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Progressive Nutrition vs Purina

3K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Abzeez 
#1 ·
Anyone use Progressive Nutrition feeds? I recently took in s 25 year old walker who's healthy overall, just in need of some groceries. I am on my 3rd bag of Purina Senior Active, and am just not impressed. Looking at switching to Progressive Senior. Just wondering if people have had good results with it.
 
#3 ·
I know by me Purina delivers by tractor-trailer that says Cargill on the back roll-up door....
I think it is the same company, just a different class of feeds...
Same as Triple Crown is made by Southern States...same company, different labeling and some differences in recipe, ingredients and names...
That said...
I read what you are looking to feed and am not impressed by numbers...
7 -8 pounds of feed fed along with 10 -15 pounds of hay for a idle horse...weighing 900 - 1100 pounds is a lot of feed fed imo!
I also fed Purina Senior {original formula} and did not like my results nor did my guy maintain in their feed...
Continue reading....:wink:

If the horse is healthy and able to chew and eat well you may not need to feed "senior" feed actually.
You need to feed a energy dense feed so you are ingesting as many calories as possible in the smallest amount of food fed... hope that made sense.


I found Purina Senior in any of the varieties have lower numbers in fat content...
Since fat is cool calories this is where the safest addition in hard feed calories comes from...
Are you feeding more than adequate good quality hay?
If the horse weighs 1000 pounds between 15 - 20 pounds a day in hay? {rule of thumb is 1.5 - 2% minimum hay fed, more fed to gain weight}
Is the horse able to eat, chew and digest that hay or it is quidded, balled up and spit out?
Most of a horses calories are hopefully attained by their forage eaten daily....
If forage in proper amounts is not doing the trick then you add in the feed fed according to guidelines established by the feed manufacturer....

So, being you are in Purina products already....
I actually feed Purina Ultium to my older horse who needs "extra" calories along with his hay to maintain his weight. I like Ultium as it is high in the fat nugget Amplify content which is safer to feed for gain/maintain of weight than many other things fed.
I don't need higher protein levels, I need higher fat and choose higher fiber amounts.
It is also a "fixed" formula so ingredients are the same bag to bag.
I soak and make a wet mash with this feed. Hot or cold it mushes easily....
My horse eats 3 pounds total a day fed in 2 equal amount meals.
He is not "hot", nor anything other than a horse requiring more calories than most feeds fed at larger amounts can give.
Now my easy keepers also are fed this feed but they get 1/2 pound of it and 1/2 pound of alfalfa pellets or hay stretcher pellets if I can find them...they keep good weight looking at the bag and don't need much in calories.:icon_rolleyes:

So, no I have not fed the Progressive brands.
I know my Purina dealer has this brand come in on the same truck as Purina feeds {saw deliveries}.
Not sure if you are feeding enough nor watching a long enough period of time...3 bags fed is how long {?} and remember that a horse needs to fill in what is missing inside their guts and repair depleted amounts inside long before the outsides show any improvement.
Take pictures, do string measurements so gradual changes are noted on paper not by eye...

Good luck.
:runninghorse2:...
 
#4 ·
I just saw your reply, now! Thanks for your input. He is currently getting 6 lbs a day split into 2 feedings. I am making the switch over to Progressive this week. I like the ingredients in the feed more than those in Purina, and logistically Progressive is easier for me to acquire. On top of the 6 lbs of grain he gets a pound of Manna Pro Max-E-Glo and Devils Claw supplement. I will also be adding Tri Amino in hopes of building his top line. He also gets free choice grass hay - I will be looking at some alfalfa this week in hopes to add that, especially with winter fast approaching. He also tends to waste a lot of hay - I do feed out of a net. I talked with the Progressive nutritionist as well about my feed plan.

His teeth were floated in the spring, although I have noticed some quidding here and there, so I'll have the vet out again here soon. He does not have any problems with grain at this time.

I will continue to weight tape him and take pictures. Unfortunately he is starting to get his winter coat in and it's going to be hard to tell soon if it's winter woolies or weight gain. It's not a great time to try and get weight on an old guy, but I'm going to give it my best effort.
 
#5 ·
Unfortunately he is starting to get his winter coat in and it's going to be hard to tell soon if it's winter woolies or weight gain. It's not a great time to try and get weight on an old guy, but I'm going to give it my best effort.
Use your hands to feel for ribs under the woolies. I have found that with my older horses, if I would keep a sheet or blanket on them to keep them from burning up their calories to stay warm, I had no problem keeping and even putting weight on. Like Horselovin' I used Ultium and Omolene 400 because it's a complete feed, so if they had trouble chewing hay, they could chew it and still get the nutrition they needed. Seniors don't just have trouble chewing, they have less efficient absorption of the nutrients in their feed and they frequently have trouble thermoregulating and tend to stay on the cooler side. I know that by just giving them sheets & blankets and shelter, I was able to keep them in really good weight.
 
#7 ·
I will keep a hand feel on his ribs for sure, I was just saying for documentation purposes it will be hard to keep up on his progress through pictures. I'll weight tape him through winter as well.

The Progressive Senior is also a complete feed, which I do believe he may be reaching that point in his life where hay just isn't being absorbed the way it once was.

Yes we talked about my feed plan @greentree and the Topline supplement through Progressive that she suggested is much more expensive. The Brand of supplements I am using really aren't priced that bad.
 
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