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Purina vs Nutrena

77K views 100 replies 43 participants last post by  Corporal 
#1 ·
I was using Triple Crown products but my supplier has gone out of business. I started using a gentlemen down the road (ADM is his product) and I'm not liking it very much. Boothe feeds has gone out of business so that leaves tractor supply. I called them and they cary nutrena, purina, and dumar I think. Leaning towards Nutrena.

Thoughts/suggestions please?
 
#2 ·
I will keep an eye on this post. I have 2 feed stores and a tractor supply by me. One feed place USE to sell Nutrena and stopped, and the other one was always Purina ONLY. Tractor supply is the only place left for me to buy Nutrena Safechoice. I love it, but i dont have anything negative to say about Purina products. I even had my local feed store do some research about what would be purina's equivalent so i could stop going from 1 place to another for hay vs. feed.
 
#4 ·
I've always used purina. As a teen, the show barn where I worked used all purina products for show horses, lesson horse's, foals and mares, stallions, and senior horses.
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#5 ·
We have fed Nutrena with excellent results and customer service for nearly 20 years.

We did feed Purina at one time. At one point they changed the formulation and the horses stopped eating it. We contacted a rep and were basically told 'deal with it'. No more purina for our farm.
 
#7 ·
I hate to admit it but I don't understand the %'s and what not. My oldest horse Pistol, who was also my first horse grew up on whatever was cheapest. Man I miss that old silver horse at $4.95 per bag! As he got older we started to have issues with his digestive system so I had him on Purina's equine senior and he just does not thrive on that. He was doing really, really well on the Triple Crowne Senior and right now he seems to be doing ok on the Nutrena senior feed.

For my other horses (all easy keepers) I'm just looking for something that will maintain the health. It looks like 12% is the lowest I can go on protein and generally speaking I'd be around 14% for most products. I'm not against using Purina products for the younger ones (who range between 5 and 17).

What should I look for in fat content?
 
#9 ·
I hate to admit it but I don't understand the %'s and what not. My oldest horse Pistol, who was also my first horse grew up on whatever was cheapest. Man I miss that old silver horse at $4.95 per bag! As he got older we started to have issues with his digestive system so I had him on Purina's equine senior and he just does not thrive on that. He was doing really, really well on the Triple Crowne Senior and right now he seems to be doing ok on the Nutrena senior feed.

For my other horses (all easy keepers) I'm just looking for something that will maintain the health. It looks like 12% is the lowest I can go on protein and generally speaking I'd be around 14% for most products. I'm not against using Purina products for the younger ones (who range between 5 and 17).

What should I look for in fat content?
What does your other feed look like, percentages wise? I would try and match that as closely as possble.

However, if they are all easy keepers on good grass and good hay, I would look at Nutrena Empower Balance...its a ration balancer, so you have to feed, for a normal size horse, between one and two pounds a day and its comparable to between 6 and 7 pounds of any other feed. It is VERY low in fat, but thats why it is designed for easy keepers. Its not usually carried in store in any TSC, but if you buy in bulk (its 27 dollars a bag for a 50# bag, but obviously feeding only 1 pound a day per horse it would last awhile) they might be willing to get it for you.

As far as percentages......basically its a percentage of the recommended amount of nutrients based on your horses level of activity. I just went through this with PeggySue trying to figure out if I was deficient in protien for my gelding. As it turns out I'm not, but he's super deficient in fat, so I'm getting him a fat supplement. She can give you some links if you PM her for some equations and tables and stuff, if you want to do the math for your horses.
 
#12 ·
We use Purina Strategy on our OTTB and are very happy with it.

The TB farm we used to board at also used Purina Strategy for their TBs.

Everyone liked it.
 
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#13 ·
All my horses are fed Nutrena. My show horse is on Safechoice, and my two 27 year old mares, and 24 year old gelding on Senior. They all have fabulous, gleaming coats, excellent weight (especially the 27 yo Thoroughbred!!!!), and good hooves. I see no reason to change.

