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 Jr. Detective
    
Location: Beggs, OK | There have been two horses in NE Oklahoma in the past week become very ill and are coincidentally on the same Nutrena feed, one did not survive. The feed was bought from different stores and the horses were owned by two different people. Please keep an eye on your horses. These horses were colicing and had diarrhea. If you have any concerns that your feed might be the cause of your horse's illness please contact me any time and I will help you through the process to get it reported.
The worst thing you can do is just switch feed or take the feed back to the store. If the feed is not tested and reported then other horses get sick and can possibly die.
Do not depend on feed companies to give you a full story. Nutrena has been specifically omissive with their information when I have asked them direct questions. The FDA does not have set action levels for cattle medications in horse feed so you won't see a recall unless it's voluntary or if there are a number of horses dying and people put their heads together and figure out it's the feed.
Edited by rachellyn80 2015-11-10 1:31 PM
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | so glad I don't feed Nutrena any more. |
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13502
Location: OH. IO | Thank you again for being so informative to us!!!!! Your dedication to this subject really means alot to me and others!!!! |
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 Underestimated Underdog
Posts: 3971
Location: Minnesota | TwistedK - 2015-11-10 8:34 AM
so glad I don't feed Nutrena any more.
I second that! |
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  Witty Enough
Posts: 2954
Location: CTX | jake16 - 2015-11-10 8:36 AM Thank you again for being so informative to us!!!!! Your dedication to this subject really means alot to me and others!!!!
I agree Jake! Pretty sure rachellyn80 saved multiple horses by getting people informed. I know I started investigation everything I fed because of her!! So thank you rachellyn80!
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | TwistedK - 2015-11-10 6:34 AM so glad I don't feed Nutrena any more.
AGREED! |
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Worlds Greatest Laugh
Location: North Dakota | Can I ask how they know that it was "bad" nutrena feed that caused this? For instance, I was just reading an article on The Horse website and it warned about the harmful things that can be contained within a horse's forage. Certain weeds can cause these exact symptoms. Did they have the bags tested? Just wondering how they knew it was the bag of nutrena. |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
Location: Montana | Runnincat - 2015-11-10 8:31 AM Can I ask how they know that it was "bad" nutrena feed that caused this? For instance, I was just reading an article on The Horse website and it warned about the harmful things that can be contained within a horse's forage. Certain weeds can cause these exact symptoms. Did they have the bags tested? Just wondering how they knew it was the bag of nutrena.
I'd like to know this as well...I've fed Nutrena for quite a while and haven't had an issue yet,(knock on wood). I'd also like to know, if it was the feed, what was wrong with it that made the horses sick (mold, contaminents, salmonella, etc.). Thanks much! |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | mtcanchazer - 2015-11-10 9:35 AM
Runnincat - 2015-11-10 8:31 AM Can I ask how they know that it was "bad" nutrena feed that caused this? For instance, I was just reading an article on The Horse website and it warned about the harmful things that can be contained within a horse's forage. Certain weeds can cause these exact symptoms. Did they have the bags tested? Just wondering how they knew it was the bag of nutrena.
I'd like to know this as well...I've fed Nutrena for quite a while and haven't had an issue yet,(knock on wood). I'd also like to know, if it was the feed, what was wrong with it that made the horses sick (mold, contaminents, salmonella, etc.). Thanks much!
Many Nutrena mills are still making the feed in the same mills as the medicated cattle feed. To me, it was not worth any potential risk of getting that 1/100 chance I'd get a bad bag. My horses mean more to me than taking a chance. I had fed Nutrena for 10 years. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | The feed is supposed to be tested, but the horses had almost identical symptoms.
I never thought that I had a feed issue either. We really thought that it was the typical ulcers, sensitive stomach, EPM, bellyache, gas colic kind of stuff. It wouldn't affect all of them at one time, it would get one at a time, so you'd think that the stress of hauling or competition was causing a flare up.
