Pelleted feeds, possibly having to change?

Well this is really upsetting to me, and I'm pretty irritated so try and be a little helpful.

I have four horses, I did have three until two days ago. Well. I've been feeding Nutrena Safe Choice, but now that we grew one stinking more horse my dad is trying to make me change feeds to a cheaper feed. I keep telling him that he can't just change feeds. The last time he went and bought feed he bought some sweet feed crap and my mare wouldn't eat it, which upset me because she is also feeding her colt. He didn't even tell me he had changed it, and he did with a snap of a finger. Doesn't listen to me that he can't just change the feed. So now he is saying that we will just change it slowly. Which still makes me mad, this feed is the kind I want because it is good for all my horses.


So, I have called a dozen places trying to see which has it cheaper. He then keeps saying we might have to change it. Saying that he knows someone that gets a 55 gallon drum with 10% sweet feed for 35 dollars. I do no want to go back to sweet feed. My one old mare would probably do good on it. Though I have a mare that is nursing, a growing four month old colt, and a yearling that is about to start going into some a lot of training. Sweet feed just wouldn't cut it with those three.


I come here to ask what pellet feeds you would suggest other than Nutrena Safe Choice. I'll change the brand, but not the pellets and what the offer to my horses.

Pelleted feeds ARE less expensive to feed. You do not feed them pound for pound as you do a texturized feed. Pellets break down and are easily digested by the body. A whole grain is likely to pass through and no nutrition will be absorbed.

All pelleted feeds are not created equal. You have to research what your horses need. Keep in mind that price does reflect quality.

I love SafeChoice and the new SafeChoice Perform.

I know price reflects quality, that's why I'm kinda mad that my dad even wants to go to a cheaper feed. If there was every a day I was extremely motivated to get a job, today would be that day. My parents pay for everything horse wise, so I hardly have a say so. Though their feed is one thing I don't want to change.

You can tell your dad that when one or all of the horses colic, because in the abrupt change in feed, that whatever savings he thinks he's done will go towards the vet bills!

Actually the pelleted feed I'm feeding (Carb Guard by Blue Choice) is MORE expensive than their textured feed. And all high quality pellets I fed never were cheap. The cheapest feed in my area is textured one. But personally I prefer pelleted over texture (because I soak it before I feed).

Sweet feed is less expensive than pellets in a sense. Though SafeChoice is built for all ages. Which is why I would like to stay on but if not something similar.

I was told that Dumor EquiStages is compariable to Nutrena SafeChoice and Puriena Stragety. Its three dollars cheaper than what I pay for SafeChoice. Anyone ever heard of it or use it?

I don't like pellets as a rule - best for them to have something they can chew - but it does depend. Just because a feed is textured doesn't mean it's sweet junk. I don't like that Nutrena doesn't use fixed ingredients, but use whatever is cheapest and fits the nutritional requirements. While it's advertised as a 'controlled starch' formula, that doesn't equate to it being low starch either, at around 17-20%. I don't think it's a great feed. That said, it is reasonably priced & you're right that a cheaper alternative is likely to be cheaper in quality too.

I'd do a bit of research into nutrition & feeding horses healthily & present that to your dad. FeedXL.com is a great program where you can work out the specific requirements for your different horses & also find options of different products that will fit their bill. I'd also be inclined to respond to the comment about a 55gal drum for $x that you can also feed people cheaply on Maccas or other crap, but it doesn't mean that it's good for them.... & false economy when they get sick from an unhealthy diet.

The calories per pound isn't much different in most sweet feeds and Safe Choice. It depends on the feed and what's in it. My old barn had a "sweet feed" that, instead of molasses, had soy oil as the "sweet" part, the rest was oats, a bit of cracked corn (yuck) and vitamins and minerals added. My gelding did very well on this feed, he was on 3lbs, twice a day, and I added 1/2 lb of Empower to keep a nice bloom on him when his former lessee was doing recognized dressage shows and hunter shows. Dressage and hunters like fat horses :)

My mare, however, did not do well on this feed. It made her hot, very hot! For a while she was on a handful twice a day to not feel bad, along with her supplements (SmartFlex Senior, and Quiessence, luckily both in pellets so I did not have to mix in). After a while I gave her 1lb of Gro n Win instead, although she often left it in her feeder.

Currently, my horses are at two separate barns, my childhood trainer is borrowing my gelding and he gets Safe Choice right now, but they are switching over to Strategy, he gets about 2lbs twice a day of the Safe Choice, but is also on grass pasture most of the day, with freechoice grass hay all night (at the last barn they were fed alfalfa hay 1 flake am, 2 flakes grass hay at turnout, and 1-2 flakes alfalfa at turn-in, so he is DEFINITELY getting a lot more forage right now!). The pony just glows with good health :)

My mare is at another barn, where she gets about 1.5lbs of Strategy twice a day, and pretty much unlimited grass hay, with some alfalfa as a treat at night feeding. She is also glowing with good health, although I am thinking of adding something like BOSS to get more of a shine on her coat, I am just not sure she'll eat it.

I like the pellets because they are easier to measure out because they weight almost exactly the same with the same volume every time, where sweet feeds you can tend to feed the same amount (say 3 cups) and one time it can be 1 lb and another time 2, or what have you. Also, I'm not sure if it gets very cold where you are, but some sweet/textured feeds are a pain in the cold! A few years ago I went to scoop out of a new bag of XTN that was in my trunk and the entire thing was solid as a rock, I had to chisel pieces off it!

The Dumor feeds are okay-ish. We feed our goats a feed mady by Dumore, and they are happy and healthy. We feed Nutrena Life Design Prime to our horses.

One option you might think about, since your dad wants to move to a less expensive feed (that he can buy in bulk, apparently) is to check around to the different feed mills in your area and see what they can offer. Sometimes you can get them to make you a special blend, or modify their own blend for you. However, I do wonder if your dad knows that just one 55 drum of feed probably won't get him the bulk price he thinks it will...

Do you have this in black and white that I can take to my area rep?