Triple Crown Diamond line: Only at TSC

[RhythmNCruise]

I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet, and I just saw it a few minutes ago for the first time:

Triple Crown Diamond Only Available at Tractor Supply Co

I looked at the Balancer, which is similar to the Gold Balancer but this is fed more like a forage balancer (in ounces) instead of a ration balancer (in pounds). I wish the Cu and Zn were higher and the Iron was nonexistent, but otherwise it seems okay.

I’m eyeballing that chopped forage too.

Thoughts?

ETA: Oh wow. The forage is actually Standlee fortified with TC’s Equimix. Huh.

[Sdel]

I think I saw online it’s a 12% NSC alfalfa/orchard blend.

I think I may start using the Diamond forage. I think they’ll be more consistent about having it available. Every time I go in my TSC has something different available from Standlee as far as the chopped forages go and I can’t seem to get the same type two trips in a row.

[JB]

The Diamond line is akin to the Gold line, other than the Balancer being more like the ProElite Topline Advantage in that it’s half the serving size of a typical balancer.

Iron can’t be non-existent, it exists in several of the ingredients, aka it’s inherent to them. If you check the ingredients you’ll see there’s no added iron (iron, ferrous, etc)

There’s only 40mg of Fe in an 8oz serving, which is pretty small compared to what’s already in forage which is typically several times more than the 400mg the average 1100lb horse in light work needs

It IS curious that they made the Balancer closer to a forage balancer than regular, while making the other feeds very similar to the Gold equivalents

[RhythmNCruise]

Thank you for pointing that out about iron. I am probably way too worried about it in general. I have gotten obsessive about Cu and Zn not being impacted by Fe.

@JB, do feeds like those in Tribute’s line say “no added iron” actually have less iron in them than feeds that don’t make this claim and have iron listed in the GA? Obviously, there is iron present in the ingredients used to make the feed, but I always see Tribute’s claim of “no added iron” and think seriously about switching to one of their non-soy balancers or feeds for that reason alone.

I typically prefer Triple Crown and/or Unbeetable feeds just because I’ve had good results with them and haven’t had as good results with Tribute for my guy, but that “no added iron” is like a siren’s song to me. LOL. Am I being silly?

[Montanas_Girl]

@RhythmNCruise

@JB, do feeds like those in Tribute’s line say “no added iron” actually have less iron in them than feeds that don’t make this claim and have iron listed in the GA?

No, they do not.

Tribute is great at marketing, I’ll give them that…

[JB]

@RhythmNCruise

do feeds like those in Tribute’s line say “no added iron” actually have less iron in them than feeds that don’t make this claim and have iron listed in the GA?

Not really possible to say, you have to look at what they list, and if they don’t list it, then it’s a guess (or you can contact them and ask). Inherent iron isn’t set in stone. Some places grow forages that have a very reasonable level of Fe, and some have enough that 2% of body weight in it is easily 3-4x what the horse needs. Adding iron oxide, for example, is fairly irrelevant, as it’s not very bioavailable.

Tribute Seniority for example has 125ppm Fe, no added Fe.
Triple Crown Senior has 150ppm and I happen to know they add some, but it’s really not a lot.

The difference is 11mg/lb of Fe, or 66mg over 6lb, which in the grand scheme of things doesn’t matter

That said, if I had an EMS/IR/ID horse, I WOULD look for things lower in Fe (regardless of added or not) since they may accumulate Fe inappropriately as part of their disease, but the difference of 66mg (if I was even able to feed 6lb to an EMS horse) wouldn’t bother me

SOME feeds have unnecessary amounts of iron, and because it’s so high relative to some (some!) feeds that don’t add any but list it, it’s reasonable to think they’re simply adding too much. But even then, the question is - what form is added? Sometimes it’s a form that’s not very bioavailable to the horse, but you still don’t know how much IS.

[ndirish07]

I’m going to look into this-- I board and prepare my own supplements so the ease alone of storing this container vs the 50 lb bag is intriguing!

[Arzny]

They have the price tags for it up at my TSC. The price is astronomical. Approx $53/bag. Even for a balancer with a low feed rate, that is expensive.

[Heinz_57]

@RhythmNCruise

I looked at the Balancer, which is similar to the Gold Balancer but this is fed more like a forage balancer (in ounces) instead of a ration balancer (in pounds).

IMO this seems to be more aimed at people who are feeding a partial serving of something else and want to balance that out without adding more grain or a traditional ration balancer.