I read every single day about someone on here asking for magic supplements, ulcer treatments, ulcer preventatives, and a laundry list of other issues that can be FIXED nutritionally. Supplements will not fix your feeding program, they are a bandaid to a larger issue and you will continue to pay excess vet bills and move on to buy other supplements that you heard will work better............only to find that your horses still don't look, feel, or perform how you want them to. |
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 Expert
Posts: 5290
| Agreed, I went to a NUTRENA sponsored barrel race this past weekend and asked a lot of questions they were not willing to answer. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1150
Location: LaCygne, KS | Were both horses on alfalfa? These symptons sound similar to blister beetle problems.
Edited by Prehistoric 2015-11-10 9:13 PM
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Worlds Greatest Laugh
Location: North Dakota | rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 10:00 AM The feed is supposed to be tested, but the horses had almost identical symptoms.
I never thought that I had a feed issue either. We really thought that it was the typical ulcers, sensitive stomach, EPM, bellyache, gas colic kind of stuff. It wouldn't affect all of them at one time, it would get one at a time, so you'd think that the stress of hauling or competition was causing a flare up.
I read every single day about someone on here asking for magic supplements, ulcer treatments, ulcer preventatives, and a laundry list of other issues that can be FIXED nutritionally. Supplements will not fix your feeding program, they are a bandaid to a larger issue and you will continue to pay excess vet bills and move on to buy other supplements that you heard will work better............only to find that your horses still don't look, feel, or perform how you want them to.
I agree that supplements will not fix your feed program. Forage is/should be over 90% of a horse's consumption. Nutrena or any other bagged feed is what I call "bucket feed" or what I would hang in a bucket for a snack.
It is my understanding, however, that you do not have conformation on the fact that the bag of nutrena feed caused the death. These deaths could have possibly been caused by something else.
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Runnincat - 2015-11-10 12:36 PM rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 10:00 AM The feed is supposed to be tested, but the horses had almost identical symptoms.
I never thought that I had a feed issue either. We really thought that it was the typical ulcers, sensitive stomach, EPM, bellyache, gas colic kind of stuff. It wouldn't affect all of them at one time, it would get one at a time, so you'd think that the stress of hauling or competition was causing a flare up.
I read every single day about someone on here asking for magic supplements, ulcer treatments, ulcer preventatives, and a laundry list of other issues that can be FIXED nutritionally. Supplements will not fix your feeding program, they are a bandaid to a larger issue and you will continue to pay excess vet bills and move on to buy other supplements that you heard will work better............only to find that your horses still don't look, feel, or perform how you want them to. I agree that supplements will not fix your feed program. Forage is/should be over 90% of a horse's consumption. Nutrena or any other bagged feed is what I call "bucket feed" or what I would hang in a bucket for a snack.
It is my understanding, however, that you do not have conformation on the fact that the bag of nutrena feed caused the death. These deaths could have possibly been caused by something else.
Yes, many things "could have" caused this...but, given the timing, symptoms, and what we know about this company why would you really question it. Now that these issues have been brought to light many horse owners are looking more closely at their feed. While I wish more would follow through with testing suspected feed, they are at least making a change away from feeds that are produced in medicated mills.
How many times have you heard of recurring colics? I know plenty of people who have had horses that were admitted to a veterinary hospital and seemed to have recovered only to come home and have another episode.... |
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Worlds Greatest Laugh
Location: North Dakota | rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 12:48 PM Runnincat - 2015-11-10 12:36 PM rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 10:00 AM The feed is supposed to be tested, but the horses had almost identical symptoms.
I never thought that I had a feed issue either. We really thought that it was the typical ulcers, sensitive stomach, EPM, bellyache, gas colic kind of stuff. It wouldn't affect all of them at one time, it would get one at a time, so you'd think that the stress of hauling or competition was causing a flare up.
I read every single day about someone on here asking for magic supplements, ulcer treatments, ulcer preventatives, and a laundry list of other issues that can be FIXED nutritionally. Supplements will not fix your feeding program, they are a bandaid to a larger issue and you will continue to pay excess vet bills and move on to buy other supplements that you heard will work better............only to find that your horses still don't look, feel, or perform how you want them to. I agree that supplements will not fix your feed program. Forage is/should be over 90% of a horse's consumption. Nutrena or any other bagged feed is what I call "bucket feed" or what I would hang in a bucket for a snack.
