How many of you have fed or are feeding Purina Strategy?

I used to feed Strategy to all of my horses, a long time ago. Then, I started dealing with horses who had metabolic issues (not the same group). I had a bunch of younger horses at that time. It seemed to cover all the bases for their growth. Any thoughts on the pros and cons, especially for non-metabolic horses?

I fed it several years ago to both of my late geldings. I didn’t know much about feed or nutrition at the time. I think it’s overall fine but if i recall, it can make some horses hot.

Forever ago, sure.

There are better feeds now, though, for the $$.

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There are 2 Strategy feeds now, Professional GX, and Healthy Edge, with the former being more or less the original, I know it’s been updated but don’t know exactly how. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of them. Professional is 25% NSC, which is fine for a harder working horse without metabolic issues. Healthy Edge is 16.5%, which is quite suitable for every normal healthy horse, in work or not, unless they simply need a bit more starch to support their work

As for cost, my TSC has the Professional at $25, which is on the lower end of things. Nutrena feeds start at a couple $ more. Triple Crown is in the $30 range

Neither are what I’d use for a horse under 2 though, but after that, if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then it’s like all the other feeds out there - nothing works for everyone :slight_smile:

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I use Strategy GX for both my horses. I’ve tried many other things and this is what consistently works for them both. They are both hard keeper energizer bunny warmbloods. One is a 17.2 25 year old Oldenburg who we were having trouble keeping weight on in retirement with Equine Senior, and who packed on the pounds and general condition once we made the switch.

The other is 16.3 of WB/Arab cross who I really struggled to find an appropriate feed for that didn’t break him out in hives. He’s never looked better and is no hotter than he was when I was trying to feed him a nutritionally balanced mix of straight ingredients.

I mix in some rice bran pellets and split his grain feedings into two times a day rather than throwing it all at him at once.

It does use quite a bit of soy which doesn’t work for all horses, in fact that was the reason I stopped using it years ago as I had a horse that coliced at the sight of soy so I didnt want it in my feed room.

However, if it works, it works. It has a higher calorie content than just about any other bagged feed except Ultium, which is rocket fuel, so I’ve found it very beneficial for the less energy efficient horses. And the price is decent.

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I have fed it in the past to mostly
TBs of various ages and generally they would not eat it. I didn’t like it, the stuff I got looked like dog food.
Also tried Ultium. They tolerated it a little bit better but weren’t crazy about it and neither was I.
I switched back to the Nutrena pro force XTN and the senior, and there was a much better response to that. That has gotten harder to get in my area so they are now on Triumph Fiber plus and everybody eats that too with gusto.

regarding TSC, be sure to read the date code on Purina products. I have seen Purina products at TSC that were well over a year old

The code is on the bottom seal of the bag. the first letters are the plant followed by the year in two digits then three digits for the day of the year

FW25060 would be Ft Worth March 1st 2025

Last I knew, Purina was using Julian dates for batch dates

I feed it to the ones that don’t need a low starch diet. Everyone here is dappled, shiny, and in good weight, so zero complaints. It’s popular in my area with a lot of the show barns. Mine are also on high quality hay, which probably makes the most difference in their condition.

The order of the numbers/letters in a lot code will depend on the plant making the feed. Nashville, for example, uses a year/day/location/shift and line order, not location/year/date as noted in your example.

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