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Common Sense and then some
    
Location: So. California | LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A particular brand of horse feed that may have been sold in San Diego Countywas recalled Sunday, following the death of three horses and sickening of dozens of others.
The feed contains ionophore, a feed additive that is fed to cattle to make them gain weight. Ionophore is toxic to horses, and there is no antidote.
One particular batch of Western Blend horse feed, sold in 50 pound sacks across California and Arizona, is blamed for the death of three horses and
injury to horses at a riding school and stable near Fresno, the ABC station there reported.
Western Milling recalled its Western Blend feed, bearing lot number 5251. The company said it contains monensin, an ionophore.
According to the FDA, clinical signs of ionophore poisoning in horses vary depending on how much it ate. Symptoms can include poor appetite, diarrhea, weakness, rapid heart rate, labored breathing, colic and sudden death.
The first clinical signs are often noted from 12 to 72 hours after ingesting a toxic dose and the clinical signs may linger up to about eight days. Permanent cardiac damage is possible in horses which showed adverse effects, but then recovered.
The feed subject to this recall was distributed in the last few weeks to stores in California and Arizona. Of the 1,100 bags mixed with the hazardous additive, all but 67 bags have already been tracked down and taken back by the company, Western Milling said in its recall notice.
http://www.cbs8.com/story/30126487/horse-feed-recalled-after-three-horses-die |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | Anniemae - 2015-09-29 1:16 PM
 LOS ANGELES (CNS ) - A particular brand of horse feed that may have been sold in San Diego Countywas recalled Sunday, following the death of three horses and sickening of dozens of others.   The feed contains ionophore, a feed additive that is fed to cattle to make them gain weight. Ionophore is toxic to horses, and there is no antidote.   One particular batch of Western Blend horse feed, sold in 50 pound sacks across California and Arizona, is blamed for the death of three horses and injury to horses at a riding school and stable near Fresno, the ABC station there reported.   Western Milling recalled its Western Blend feed, bearing lot number 5251. The company said it contains monensin, an ionophore.   According to the FDA, clinical signs of ionophore poisoning in horses vary depending on how much it ate. Symptoms can include poor appetite, diarrhea, weakness, rapid heart rate, labored breathing, colic and sudden death.   The first clinical signs are often noted from 12 to 72 hours after ingesting a toxic dose and the clinical signs may linger up to about eight days. Permanent cardiac damage is possible in horses which showed adverse effects, but then recovered.   The feed subject to this recall was distributed in the last few weeks to stores in California and Arizona. Of the 1,100 bags mixed with the hazardous additive, all but 67 bags have already been tracked down and taken back by the company, Western Milling said in its recall notice. http://www.cbs8.com/story/30126487/horse-feed-recalled-after-three-horses-die
Glad to see a company finally taking responsibility for this. |
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 Expert
Posts: 5290
| And this my friends, is why I have not fed any commercial feeds for quite some time.
Edited by FLITASTIC 2015-09-29 2:19 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 669
Location: Central Texas | FLITASTIC - 2015-09-29 2:16 PM
And this my friends, is why I have not fed any commercial feeds for quite some time.
I was just thinking the same thing! Glad I switched to oats. |
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Expert
Posts: 5290
| ampratt - 2015-09-29 12:21 PM
FLITASTIC - 2015-09-29 2:16 PM
And this my friends, is why I have not fed any commercial feeds for quite some time.
I was just thinking the same thing! Glad I switched to oats.
And that feed recall is right in my back yard! |
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 Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Accountability goes a long way with consumers. A company that won't even acknowledge publicly that they've made a mistake because they don't want to suffer financially should not be supported by our industry. The company that produced the feed that we had test bad has not once admitted to anyone except us that there was a problem. I have horses that have had to be rehabilitated for months and ultimately have NO value now....They continue to produce the same feed.
We are coming into October which marks the beginning of the big months of medicated feed production and an increased risk of drug carryover. If you choose to financially support mills that are putting horses and ultimately people at risk, be my guest...but I never will again. |
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 Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | This is terrifying. I will never buy one single bag of processed feed again either. Not one. |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas |  |
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 Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| I just switched everyone over to whole oats and renew gold. I feel much better doing so! I was feeding the purina active sr but the bags wouldn't stay consistent and finding whole corn pieces through out the bags was a huge turn off as well. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 669
Location: Central Texas | FLITASTIC - 2015-09-29 2:31 PM
ampratt - 2015-09-29 12:21 PM
FLITASTIC - 2015-09-29 2:16 PM
And this my friends, is why I have not fed any commercial feeds for quite some time.
