You Are What You Eat

New Foods

The last time I went to the feed store, I was chatting with the owner of the store about what Dino's eating and all of his various and sundry metabolic issues. She was the person who had originally suggested I put him on the Nutrena Safe Choice feed when he was first diagnosed with Cushing's, and is generally really knowledgable when it comes to equine nutrition.

She mentioned to me that she now carries another type of feed that might be even BETTER for Dino's condition. Intrigued, I asked her to tell me more. We walked out to the warehouse to grab my bag of Safe Choice, and the shop owner pulled out a bag of KER Re-Leve for me to look at. Produced by Kentucky Equine Research, the Re-Leve is specifically formulated for horses with Cushing's, PSSM, and other metabolic issues. My feed store friend showed me the feed tag and explained that this grain was even lower in NSC (non-structural carbohydrates - starches for you laypeople) than the Safe Choice, and very high in fat. I.e., basically what sounded like the perfect blend of nutrients for Dino. She suggested I go online and check out the research behind the Re-Leve grain, as well as Triple Crown Senior, and compare the nutrient values to the Safe Choice I was currently feeding.

Doesn't that look yummy?!?!

That's one thing I love about this lady - she's never pushy! Just gives people a TON of information and lets them make their own choices.

Curious if I could be feeding my pony something better suited to his particular needs, I did compare all three feeds, and the KER Re-Leve came out the winner by a long shot. It was more expensive than the Nutrena grain I was currently feeding, but since the fat content was so high it would enable me to stop top-dressing with canola oil, evening the cost out in the end. I was also really impressed with the actual scientific research and studies behind the KER feed. There's proof that this feed works for horses like Dino, so it was a no-brainer that I'd be making the switch.

I'm very interested to see how Dino does on this new grain, and the feed store owner asked me to let her know how it was going after four weeks or so. I think with this recent change, plus the addition of alfalfa cubes once a day, we might have reached Dino's ideal performance diet! Lots of fat, lots of protein, and as little starch as we can get. Sounds good to me.