We are messing with feed again. We are now feeding Triple Crown Naturals.
When I got back from Nationals [Show Tweets], I noticed that Milton had become NQR while I was away. He was super itchy, his skin felt every so slight inflamed, and one of his bumps had sprouted a bump. Something was wrong in his world.
Mathilda used to be picky about where we bought her food. She was on Purina Omolene 100. This is a huge company that sells feed all over the country. A bag is a bag is a bag, no? No.
In the summer, we could buy from either feed store. In the winter, we could buy it from T-store. If we bought it from C-store, Mathilda refused to eat it. No one at either store would confirm a difference, but she was adamant, so we humored her.
In her defense, a) the bag tags were different and b) my feed researcher tells me that Purina gives a nutrition guarantee but not an ingredient guarantee.
Now is right about the time of year that Mathilda would hold her food protest. Could that be it? At the driving clinic [Weekend], Greg overheard anecdotal discussion of soy allergies. Why not give that a try. We ordered a bag, due in 4 days. Meanwhile, we bought a new bag of Purina Omolene 100 from the Mathilda-approved location. Bingo.
From
Purina Omolene 100 from C-store
To
Purina Omolene 100 from T-store
=
Immediate, noticeable improvement in Milton.
Since it was on order, we went ahead with the switch to Triple Crown Naturals. Perhaps even the “approved” Purina Omolene 100 still had small amounts of whatever-the-hell. We could always go back. We switched Rodney over also. He’s been fine with whatever we feed him, once we got him off the hi-test [Square One]. However, if Milton will react badly to a feed, I don’t want it in the field where he can steal bites of it.
They have been on the new feed for two weeks now. No one is worse. Not itchy. Not crazy. We think we see positive trends in body and brain for both of them, but we are as prone to wishful thinking as anyone else. They are ridiculously shiny, but probably from the oils and additives that get chucked into expensive feeds. They are working well, but that could be from unrelated factors. Correlation is not causation.
From
Purina Omolene 100 from T-store
To
Triple Crown Naturals
=
Less clear. At least equal, possibly better, in both.
We are going to stay with the new feed for a while.
I am not happy about the non-GMO designation. There is way too much food alarmism in the world today. However, it’s the way we found to test the soy-free theory.
Nor am I advocating food allergies as a source of all problems. Purina is a great feed. We’ve used it for years. However, we appear to have been gifted with two of the world’s most sensitive equine stomachs.
One other nice thing about Purina is that everyone sells it. You can always find a bag. I was not looking forward to using a feed that would be hard to find.
On that bit of subtle foreshadowing, I leave you until tomorrow.
Feed Posts
Milton has been sensitive to feed before. The switch to Purina Omolene 100 had been working. Soy sensitivity was mentioned. There was an interlude of alfalfa cubes somewhere in here. I was never behind the experiment, so I don’t think I reported it.
Meanwhile Back at the Ranch: Feed
Feed Bag Comparison
Clean Cups!
& for your amusement
The Mysterious Secret To Opening Feed Bags
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 