As the title says, what would be a suitable equivalent to Purina Outlast in the Canadian market.
Friend has a horse with Fecal Water Syndrome, and our feed stores don’t seem to know what hay extender is. Suggestions?
Hmm, I’m not familiar with Purina Impact, probably because I’m in Canada and that is not available here!
I understood that hay stretchers/forage extenders are usually either hay pellets or hay cubes. In our area, Ontario Dehy makes a balance cube that is a combination of minerals, beet pulp and hay cubes - all intentionally low starch. My feed store calls it ‘lavender tag’ 
Your other option would be a complete feed that usually has beet pulp/forage added to it. If you’re looking to keep weight on, a favourite locally is Tribute Resolve (low NSC, high fat, high Fiber, high vitamin E etc.). If you have an easy keeper, can’t really go wrong with Tribute Essential K or other quality ration balancer + hay cubes for volume/chew time.
Maybe not in Canada, but some products marketed as hay extenders the main ingredients are soy products and other such things, not simply hay pellets or hay cubes. So be careful and look at the ingredients.
Example, screen shot of the ingredient list of a commercially available (in the US) hay extender product:
Edit to add - to clarify, I am not talking about things like alfalfa pellets or such.
Are you maybe thinking of Purina Outlast? I’ve seen it recommended for horses with FWS.
In Canada it’s called Purina Digestive Balance.
3 Likes
Have you tried straight soaked beet pulp? It did wonders for my pony with fecal water issues.
Hay extenders/stretchers aren’t just a pelleted hay, they’re really more of a combination hay/forage/fiber product. Hay, soy hulls, rice hulls, even some peanut hulls for a bit of indigestible fiber, often with bit of fortification
I don’t know enough brands in CN to know where to look. Purina may have one, I did peek at Trouw (which has Step and Equiline feeds) and didn’t see one, but I’d be surprised if there’s not something there. The closest I found was a complete forage pellet in the Step line
Yes, beet pulp is something to try, as is daily psyllium
Yes, I was going to say that in the USA, hay pellets or cubes are not the same as hay stretchers. They just have hay (though some are fortified.)
If you’re looking for a hay stretcher as the “poor person’s treatment for FWS” - which does work for some horses- it will have a variety of fibrous ingredients like soybean hulls (the outer pods), beet pulp etc. Purina Impact Hay Stretcher is available in Canada. Impact is their mid-range feeds and comes in a variety of formulations. Be sure to pick the right one.
2 Likes
I have been feeding Masterfeeds Rx Roughage chunks and have found that it cleared up some of my ponies loose poop. I use it as low sugar treats for my EMS ponies as well since they can’t have any carrots or apples. They do love it!
At the barn I’m boarding at they have a few elder horses that have bad FWS and I suggested the Rx Roughage cubes and its working well for them. They tried many things for their guys like psyllium husk which worked for a while, but stopped after a couple of years of usage.
How much are you feeding to see a difference? A friend’s horses have been having runny poop issues for the last few winters and she’s tried a few things, but would like to suggest this to her as well.
I feed about 3lb/day for a 600lb pony. But it does say you can feed 6-10lb/day for a 900lb horse a day. It has lower vitamins/minerals so is safer to feed at larger amounts. But I did find just adding the 3lb for my 13h pony has worked really well for him and cleared up his slightly runny poop. He just gets it 1 x day when he comes in for the night on top of soaked hay cubes (hes a 28 year old sr with poor teeth). He also get Fibre O (Brooks), soaked beet pulp and Flax Appeal so doesn’t need to be fed on the higher end since he still gets vit/min from the Fibre O and calories from the BP and Flax.
It comes in pellets as well for slightly less cost (I think $1-2/bag cheaper). I like the chunks since I use them for treats as well, but would use the pellets if it was just for my Sr pony since I just soak them anyway for him.
Thanks! I will pass on the suggestion. I’m sure she’d love an end to scrubbing tails and bums all winter 
1 Like