It is my understanding, however, that you do not have conformation on the fact that the bag of nutrena feed caused the death. These deaths could have possibly been caused by something else.
How many times have you heard of recurring colics? I know plenty of people who have had horses that were admitted to a veterinary hospital and seemed to have recovered only to come home and have another episode....
Yes, many things "could have" caused this...but, given the timing, symptoms, and what we know about this company why would you really question it.
I would want to question it for a couple of very serious reasons:
If I had a horse die on my property from what appeared to be colic/diarrhea issues I would definitely want to know the cause and not make any assumptions. For instance, it might be something in the forage and I would want to replace those bales and make sure they were not fed to any other innocent animal. This could lead me to addressing further purchases from the supplier, etc. If we put the hay up ourselves, it would help me address any field issues or concerns that would cause a possible poison situation.
If it were a disease situation, it would enable me to provide better management practices and techniques to not endanger the other members of my herd.
If it were a Nutrena feed problem, I would want to get the lot number off the bag and the date of manufacture so that the company could effectively notice/recall feed. Although I'm not sure they could/would do that.
I'm not defending Nutrena feed by any means. I'm just asking if it was conclusive that it was a bad bag of feed and I believe that the answer is "the feed hasnt been tested. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Runnincat - 2015-11-10 1:11 PM
rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 12:48 PM Runnincat - 2015-11-10 12:36 PM rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 10:00 AM The feed is supposed to be tested, but the horses had almost identical symptoms.
I never thought that I had a feed issue either. We really thought that it was the typical ulcers, sensitive stomach, EPM, bellyache, gas colic kind of stuff. It wouldn't affect all of them at one time, it would get one at a time, so you'd think that the stress of hauling or competition was causing a flare up.
I read every single day about someone on here asking for magic supplements, ulcer treatments, ulcer preventatives, and a laundry list of other issues that can be FIXED nutritionally. Supplements will not fix your feeding program, they are a bandaid to a larger issue and you will continue to pay excess vet bills and move on to buy other supplements that you heard will work better............only to find that your horses still don't look, feel, or perform how you want them to. I agree that supplements will not fix your feed program. Forage is/should be over 90% of a horse's consumption. Nutrena or any other bagged feed is what I call "bucket feed" or what I would hang in a bucket for a snack.
It is my understanding, however, that you do not have conformation on the fact that the bag of nutrena feed caused the death. These deaths could have possibly been caused by something else.
How many times have you heard of recurring colics? I know plenty of people who have had horses that were admitted to a veterinary hospital and seemed to have recovered only to come home and have another episode....I would want to question it for a couple of very serious reasons: If I had a horse die on my property from what appeared to be colic/diarrhea issues I would definitely want to know the cause and not make any assumptions. For instance, it might be something in the forage and I would want to replace those bales and make sure they were not fed to any other innocent animal. This could lead me to addressing further purchases from the supplier, etc. If we put the hay up ourselves, it would help me address any field issues or concerns that would cause a possible poison situation. If it were a disease situation, it would enable me to provide better management practices and techniques to not endanger the other members of my herd. If it were a Nutrena feed problem, I would want to get the lot number off the bag and the date of manufacture so that the company could effectively notice/recall feed. Although I'm not sure they could/would do that. I'm not defending Nutrena feed by any means. I'm just asking if it was conclusive that it was a bad bag of feed and I believe that the answer is "the feed hasnt been tested.
