Purina's New Feed

[Marty]

Exactly what Lisa said.

Thanks for sharring this info SnS!

Have a great day all!

 

[chandab]

I think alot depends on your actual horses. Most feed companies have a very wrong idea that all minis and ponies are very easy keepers and that is simply not the truth. I have a 38 inch mini who eats about as much as my 29 inch minis and I have a 36 inch mini who eats more then my 45 inch pony. They are all different and all you can do is trial and error until you find what works best and often it is not one feed that will work best for all your horses

Isn't that the truth... which I didn't find out or have to deal with til recently. I now have 11 minis; and up til fairly recently most were on the same feed program and it worked for everyone; well now, I have a couple with issues and they require more feed, a couple fatties require less, a couple broodmares need more this year than previously, a senior stallion needed adjustments, and the rest are doing well on the same diet. I know this past season's hay is partially to blame; we have lots of it, but its not the quality that we've had in the past (lots of rain, so it grew fast and furious, which affects the quality). So, this winter I'm having to tweak my feed program more than I ever have before. We are getting it all sorted out.

 

[mistyrose]

I wasn't real pleased to see this show up in my barn. My horses have done extremely well on the Platform feed. I know it has gotten bad press here but my horses have done very well. The first ingredient on the Purina Mini horse and Pony was Processed grain by products, Roughage products, forage products, soybean oil and on.. To me that means the type of grains doesn't have to consistent. The Platform feed listed Wheat middlings, ground soybean hulls, wheat flour, cane molasses, rice bran, ground oat hulls and on.. The Purina also lacks the vitamin D

I am waiting for Monday to talk with my feed store manager but I certainly hope the Platform will still be available or we will be changing to a non mini feed.

 

[~Lisa~]

I thought the Platform feed was actually made by Purina? If so I would guess the feeds will be pretty identical just going under different names?

 

[RhineStone]

My horses have done extremely well on the Platform feed. I know it has gotten bad press here but my horses have done very well.

I was glad to see this posted. Our horses have also done very well on the Platform, and I can't figure out what the "gripe" is. We moved them from a sweet feed to the Platform a couple of years ago, and we have had wonderful results. We have a mare that used to colic at the drop of a hat (about once a month) and since we changed over to the Platform, I think she has coliced maybe twice tops, and they were pretty mild (probably due to sand moving through the system after a psyllium treatment).

We are considering changing over to Strategy for the minis, too, for simplicity's sake because that is what we feed the big horses, but since Dolly does so well on Platform, I am skeptical to "fix something that isn't broken". Any thoughts? What is the difference in the formulas? More starch? More fat? We sure don't need any more starch on already insulin-resistant mini horses.

 

[chandab]

We are considering changing over to Strategy for the minis, too, for simplicity's sake because that is what we feed the big horses, but since Dolly does so well on Platform, I am skeptical to "fix something that isn't broken". Any thoughts? What is the difference in the formulas? More starch? More fat? We sure don't need any more starch on already insulin-resistant mini horses.

While I don't feed either of these feeds, I have tried to change feeds to simplify things in my feed room, and it hasn't gone well; everytime I do try somebody has a problem with the new program. So, I'm a firm believer in "if it ain't broke don't try to fix it". As long as your minis are going through a bag of the mini feed fast enough to keep it fresh, personally, I'd just stick with what's working.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Trying to find the answer if Platform is made by Purina and so far I have found that it looks like Farnam does not carry anymore of the Platform feeds except for the mini/pony feed. I couldn't get to their platformfeed.com site anymore.

Ok found the answer. Farnam and Purina teamed up to make the Platform feeds.

http://www.theracingjournal.com/products/article.php?article_id=491

Also I wanted to add concerning the problem I had with the Platform feed was that I had a horse go anemic on it. Very low energy and very bad hair coat. Also I was having to feed more of it. Once I switched feeds I haven't had that problem again with the horse. The first year it came out I was very happy with it, I don't know if they changed the formula or what the following year then I switched. It was also pretty expensive. I also switched from Purina after having so many colics last year once the formula was changed in their Omolene. Now I feed a Kent feed that has a locked formula.

I don't think their is a perfect feed out there you just got to find the one your like and stick with it unless their is a reason to change it. Hopefully the Purina feed will go very well, but hopefully Purina may sponser the registeries like Farnam has done for several years now.

 

[mistyrose]

The Old Platform and new Purins feeds are not identical. There is no Vitamin D in The new feed. As to how else they might be different, I don't know since Purine does not list any more what grain, forage or roughage products that they use. They just list that they use something.

I have sent them an email to tell them I won't use their feed unless they list what is in it. I think for the price it should be listed. Also we are very careful when we change feeds. I don't know with the new feed if or when their formulas are changed.

 

[~Lisa~]

I will say I was surprised when asking for the percentage of sugar and starch in the different Purina feeds and have found that even the higher calorie feed is not that much higher then their other feeds.

 

[Flaxenacres]

I have talked to a Purina sales rep. and they do make platform and it is the same feed but will be in a purina bag.

 

[ohmt]

The purina products I buy all have exact ingredients listed-I use senior, omelene 300, strategy, and enrich 32. Haven't tried the platform feed as there were pages of negative feedback from people on a thread about it a while ago.

 

[RhineStone]

Haven't tried the platform feed as there were pages of negative feedback from people on a thread about it a while ago.

This is probably why they feel the need to repackage it if that is really the case (I haven't seen...or looked for any "official" statement on that). Here a company goes through all the research and expense trying to satisfy a fairly small margin of customers in a niche market, and it is trashed in a matter of days.

So how do you get your investment back out of a perfectly good product? (I didn't say a perfect product, there is no such thing as a perfect product to suit everybody and every horse.) You send it back to your marketing department.