I was just thinking the same thing! Glad I switched to oats.
And that feed recall is right in my back yard!
EEKS! To scary! |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | How do you know your whole grains aren't contaminated? I have heard that some mills run oats through thier mill to clean them out after producing medicated cattle feed, how do you know you are not getting those oats? Just asking because we all want whats best for our horses, but how do you really know? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 669
Location: Central Texas | Barnmom - 2015-09-30 12:00 AM
How do you know your whole grains aren't contaminated? I have heard that some mills run oats through thier mill to clean them out after producing medicated cattle feed, how do you know you are not getting those oats?  Just asking because we all want whats best for our horses, but how do you really know?Â
I would ask the company/feed store where a person gets their oats where they get theirs, how they are processed etc and find out. |
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Expert
Posts: 1694
Location: Willows, CA | ampratt - 2015-09-30 7:22 AM
Barnmom - 2015-09-30 12:00 AM
How do you know your whole grains aren't contaminated? I have heard that some mills run oats through thier mill to clean them out after producing medicated cattle feed, how do you know you are not getting those oats?  Just asking because we all want whats best for our horses, but how do you really know?Â
I would ask the company/feed store where a person gets their oats where they get theirs, how they are processed etc and find out.
This is a separate issue from processed feed in general. I would rather use oats than any least cost formulated processed feed. But, I would also not use oats that had been bagged at any mill that also does medicated feed. There is a lot of junk made for the horse market, and as shown above, clearly some is not safe. But, not all "processed feed" is full of synthetic ingredients, and not all "whole grains" are bagged in a safe mill. You need to know who you are dealing with, and that whatever you feed is bagged in a plant that has no medication on their site. |
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 Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | Barnmom - 2015-09-30 12:00 AM How do you know your whole grains aren't contaminated? I have heard that some mills run oats through thier mill to clean them out after producing medicated cattle feed, how do you know you are not getting those oats? Just asking because we all want whats best for our horses, but how do you really know?
Each mill has different processes. I have not heard of using oats to clean out. Typically it is corn chops.
And yes whole grains, especially corn can come in toxic. They can also come in to an ionophore free facility but the molasses they bring in, is likely from a liquid feed company who uses much higher concentrates of meds and ionophores than your local mill is even allowed to handle. So cross over contamination is possible, even on oil based blends that are not molasses.
And to answer your question, no, you dont really know. So you have to do your best to find a company you can trust.
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Is the corn that is used to clean out the system marked as such? Would that not be an issue for the deer industry as well??? |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | rachellyn80 - 2015-09-30 10:49 AM Is the corn that is used to clean out the system marked as such? Would that not be an issue for the deer industry as well???
I would think so. My boss has a high fence ranch and we sent his deer feed off to be tested just to be sure. All came back within normal ranges and no traces of the ionophores.
As for whole grains, yes, this can be an issue if they are bagged or go through a processor that has been used to mix cattle feeds. |
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Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | rachellyn80 - 2015-09-30 10:49 AM Is the corn that is used to clean out the system marked as such? Would that not be an issue for the deer industry as well???
I see a lot of corn bagged/labeled as DEER CORN, yes. But I doubt the ionophores are an issue for the deer guys since deer are ruminants like cattle?
I do know of some big ranches that buy ionophore feed to kill hogs. |
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Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| Now I'm a bit concerned. ... the oats I bought from my feed store is just bagged in a white feed sack.. no labels or tags. They are whole oats and look really clean. Are the oats from tsc considered safe? |
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Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | want2chase3 - 2015-09-30 11:24 AM Now I'm a bit concerned. ... the oats I bought from my feed store is just bagged in a white feed sack.. no labels or tags. They are whole oats and look really clean. Are the oats from tsc considered safe?
I think it is state law that feed be labeled or tagged, isnt it? It depends on where they sourced the oats. Most likely you are fine but I would research. |
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Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | What about the hunters that use corn in their feeders?
The feed milling industry as a whole needs an overhaul. Taking risks with the lives and health of animals....and the income of the people that keep them in business is at the very least unethical, immoral, and completely wrong on all accounts. It should be criminal. If you can stand by and keep your mouth shut about what you know is going on in a facility then you are just as guilty, no matter what you may tell yourself.
We are conditioned by advertisements and trends to think that commercially mixed feeds and supplements are necessary if we want to compete with the best....NOT true. |
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