If the feed company is known to produce feed in mills that are not safe, why would you support them and take a chance of feeding it? Would you put your family at risk of unsafe food just because you haven't personally been affected? There are plenty of feed companies out there that are safe and that is who I will support. |
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 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25351
Location: Bastrop, Texas | Years ago I used to feed Nutrena, and it seemed OK at first, then I went for a stretch where I opened up bags and found obvious mold. At first I just returned the bag and got another, but after a few times, and different stores I stopped. Molds (aflatoxins) can be deadly. I stopped buying Nutrena. |
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Expert
Posts: 1694
Location: Willows, CA | This is the gift that keeps on giving from changes in the feed industry in general. As someone who has been in that business for a long time, I can tell you that things have changed in the last fifteen years or so. Least cost formulation is much more common now, as is the practice of making horse products and medicated cattle products at the same plant. In the past, most premium horse feeds were made only on non-medicated production lines, and were fixed formulated. If your feed has a sewn on tag that lists the ingredients it is most likely "least cost formulated" and different every time you buy it. If it is fixed formulated, the ingredients will be printed on the bag, not on a tag. A fixed formulated product is made the same every time. Variations in ingredients used and the quality of those ingredients used to be found only in low end, low priced feeds. this is just not the case anymore. Whether or not you have an opinion about GMO ingredients, that is another change that was not present years ago. I firmly believe that a forage based diet with supplementation held to an amount that fits the horses digestive system better, results in better health, less risk, and a better overall result. |
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Worlds Greatest Laugh
Location: North Dakota | TwistedK - 2015-11-10 1:12 PM Runnincat - 2015-11-10 1:11 PM rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 12:48 PM Runnincat - 2015-11-10 12:36 PM rachellyn80 - 2015-11-10 10:00 AM The feed is supposed to be tested, but the horses had almost identical symptoms.
I never thought that I had a feed issue either. We really thought that it was the typical ulcers, sensitive stomach, EPM, bellyache, gas colic kind of stuff. It wouldn't affect all of them at one time, it would get one at a time, so you'd think that the stress of hauling or competition was causing a flare up.
I read every single day about someone on here asking for magic supplements, ulcer treatments, ulcer preventatives, and a laundry list of other issues that can be FIXED nutritionally. Supplements will not fix your feeding program, they are a bandaid to a larger issue and you will continue to pay excess vet bills and move on to buy other supplements that you heard will work better............only to find that your horses still don't look, feel, or perform how you want them to. I agree that supplements will not fix your feed program. Forage is/should be over 90% of a horse's consumption. Nutrena or any other bagged feed is what I call "bucket feed" or what I would hang in a bucket for a snack.
It is my understanding, however, that you do not have conformation on the fact that the bag of nutrena feed caused the death. These deaths could have possibly been caused by something else.
How many times have you heard of recurring colics? I know plenty of people who have had horses that were admitted to a veterinary hospital and seemed to have recovered only to come home and have another episode....I would want to question it for a couple of very serious reasons: If I had a horse die on my property from what appeared to be colic/diarrhea issues I would definitely want to know the cause and not make any assumptions. For instance, it might be something in the forage and I would want to replace those bales and make sure they were not fed to any other innocent animal. This could lead me to addressing further purchases from the supplier, etc. If we put the hay up ourselves, it would help me address any field issues or concerns that would cause a possible poison situation. If it were a disease situation, it would enable me to provide better management practices and techniques to not endanger the other members of my herd. If it were a Nutrena feed problem, I would want to get the lot number off the bag and the date of manufacture so that the company could effectively notice/recall feed. Although I'm not sure they could/would do that. I'm not defending Nutrena feed by any means. I'm just asking if it was conclusive that it was a bad bag of feed and I believe that the answer is "the feed hasnt been tested. If the feed company is known to produce feed in mills that are not safe, why would you support them and take a chance of feeding it? Would you put your family at risk of unsafe food just because you haven't personally been affected? There are plenty of feed companies out there that are safe and that is who I will support.
I just wanted to know if the bag of Nutrena was tested. Thank you for answering my question.
Edited by Runnincat 2015-11-10 1:48 PM
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Rather than quote again I will say that I agree with the premise of what you are saying. No the feed test results have not come back yet... I can edit my original post if you would like to be more open minded that this is not "definitely" the feed, but the point of this post was more about raising awareness so that if someone happens to have a horse get sick and they are feeding Nutrena they'll possibly think back to seeing this post and know how to deal with it.
I would have LOVED to have had this much information available back in January of this year when I was dealing with a nightmare that will not seem to end. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2013
Location: Piedmont, OK | Glad I recently switched everything over recently to Renew Gold. I was feeding Nutrena ProForce. That is scary. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | My horses have been grain free for almost a year now. They couldn't be happier or healthier. I had fed Nutrena for years. Switched to Purina, then went back to Nutrena.
