Lucky me, to have Kelly R. Vineyard, Ph.D.,Senior Nutritionist, Equine Technical Solutions with Land O’Lakes, Inc. Purina Animal Nutrition living so close to me here in North Central Florida. I have been wanting to review all the feed, supplements I use, as well as our hay, to be sure the ponies are on the right track.I have tried many different feeds, and a sea of supplements over the years.

Kelly, Dressage rider, Mom, Dr. of Nutrition, has been with Purina for 10 years as an integral part of their research team, and here she is almost in our back yard in North Central Florida!

Like many equine owners we want what is best for our animals and for many reasons I keep going back to Purina after trying all the feeds that are out there. And no, they are not paying me to say this. A few years ago I went to Purina headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, and attended a 2 day seminar along with about other invited guests, farm owners across the US. I was blown away by the passion and pride the company and their employees takes in their research, and the process in how they produce the largest and most popular brand of horse feed in the USA.

I learned about the latest addition to the Purina feed, Outlast, which has been a staple in the diet of my ponies ever since. There are so many designer feed companies in the world, and they all have wonderful qualities. As Kelly said “Being the largest feed company in the US, we have regulatory eyes on us all the time, so we have to follow the top of the line standards and practices.” And they do.

A few years ago we reported two top FEI Dressage competitors has tested positive for a trace of ractopamine, an additive used in cattle and swine feed to promote leanness. As a result, many of us became aware that some feed companies use the same processing equipment for both cattle and equine. While great care is taken for cross contamination, there is always the issue of human error, and as many of us know, it only takes a trace. Purina guarantees they have completely separate processors for their feeds, because they have to.