I bet there are a whole lot of people on this forum that are "afraid to admit" they use Platform not to have to listen to the complaints. Our horses didn't lose any major weight (that they didn't need to lose), but look pretty good on it without any other necessary supplements for their coats. We got a mare in May that had been fed only hay and when her previous owners came to visit in August, their comment was, "Wow, look at her shine!" (I realize that "any" "grain" is better than "none"....) We feed good 2nd & 3rd cutting grass/alfalfa mix hay with not as much Platform as required on the bag. Actually, our horses get one "kid cup" (the kind your kid gets at a restaurant) a day. That's it. And in the big scheme of things, the horses that aren't worked as much are too fat.

It's not that Platform "doesn't work". It just may not work for everyone, especially considering the different qualities of hay out there.

Anyone else care to "own up" to the fact that you use Platform?

 

[~Lisa~]

Rhinestone I have to respectfully disagree a bit.

I do not think they were "trashed" due to anything written on this forum. As a matter of fact if you were to call Nutrena or Purina and talk to a rep most will tell you (if not all) that minis and ponies are very easy keepers- get fat on air and do not need much feed short of vitamens and minerals.

That is simply not the truth. IMO until feed companies really educate themselves on the actual needs of minis and ponies and realize that there are just as many who do not live or get fat on air and they will not be able to supply a specific mini/pony feed that will work for the majority of minis and ponies

That said no one should be nor do I think they are ashamed to admit what they feed. My horses get alot of feed some (including minis) get more then my 13.2 Quarter pony. I feed alfalfa many do not believe it is a good feed for minis. I feed tons of beet pulp in fact half their diet is beet pulp again some really disagree. I am not ashamed of what I feed nor do I shame anyone else for what they choose to feed. If you are pleased with the way your horses look be it on pasture alone- grass hay- all pelleted or hay cube with no hay- whatever.. if the end result is healthy looking horses that is all that matters.

I personally do not(did not) feed the Platform or the Lite formulas for one reason it did not make sense to have to feed my horses more then what they are currently getting to keep them fit. Every horse is different and mine are not (well most of them) easy keepers.

I would hope no one is shamed or feels afraid to admit what they feed or how they keep their horses or anything else of the sort. We are all different and bring different things to the table and the one thing we can all agree on is life would be simple if there was only one way to get healthy happy horses but there are many many ways and what is wrong for some is very right for others.

 

[spots n splashes]

INGREDIENTS

Wheat Middlings, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Ground Soybean Hulls, Cane Molasses, Dried Beet Pulp, Ground Rice Hulls, Soybean Oil, Stabilized Rice Bran, Calcium Carbonate, Vegetable Oil, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Salt, Ground Corn, Flaxseed, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, DL-ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, Iron Oxide, Citric Acid, CHOLECALCIFEROL, Propionic Acid (a Preservative), Choline Chloride, Lignin Sulfonate, Sorbitan Monostearate, Copper Sulfate, VITAMIN B-12 SUPPLEMENT, Zinc Oxide, VITAMIN A ACETATE, Sodium

Selenite, RIBOFLAVIN, Calcium Iodate, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Cobalt Carbonate, Ferrous Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Nicotinic Acid, Anise Flavor, Natural Mixed Tocopherols (a Preservative), Ascorbic Acid, ( SOURCE OF VITAMIN C), Rosemary Extract, Lecithin, Fenugreek Flavor.

 

[ohmt]

Rhinestone, I apologize if I offended you at all. There have been many who have written on previous threads about using the platform mini feed and liking the results. There was no bashing-actually a few threads created right when it came out, have all positive comments. It wasn't until continued use that people began to notice weight loss and other problems. Not everyone, but most of the people who commented on the various 'later' threads. There have been so many threads about forum member's feeding programs, with such a large number of various responses, that I should really hope no one would feel uncomfortable telling what they feed. Different feeds work for different horses-I use quite a few different ones myself. It's nice going back and reading everyone's different opinions, and I appreciate them all.

 

[disneyhorse]

I was one of the people who Farnam used in their "product marketing forum"... they paid me and others to sit in on their early marketing/packaging.

I expressed that my minis were worked and I didn't believe that they needed an "easy keeper" formula, nor would I buy a product just because it was marketed to a breed in particular.

Either the product sells or it doesn't.

Andrea

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Rhinestone I don't ever remeber anyone bashing the Platform feed once it came out. I think everyone received it very well, those who tried it liked it, including myself, but then a year later I think IMO the quality of the product declined as did my horses, their should not have been any other reason for it except for the feed. Also if you had read my post the only Platform feed product thats left is the mini/pony feed. All their other brands don't exist anymore. What could be their reason for that I don't know?

If you feeding program works that great don't change it. Am I already totally against this new Purina feed and totally bashing it no. I'm personally not much of a Purina fan anyways but I do hope like Farnam has done that Purina will support the registeries.

 

[shadowpaints]

when platform first came out, i fed it daily. my minis did great on it...

after a few months, they started not finishing it.... and i started noticing that it was very dusty. when my gelding mikey refused to eat platform.. i decided ok thats enough, and i switched back to strategy . been feeding strategy, with BOSS for a year now, and while i might try the new feed (depending on the price) i kinda like strategy.. but we will see i guess

 

[Eohippus]

Back when I got my pinto gelding I was told to feed him Platform. No one carried it so I used what my big horses were using at the time, strategy (along with grass hay, but we have very good quality grass hay in Az). He's done great on that mix and I considered switching but.. Why fix something that's working well? I've enjoyed reading about all the different feeding programs every one is using. In the end I don't care what I feed so long as its the best thing I can feed; its healthy for my minis and keeps them healthy