I'd rather them eat what is most natural to them. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I'm so glad that I have a BlueBonnet dealer close to me once again, I love BlueBonnet feeds and been feeding it for over 20 years and never no problems,  |
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 Lived to tell about it and will never do it again
Posts: 5408
| We used to feed Nutrena and I liked it but it got way too expensive. You would think for the price that they charge they could make it in it's own bin. Our horses have been grain free for about 6 years now and look better then ever. |
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 Saint Stacey
| We actually have a Cargill plant where I live. Cargill makes Nutrena. I went to the plant and visited with the people that work there. My plant makes both horse feed and medicated cattle feed. Here is what I learned:
1) They only use ionophores in bulk feed, not bagged feed.
A) Like this should make a horse owner feel safe?!? If you as a horse owner don't find a problem with this....maybe you shouldn't have horses. Just a suggestion.
2) They run something like 20 tons of chicken feed after the ionophore feed before they run horse feed. The chicken feed cleans the equipment.
A) Again...like this is suppose to make me feel safe? They had just told me they only run ionophores in bulk. So why are they now telling me they run chicken feed to clean out unless the same equipment is used?!?
3) They have a HCAPP plan in place.
A) If you ask to see that HCAPP plan, you get a deer in the headlight look and crickets start chirping. Apparently they HAVE one...but no one seems to have any idea what it actually says. Yep...I'm feeling really great about this company now!!
When I called the Nutrena 800 number, pretty much the same song and dance. From my own personal experience, I don't hold much faith in Nutrena to keep my horses safe. Draw your own conclusions from this. Just be aware, if your Nutrena label says STRL on it...you might want to keep my story in mind.
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 More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | I fed Nutrena up until last winter when my hog of a horse suddenly got picky about eating his feed, then I noticed a new bag had a different look to the feed, then another bag had a large amount of mold in it.....I called Nutrena and gave them my batch numbers. I asked them lots of questions about ionophores in their mill in which they lied to me. I quit feeding Nutrena. I hate liars. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | jake16 - 2015-11-10 8:36 AM
Thank you again for being so informative to us!!!!! Your dedication to this subject really means alot to me and others!!!!
Jake you took the words right out of my mouth. She can never put too much info out there on this topic. . . . |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I tried Nutrena last winter when I decided to quit ADM after their contamination ordeal. Even switching slowly, one horse didn't want to eat it, another one ate it but started getting frequent mild tummy aches immediately after, the others seemed fine. I kept 2 on it and switched 3 to another program. After 3 months of that, I took everything off Nutrena because there was such an obvious difference in my horses. |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | SKM - 2015-11-10 7:28 PM We actually have a Cargill plant where I live. Cargill makes Nutrena. I went to the plant and visited with the people that work there. My plant makes both horse feed and medicated cattle feed. Here is what I learned: 1) They only use ionophores in bulk feed, not bagged feed. A) Like this should make a horse owner feel safe?!? If you as a horse owner don't find a problem with this....maybe you shouldn't have horses. Just a suggestion. 2) They run something like 20 tons of chicken feed after the ionophore feed before they run horse feed. The chicken feed cleans the equipment. A) Again...like this is suppose to make me feel safe? They had just told me they only run ionophores in bulk. So why are they now telling me they run chicken feed to clean out unless the same equipment is used?!? 3) They have a HCAPP plan in place. A) If you ask to see that HCAPP plan, you get a deer in the headlight look and crickets start chirping. Apparently they HAVE one...but no one seems to have any idea what it actually says. Yep...I'm feeling really great about this company now!! When I called the Nutrena 800 number, pretty much the same song and dance. From my own personal experience, I don't hold much faith in Nutrena to keep my horses safe. Draw your own conclusions from this. Just be aware, if your Nutrena label says STRL on it...you might want to keep my story in mind. Do you meean HACCP plan, or are you referring to something else
They should all know the HACCP plan, but if you asked specifically about an "HCAPP" plan they might have misunderstood, as I'm not sure what this would mean either. Though I'm venturing to guess they should have been able to put 2 and 2 together to realize what you were referring to.
