. I will stick with it, I will, I will...though I will be slowly changing from the all breed as I have now paid closer attention to what is in it. I really enjoy prepping their grain.

NSC is the amount of sugars and starches in a feed the lower that number the "safer" the feed....

If ou are feeding 5 lbs of 23% you are feeding 1.15lbs of sugars and starches per feeding ... this is only slightly below

Purina does not list actual ingredients on their webpage although you can see the analysis there.... Nature’s Essentials® Enrich™ 32 Supplement

A horse is digestive systems is designed to eat ROUGHAGE/FORAGE products ... therefore the less concentrates we have to give them the better off they are ...

Some people like to argue... and I am not argueing with the uneducated or uninformed ... I will answer any and ALL QUESTIONS I will not argue with those who don' t wanna know

AKPaintlover...that's EXACTLY what I was doing too! I truly had to make marks on my scoop for each horse. (Now, I need another scoop because it became so messy with all the horses I boarded because of Hurricane IKE. Should have done it in that wax pen...would've made it easier!

My farrier also says my horses hooves never looked so good! Their mane, tail and everything just shines.

Good luck! :)

Peggy Sue, please be careful when you are calling people uneducated and uninformed as we all want what's best for our animals. That was uncalled for.

Hmm I don't see ME pointing fingers just stating a fact ... some poeple are afraid of knowledge it intimatdates them and make s them defensive ...


I fyou ar ehaving luck with Safe choice good for you but you are one of the FEW!! I deal with nutrition information DAILY with more then here as you well know. The knowledge is out there and some don't like what they hear or see... which is the fact that when better options are avaiable, not speaking of you AK, there are more COST EFFECTIVE and healthier ways to feed ...

Do the math ahern and see for yourself :)

On a fixed formula feed you shoul dbe able to weigh each bag and it be the same ... I know with the locally milled feed here there was as much as 1/4lbs difference between bags!! With my gro N Win and my Horsego I have seen no difference unless I get to the "dust" (for lack of better word) that tends to be heavier then the pellets...

Hey guys, please remember to keep it friendly.

As horsepeople, we are more "uninformed" than we are "informed" when it comes to a lot of things, even things we believe we may be well versed in.

Everyone please respect other's viewpoints and opinions

I think the store bought mixed feeds are great, once you find the one that works best for your horse.

It would be great to be able to put together the perfect mixture specifically rationed for each individual horse, but that's just not realistic for most people. It's great that some people have that option.

I switched one of my horses to equine senior years ago when my vet made the suggestion and I've been told on many occasions that it's not the best but it works for him. He's doing great since I switched him... I don't see any reason to take a risk in changing his feed.

I think horse feed is kind of like dog food. Some types are better then others but they all get the job done to some extent... Some people choose not to feed grain at all... I actually like the purina products myself and I know alot of people argue against it...but... I've had good results...

Sorry, everyone, but this thread got out of hand and had to be closed. The posts warranting its closing have been removed.