I say that because it only comes in a 15lb tub ($55 at TSC, on sale right now for $53) and a “full” serving for a 1200lb horse getting no other fortified ration is 8-10oz. At the upper end of that, 15lbs is only 24 servings ($2.29/day).

Not that you couldn’t feed it as a RB/FB, it just may not be terribly economical to do so compared to the other products out there.

I am also slightly obsessed with Cu/Zn so I get where you’re coming from! For several years now I have been wishing for a hybrid product - basically a forage balancer (with numbers like Vermont Blend or Cal Trace) built into a ration balancer that is palatable enough to be a standalone product.

[JB]

Yeah, the cost is weirdly $$$$. The calorie savings is insignificant. But, it’s a similar cost to ProElite Topline Advantage, which I also don’t understand.

[mombc24]

Except proelite top line advantage gets you 50% protein not 14%…

[JB]

True, but that still doesn’t warrant the cost IMHO. You get more protein from 1lb of a 30% balancer, for appreciably less $, and the calorie difference isn’t significant.

[mombc24]

Sorry I wasn’t justifying the cost of proelite vs a regular balancer, just pointing out it’s not a direct comparison because you get more for the money with proelite vs triple crown

[Heinz_57]

@JB

Yeah, the cost is weirdly $$$$.

Maybe not as significant of a consideration if you’re only feeding one horse (and a small one at that, or ponies), but I have to multiply everything x6

What is the advantage of feeding a fortified chopped hay, for a horse that can still chew regular hay and also gets a fortified feed?

[RhythmNCruise]

Yeah, after crunching numbers, I don’t really see the point in any of the Diamond products for me now. They got me with their fancy red package and the word “Diamond” LOL!

I will forever search for the elusive perfect feed that has all the things in one scoop. Fat, fiber, protein, pre/probiotics, and copious amounts of Cu and Zn and biotin all wrapped up in one delicious feed that soaks to a delightful mash/fluff at light speed. That’s all I ask.

ETA: Oh, and soy free.

[Sdel]

I’m currently only interested in the chopped hay as a filler to increase the bulk of the ration I’m giving without having to soak. I’m just over soaking things right now….

I’ll be moving my horses to the gold line soon….

[SusanO]

Make sure they will eat it. I tried their chopped timothy - the pony refused it and the others ate it, kind of. But if there is alfalfa in the chopped hay they might like it better.

[JB]

@RhythmNCruise

I don’t really see the point in any of the Diamond products

The Senior and Perform are pretty straight comparisons to the Gold Senior and Perform, and at least at my TSC are comparably priced, so a great option for those who want Gold but who only have TSC

@RhythmNCruise

I will forever search for the elusive perfect feed that has all the things in one scoop. Fat, fiber, protein, pre/probiotics, and copious amounts of Cu and Zn and biotin all wrapped up in one delicious feed that soaks to a delightful mash/fluff at light speed. That’s all I ask.

ETA: Oh, and soy free.

I don’t know what your actual number requirements are, or how fast this really soaks, but the whole Tribute Wholesome Blends line is soy-free, and fairly recently they updated their formulas (on paper at least) to have what you list, similar to the TC line, at least from what I remember. I honestly don’t think anyone has “copious amounts” of copper and zinc, though some have more than others, and of course, “copious” isn’t quantified

[kaya842]

I will second that I have been very happy feeding the Tribute Wholesome Blends in the past (the balancer and the senior but used the balancer longer). It replaced KIS Trace, copper + zinc, and mag that was being mixed with a carrier (to reduce steps when we switched from caring for horses at home and doing it all on my own to boarding) and the horses looked just as good/ I did not notice any issues. The horses really liked it (super palatable) and it smells so good. It was great having it delivered directly to the barn by chewy for free too.

[IPEsq]

I haven’t tried soaking the Tribute Wholesome Blends balancer, but the senior soaks to a fluff really fast. My horses don’t love the balancer flavor, but they do like it better than TC Gold. I have not had to give supplemental Cu/Zn to my red horse since switching to this feed. I used to always have to do that, especially when he was transitioning to his summer coat, or he’d get a lot of white spots especially around his eyes and muzzle. I have not crunched all the numbers regarding iron, and he doesn’t eat much in the way of concentrates anyway, and we have higher iron forage here generally. But absolutely zero extra white spots on this feed, and some of his body white spots have gone away.