Edited by barrelracr131 2015-11-11 8:03 AM
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Location: Central Florida | I was feeding the Proforce Fuel and switched about two months ago. Both my horses suddenly completely stopped eating it. I took that as a sign |
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Worlds Greatest Laugh
Location: North Dakota | Can someone inform me what the process is if the bags of feed ARE contaminated? |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Runnincat - 2015-11-11 10:22 AM Can someone inform me what the process is if the bags of feed ARE contaminated?
Obviously take all of your horses off of that feed and increase their forage until you can find a suitable replacement source of nutrition.
First, do you have bags of feed that are still sealed?
If so, contact your states Dept of Agriculture and notify them that you have feed that you suspect is contaminated or send them your own feed test results showing them that it has tested positive. They will send an inspector to sample your unopened bags of feed and open an investigation at the mill.
Next, go to the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm388610.htm
There is a link to their Safety Reporting Portal where you'll enter all of your information so that they are notified of the issue.
Persistence is the key to getting things done. Many of these cases are settled privately without any sort of notification to the public. Unless it's an extreme case the FDA will not force a recall and many animals get sick and some die because the contamination is not public knowledge. The feed mill will just write a check to settle it quietly and go on about their business. |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | Until you know what is going on with suspected feed, don't let the feed company take all of your evidence. I do know someone that this happened to. Without her evidence, she didn't have a leg to stand on. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Exactly. It's best to do your own investigation. There are plenty of people along the way that will try to blow it off or convince you that it isn't a big deal. Gather your evidence and document everything. Take lots of pictures and keep all of your feed bags, tags, and receipts. |
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 Hugs to You
Posts: 7549
Location: In The Land of Cotton | Nevertooold - 2015-11-11 1:10 PM Until you know what is going on with suspected feed, don't let the feed company take all of your evidence. I do know someone that this happened to. Without her evidence, she didn't have a leg to stand on.
Want to know something sad? Because I had 42 bags left - the feed company I purchased mine from came and got it. And then restocked it...................................... |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 490
| I switched from Nutrena to Bluebonnet about a month ago. Every bag of Perform I was getting had a different smell and color. I purchased from several different places, nothing was consistent. My retired mare started acting funny. Not herself. Ive owned her for 13 years. I KNOW this mare. Then another coliced and I said ENOUGH. Its not a coincidence. I immediately took them all off it. Finally found a BB dealer. Its an hour and a half drive one way to get feed but for my sanity and the health of my horses, its worth it. The mare that coliced hasnt done it since. The mare that was acting funny has went back to meeting me at her stall to eat. Less spooky, less cranky and acts like herself again. Coincidence? I honestly dont think so. Between BB and chaffHay my horses are looking and feeling great. |
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Saint Stacey
| barrelracr131 - 2015-11-11 7:01 AM
SKM - 2015-11-10 7:28 PM We actually have a Cargill plant where I live. Cargill makes Nutrena. I went to the plant and visited with the people that work there. My plant makes both horse feed and medicated cattle feed. Here is what I learned: 1) They only use ionophores in bulk feed, not bagged feed. A) Like this should make a horse owner feel safe?!? If you as a horse owner don't find a problem with this....maybe you shouldn't have horses. Just a suggestion. 2) They run something like 20 tons of chicken feed after the ionophore feed before they run horse feed. The chicken feed cleans the equipment. A) Again...like this is suppose to make me feel safe? They had just told me they only run ionophores in bulk. So why are they now telling me they run chicken feed to clean out unless the same equipment is used?!? 3) They have a HCAPP plan in place. A) If you ask to see that HCAPP plan, you get a deer in the headlight look and crickets start chirping. Apparently they HAVE one...but no one seems to have any idea what it actually says. Yep...I'm feeling really great about this company now!! When I called the Nutrena 800 number, pretty much the same song and dance. From my own personal experience, I don't hold much faith in Nutrena to keep my horses safe. Draw your own conclusions from this. Just be aware, if your Nutrena label says STRL on it...you might want to keep my story in mind. Do you meean HACCP plan, or are you referring to something else
They should all know the HACCP plan, but if you asked specifically about an "HCAPP" plan they might have misunderstood, as I'm not sure what this would mean either. Though I'm venturing to guess they should have been able to put 2 and 2 together to realize what you were referring to.