I know someone, very personally, who is a well known person for horses, who feeds Strategy. Her horses have weak hooves, and their coats are dull and lifeless. She has tried several products and supplements to try and get some shine to them. Nothing has worked. I honestly feel its the feed. She has about six or seven horses now, and they all have the same dull coat.
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#14 ·
I'm leaning towards the safechoice or the competetitive formula... not sure which though....
 
#15 ·
I used to be an equine specialist for Purina Mills and am surprised that your friend (@DejaVu) is having trouble with Strategy. In my experience horses tend to have healthier skin, coat, and hooves when on Strategy. Something I have experienced however is that a product may not perform as well if it is not appropriate for the horse and/or if it is not fed correctly but I cannot attest to your friend as I don't know the situation. Some horses that are only eating a minimal amount of Strategy (easy keepers) do better on Strategy Healthy Edge as it is lower in calorie but higher in fat...so those on a lower feed rate get the healthy skin & coat without the extra calories.
 
#16 ·
Blue Seal! :D Both TSC in my area carry it.

I personally don't like Purina much except one specific type (have to check the name), which was VERY costly (like $25/bag). It has corn in it and looks very sticky. Dumor is also not on my list (although I really like their treats).
 
#17 ·
I agree with DejaVu about Purina products. I liken them to McDonalds for horses, junk food that tastes good. Nutrena products are a bit better and have less sugars.

We have a 30 yo QH mare who looked awful, skinny and a bad coat. She was being fed huge amounts of Senior along with alfalfa hay/bermuda grass hay and supplements. She was slowly going down hill. We swithed to Nutrena and she improved somewhat then I met a holistic vet who suggested feeding the mare timothy pellets. Here in AZ they are called Mountain Sunrise. We slowly switched the mare to the timothy pellets and grass hay. Her hair is slick and glossy. She looks and acts years younger now.

CSU had done studies on the processed feeds. Google them, they're real eye openers.
 
#25 ·
I am not sure why you believe Nutrena products have overall less sugars then Purina, but I can assure you Purina products do more then just "taste good". I used to be an equine specialist for them so I know first hand the large amount of research that goes into every product put out into the market place. Whereas, a lot of other companies tend to get products out quickly that market to a consumer demand (like low starch) or tag copy a popular product without the appropriate amount of research on the product. Some Purina products take several years from inception to manufacturing/distribution. I don't know of any other company then Purina that has actually published research abstracts in veterinary publications proving what the products have been found to do.
For example, when coming out with a low starch product...Purina did not just make a product that would tag out to be low in starch. They tested the performance of the product (Wellsolve) on horses to determine what the actual effect would be on the blood glucose and insulin levels of the horses that are consuming the diets to ensure the best outcome.
With that type of investment and proof, you can only imagine that quality ingredients, manufacturing and safety also play a huge role in making these products. It wouldn't make sense for them to make such a big investment in research and quality to turn out a "junk food" type product.

Thanks for reading and let me know if I can answer any questions for you.
 
#19 ·
I personally have looked at ingredients and percentages and my pick would be Sentinel as far as overall quality though the only one carried around here is the Senior and mine don't need senior. But it seems like it is outstanding quality for not a horrible price.

However I feed Nutrena and I've had outstanding results and I am very happy with it. We feed Safechoice and Prime. The only issue I have with these big companies is that the ingredient list seems to change by region. My area the Nutrena is really good on ingredients but my friend lives in MI and hers is not so great.

Pat
 
#20 ·
if feeding purina i like the ultium (higher fat for hard keepers) but if your horse is not a hard keeper it would probably be too much.

be aware that i GREATLY DISLIKE nutrena safechoice. i market it as a low starch feed but it actually has 28% NSC in it! not good at all for cushing/insuling resistant horses.

i love triple crown.and am currently feeding my easy keeper the LITE.

i am more familiar with their products.
 
