Overwhelmed By Feed or Supplement Choices? We’ve Got Just The Thing

Looking for a way to cut through the clutter of feeds and supplements for your horse? Aren’t we all.

Luckily there is a way… thanks to our friends at Purina. Heels Down spoke with Dr. Mary Beth Gordon, the Senior Director of Equine Technical Innovation for Purina Animal Nutrition. Mary Beth developed a handy system for horse owners to
use when considering a new nutritional product – from a new type of feed or ration balancer, to adding a new supplement to your feed routine. We break it down below.

When considering feeding a new product to my horses – from a new feed to a supplement, how does the Test R.I.D.E system work?

Every October in St. Louis, we invite veterinarians and vet techs to a conference to
learn about nutrition. One year, the vets asked us for a practical talk on understanding supplements and how to recommend them to clients. It’s an important topic – how to choose a good supplement – but it can be overwhelming because there are so many options out there. We needed a simple way to actually evaluate what feed or supplements are available and how to discern what is best for certain horses. So I developed an acronym – it’s called Test R.I.D.E – like when you go buy a new horse, you hopefully take it for a ‘test ride’. And, any feed or nutritional supplement, can also be put through this ‘test ride’ first, before you buy it.

The ‘RIDE’ stands for Research, Ingredients, Delivered Amount and Efficacy. Does that joint supplement have Research behind it? When you look at the Ingredient list, there could be 4,000 things in that tiny little scoop. Do the ingredients make sense? Are they safe and allowable to be fed to competition or racing horses? Delivered amount – it should be the correct dose for a 1,200-pound horse, not just a sprinkling of something. Efficacy, is it doing what you purchased it to do? Is it helping with what you hoped it would? Do you see the desired difference in your horse?

Test R.I.D.E has become a way of life for us in Purina. With the never-ending amount of different additives and ingredients we feed our horses – there is pressure to include whatever is the next greatest and latest thing into our feeds and formulations. This acronym helps us to to organize this situation and stay true to our mission to only develop products that truly work and are meaningful to horses, and that’s what it’s all about.

What is the easiest way for horse owners to implement the Test R.I.D.E system on their own?

There are companies out there that are very dedicated to equine nutritional research. I would start with those companies first. Doing some homework ahead of time before hitting the feed store is important. It’s not like you can easily return that bucket you bought from the shelf once you crack it open. A lot of times, you won’t find the actual research on the packaging either. With the way supplements are regulated in the U.S., most of the time it’s not possible for companies to fully highlight the research completed on their products. It’s how regulators draw the line for something like a prescription drug versus a dietary supplement. So it’s on the consumer to do the investigating at home before buying a bag of feed or supplement.

Not all research is created equal. What’s most important to look for?

You can start by looking up products online and looking for the research and results behind the products. Look for nutritional research reviews, test results, and further information to help you make the best decision. But many times, in the end, the horses are the greatest truth teller. Are you seeing the intended results in your horse? That’s the best product review. But companies conduct nutritional for research for a reason – it puts their product to the test.

What is the most surprising part of Test R.I.D.E system to you?

It’s definitely the D – delivered amount. It’s my favorite thing to do on a farm call as a nutritionist. I love going through a myriad of supplements in a feed room and saying “nope, nope, nope.” Something may sound good on a label, and the ingredients might look good, but when you look at the levels, it’s not even enough of what you’d give to a baby – a human baby – and you think it’s going to be enough for a horse? I’ve had this happen too many times.

When is it actually appropriate to add a supplement when your horse is already eating a balanced diet?

It boils down to what you are doing with your horse, the performance you are looking for and your monthly budget. But is also always comes back to your base feed. Your horse should be getting the vast majority of the nutrients they need from their feed, whether an easy keeper who lives on a ration balancer and pasture, or a horse on a performance feed and forage in training. Make sure you’re feeding it in the right amount, and that take cares of most things. You may add in electrolytes and some gastric support, and that could be it. You know, we’ve had horses go to the Olympic Games on just good feed and hay alone. Sometimes we make it more complicated than it needs to be. I am all for customization and creating the best nutritional programs for each horse, but it should be a careful and thoughtful process that truly makes a difference for each animal.