Sorry. Transposed letters and yes, they knew what it was since they were the ones bragging about having the program in place. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | 3canstorun - 2015-11-11 12:17 PM Nevertooold - 2015-11-11 1:10 PM Until you know what is going on with suspected feed, don't let the feed company take all of your evidence. I do know someone that this happened to. Without her evidence, she didn't have a leg to stand on. Want to know something sad? Because I had 42 bags left - the feed company I purchased mine from came and got it. And then restocked it......................................
Seems to be common practice... No recall, they just do what they want. Anytime there's a positive test there's a possibility that there was a lot more in other areas of that load. Which means that a negative test isn't always accurate either, there will be areas of accumulation that are referred to as "hot spots" and some areas won't have any at all. |
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Hugs to You
Posts: 7549
Location: In The Land of Cotton | rachellyn80 - 2015-11-11 2:15 PM 3canstorun - 2015-11-11 12:17 PM Nevertooold - 2015-11-11 1:10 PM Until you know what is going on with suspected feed, don't let the feed company take all of your evidence. I do know someone that this happened to. Without her evidence, she didn't have a leg to stand on. Want to know something sad? Because I had 42 bags left - the feed company I purchased mine from came and got it. And then restocked it......................................
I am sure I did hit a "hot" spot with mine. They all had the same lot number. The farm in AL had the same lot number, they were not so lucky as I was. I wonder how many bags were produced with that same lot number? They would not tell me. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | I think I had the same thing happen with a load of feed full of rocks. Took it to the warehouse and I think they rewrapped them and resold. I can't prove that, why I am not giving any more detail. Perhaps I am wrong. I don't think I was believed about it, or they didn't care.
Edited by Tdove 2015-11-11 1:57 PM
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 Veteran
Posts: 189
| Ugh... what feed companies are safe to use nowdays? |
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11490
Location: 31 lengths farms | winwillows - 2015-11-11 11:24 AM
This is the gift that keeps on giving from changes in the feed industry in general. As someone who has been in that business for a long time, I can tell you that things have changed in the last fifteen years or so. Least cost formulation is much more common now, as is the practice of making horse products and medicated cattle products at the same plant. In the past, most premium horse feeds were made only on non-medicated production lines, and were fixed formulated. If your feed has a sewn on tag that lists the ingredients it is most likely "least cost formulated" and different every time you buy it. If it is fixed formulated, the ingredients will be printed on the bag, not on a tag. A fixed formulated product is made the same every time. Variations in ingredients used and the quality of those ingredients used to be found only in low end, low priced feeds. this is just not the case anymore. Whether or not you have an opinion about GMO ingredients, that is another change that was not present years ago. I firmly believe that a forage based diet with supplementation held to an amount that fits the horses digestive system better, results in better health, less risk, and a better overall result.
Wow, really good info on the tag attachment alone!!! Note to self.
Edited by run n rate 2015-11-11 6:28 PM
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Lived to tell about it and will never do it again
Posts: 5408
| Our local Co-op mixes a lot of feed. A few years ago several people had horses die that were getting their feed from them. One family was smart enough to keep some feed and had the vet send it off for testing. They ended up with at least two dead after lots of vet bills. They did get a settlement after a long court battle. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| Neutrina has been likethat a long time right after safe choice came out i starting buying it for my good mare ater about 6 months she stopped eating this feed, i then found out they did not have a fixed formula. I changed fedd never looked back.
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Expert
Posts: 3147
| RunfastNTurn - 2015-11-11 2:53 PM
Ugh... what feed companies are safe to use nowdays?
Blue Bonnet is a monensin/ionophore free mill. I'm lucky in that I live ten miles from The mill in Ardmore, Ok. |
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Saint Stacey
| RunfastNTurn - 2015-11-11 1:53 PM
Ugh... what feed companies are safe to use nowdays?