#21 ·
I have used many different brands. I use a locally mixed feed product now. It really depends on what you are doing and what type of horse you have (young verses old for instance) on what you need. Growing horses and hard working horses are going to need more energy and protein. Freeloader bums may do ok if they get most of their nutrition from pasture. Very old horses have to have readily digestible feed (thus the equine senior products). There is no one feed that is right for all horses.
Two things that I am very particular about.

1. Be sure that the feed is labeled for horses. If it is intended for cattle, it could contain additives that are toxic to horses.

2. Make sure that the feed is fresh and has no mold. Mold can be toxic to horses.

I highly recommend that you have a relationship with a local equine veterinarian that can assess your individual horse's needs and help you design a feeding plan. Another advantage to having a "well visit" from your equine veterinarian is that when you have a 3:00 am emergency, he/she will be more willing to come to your place.
If no veterinarian is available, maybe there is another horse expert around.

THIS may give you some guidelines.
 
#22 ·
Rumensin can cause heart failure and sudden death in horses. It is a cattle feed additive. That is why you have to be sure and not use cattle feed. There was an incidence of a name brand manufacturer accidentally putting this in some horse feed and it caused several deaths of horses and some injuries to riders that were on the horses.

Here is one article on it.
 
#24 ·
This is a great point! One thing I know about Purina is that for many years now they have made a commitment to make horse feeds at ionofore (i.e. rumensin/bovatec) free plants so that there is NEVER a concern about cross contamination. Any product containing these harmful medications must be made in ionofore specific plants. Only 20 -25% of their plants nationwide are allowed to make horse feeds. This was a big monetary commitment on their part, but it is the safest thing to do for the horses.
 
#28 ·
Holly if the purina feeds are so great why are all the tags "products" instead of actual ingredients and why is it that Purina has to be forced into recalls when needed instead of doing them BEFORE the FDA or anybody else steps in

and why is it that when you look at the Livestock testing done Purina always has MORE citations then any other company
 
#33 ·
Honestly, most of the Purina products that have come out in the last few years (Ultium, Wellsolve) do list the ingredients so I think the company is trending in that direction because it is becoming more important to the consumer. The main reason for the vagueness on the tag is to limit tag copy by other companies. I cut and pasted an official response from one of Purina's Phd's:
"I have also been asked why Purina chooses to use collective terms (groupings) when listing ingredients in the feed tags rather than listing specific ingredients by name. The answer to this question is also the answer to the question of why the Purina horse feed tags list only the minimum required nutrients in the guaranteed analysis and nothing more. Land O’Lakes Purina Feed is the only feed company in the United States that maintains their own herd of horses and conducts equine nutrition research to develop and test their horse feeds before those feeds are ever sold to a customer. For example, when Purina develops a premium feed such as Strategy or Ultium, years of research first determine what the nutrient concentrations in the feed should be to support the desired performance in the horse. This information is then used to formulate a test feed, which is then fed to the research horses and the desired performance measurements are collected. If the feed does not perform as projected, the formula is changed, and the process starts again. When the results of these feeding trials are acceptable, the feed is then test-marketed in various areas in the country to ensure that the feed performs as intended in a larger variety of horses and in real life feeding situations. The entire process takes years to complete. When a company puts so much time, effort and resources into developing the best horse feeds they possibly can, they are not likely to put more information than necessary on their tags to share with their competitors. I tell horse owners that Purina does not share the results of their proprietary research with their competitors, but they do share it with their customers because they put that research in every bag of premium horse feed that they manufacture."

Likewise, I do think the trend is going to be towards more information in the future because consumers are demanding it. So keep asking, that is how change happens!!!

As for recalls - The policy now is to be as transparent as possible and post all recalls on their websites. My experience with Purina is that they usually tend to err on the precautionary side.

I am not sure about the citations you are talking about, can you direct me to a website?

 
#29 ·
Holly do you happen to know the IRON levels in the Wellslove products? I know several people with IR horses that had it tested and it was higher then it should have been for the type of product it is marketed to be
 
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