If you have Facebook, go to the page Is My Horse Feed Safe?. There is a list of ionophore free companies. You do need to watch Purina though. When that list was made, Purina appeared to be safe. Some mills aren't though as Purina sort of glossed over some stuff. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | BMW - 2015-11-11 8:26 PM RunfastNTurn - 2015-11-11 2:53 PM Ugh... what feed companies are safe to use nowdays? Blue Bonnet is a monensin/ionophore free mill. I'm lucky in that I live ten miles from The mill in Ardmore, Ok.
BlueBonnet is about the safest out there, I have been using BlueBonnet for many years and the owner of the feed store feeds it to his horses and race horses and hes got some humm dinger of horses. I really like BlueBonnet.. |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | SKM - 2015-11-13 6:55 PM
RunfastNTurn - 2015-11-11 1:53 PM
Ugh... what feed companies are safe to use nowdays?
If you have Facebook, go to the page Is My Horse Feed Safe?. There is a list of ionophore free companies. You do need to watch Purina though. When that list was made, Purina appeared to be safe. Some mills aren't though as Purina sort of glossed over some stuff.
Please tell me more about "glossing over".
Edited by Chandler's Mom 2015-11-13 10:23 PM
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | SKM - 2015-11-11 12:49 PM barrelracr131 - 2015-11-11 7:01 AM SKM - 2015-11-10 7:28 PM We actually have a Cargill plant where I live. Cargill makes Nutrena. I went to the plant and visited with the people that work there. My plant makes both horse feed and medicated cattle feed. Here is what I learned: 1) They only use ionophores in bulk feed, not bagged feed. A) Like this should make a horse owner feel safe?!? If you as a horse owner don't find a problem with this....maybe you shouldn't have horses. Just a suggestion. 2) They run something like 20 tons of chicken feed after the ionophore feed before they run horse feed. The chicken feed cleans the equipment. A) Again...like this is suppose to make me feel safe? They had just told me they only run ionophores in bulk. So why are they now telling me they run chicken feed to clean out unless the same equipment is used?!? 3) They have a HCAPP plan in place. A) If you ask to see that HCAPP plan, you get a deer in the headlight look and crickets start chirping. Apparently they HAVE one...but no one seems to have any idea what it actually says. Yep...I'm feeling really great about this company now!! When I called the Nutrena 800 number, pretty much the same song and dance. From my own personal experience, I don't hold much faith in Nutrena to keep my horses safe. Draw your own conclusions from this. Just be aware, if your Nutrena label says STRL on it...you might want to keep my story in mind. Do you meean HACCP plan, or are you referring to something else
They should all know the HACCP plan, but if you asked specifically about an "HCAPP" plan they might have misunderstood, as I'm not sure what this would mean either. Though I'm venturing to guess they should have been able to put 2 and 2 together to realize what you were referring to. Sorry. Transposed letters and yes, they knew what it was since they were the ones bragging about having the program in place.
Thanks for clarifying |
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Saint Stacey
| Chandler's Mom - 2015-11-13 9:22 PM
SKM - 2015-11-13 6:55 PM
RunfastNTurn - 2015-11-11 1:53 PM
Ugh... what feed companies are safe to use nowdays?
If you have Facebook, go to the page Is My Horse Feed Safe?. There is a list of ionophore free companies. You do need to watch Purina though. When that list was made, Purina appeared to be safe. Some mills aren't though as Purina sort of glossed over some stuff.
Please tell me more about "glossing over".
They claimed to not use the same mills for horse and cattle feed so their horse feed was ionophore free. BUT they do have a few mills that do both. They are sequestered so Purina claims it's no big deal. I just know I wasn't happy with the way our horses were looking on Omalene 200 so I started mixing my own feed of oats, barley, timothy pellets, beet pulp shreds, flax, stabilized rice bran, trace minerals and Muscle Mass. I verified the individual items came from ionophore free facilities. I'm 3 weeks in and I'm havingto cut back because everyone is getting fat. I ddidn't increase the amount of grain I was feeding, just the type. I went with the timothy pellets because my main forage is alfalfa with some grass. If my forage was grass, I would have used alfalfa pellets. |
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