As the title suggests… I’m moving to a new area and I was researching barns and I see one feeds Poulin. I’ve never heard of this brand before. I did a search on the forum and see that it was mentioned as “reputable” in the same class as Triple Crown, Blue Seal, and Pennfield… all of which I’ve heard of. Is that really the case - meaning is it a quality feed? Or are some of their products better than others? What’s the scoop? lol
Thanks everyone! 
I fed Poulin for a few months but wasn’t happy. I used the Senior and when I soaked it, it was all corn. To me, that’s all filler and my horse’s feet when to crap. I switched over to Triple Crown and couldn’t be happier. When I went to the feed store Saturday we actually had a discussion about brands and the feed store owner compared Poulin to Purina with inconsistency and had Triple Crown and Nutrena as the higher end feeds.
I LOVE Poulin grain. They work with Preformance Horse Nutrition and have done a lot of research and studies to produce some excellent grain. I feed from the Equipro line and I think it’s great!
I too love Poulin…but do not like their senior either. It’s quite high in NSC in my opinion, and i prefer Triple Crown Senior.
Poulin has a nice selection for different types of horses, and overall, much of their selection is low in NSCs.
Thanks everyone. I currently feed Progressive Grass Formula and really like it, so I was thinking about sticking with a RB. How’s the EQUI-PRO® MVP Supplement Pellet… if I understand correctly, is their RB?
Yes, that is their RB. They have another “lower line” one I think called Alpha-Balance, that is a RB but you feed 2 lbs per day instead of 1 lb of the MVP.
I feed the MVP year-round to both of my horses. The pellets are on the smaller side, and since I only have to feed 1 lb (which is approximately 3 measuring cups), the volume is small enough that I don’t soak the pellets and have never had an issue.
I’m a big fan of Poulins I feed the FibreMax, which has high fiber and 14% fat, which is great for my TB not so easy keeper.
[QUOTE=islgrl;6427012]
I’m a big fan of Poulins I feed the FibreMax, which has high fiber and 14% fat, which is great for my TB not so easy keeper.[/QUOTE]
The FibreMax, which came out just recently (under two years ago) has been an absolute GODSEND for hard keepers…it is a fantastic, high-quality feed, and my TB mare stays fat and happy on 3lbs a day. My boarder came to me on 8 (!!!)lbs of a Blue Seal grain, and is also fat and happy on just 2lbs of the FibreMax. I will rave about it to anyone who will listen.
The senior grain seems to be the one weak point in their line up, when compared to other brands. However, I don’t even know how the comparison between Purina and Poulin could be brought up…Purina is one of the lowest of the low out there for horse grains, not even close to comparing with Poulin in terms of quality. Poulin is far and above most of Blue Seal’s products as well, as they (Poulin) stick with a guaranteed list of ingredients, while Blue Seal will toss in whatever’s cheapest coming out of the mills that day.
I have fed the MVP before, and been very satisfied with it; unfortunately it was still too many calories for my easy-keeper, so I had to cut it out in favor of a single 2oz scoop of a vitamin supplement instead, to his dismay. :lol:
Here .
It’s in order by carb content.
[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/agonyaw/Public%20Album/PoulinGrainChart.jpg)
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;6427151]
Here .
It’s in order by carb content.
[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/agonyaw/Public%20Album/PoulinGrainChart.jpg)[/QUOTE]
One very interesting thing to note: Nutrena’s “Safe Choice” is often touted as an excellent choice for those looking for low NSC. However, it’s NSC value is right up near 20%, if I’m remembering correctly.
Poulin’s low carb grain has a NSC value of less than 12%.
Marketing can be a very dangerous thing in horse grains. Nutrena’s Safe Choice is not really a “safe choice” at all.
[QUOTE=GoForAGallop;6427171]
One very interesting thing to note: Nutrena’s “Safe Choice” is often touted as an excellent choice for those looking for low NSC. However, it’s NSC value is right up near 20%, if I’m remembering correctly.
Poulin’s low carb grain has a NSC value of less than 12%.
Marketing can be a very dangerous thing in horse grains. Nutrena’s Safe Choice is not really a “safe choice” at all.[/QUOTE]
Poulin’s low carb grain is 6.3%
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;6427209]
Poulin’s low carb grain is 6.3%[/QUOTE]
The carb content is not the NSC value. Here’s Poulin’s own newsletter explaining NSC, and how their grains measure up.
www.poulingrain.com/newsletters/PoulinNews_Oct05.pdf
Their Carb Safe grain is 11%.
At the bottom of their chart, which came from the Poulin rep, it says:
“Carbohydrate content is based on NSC (nonstructural carbohydrates) = starch plus simple sugars (Ethanol Soluble carbohydrates, ESC).”
I read that to mean the Carb Content listed above on the chart is the NSC value, which is the sum of simple sugars and starch.
I’ve used Poulin grains for the last 8 years and love them 
Currently I’m feeding my 3 yr old, 8 yr old & 22 yr old the MVP. Only the 8 yr old is “in work” and she gets just 1 level cup am & pm (see my profile pic for photo of her from a week ago).
All my horses are Morgans so=easy keepers!
When my broodmare was pregnant with the now 3 yr old she went through the whole pregnancy on their Carb Safe (she’s IR) and had no problems keeping and gaining appropriate weight.
I’ve also used the E-Tec with good results as does a friend of mine who has 4 Morgans of her own plus boards 10 other horses. The whole barn is on the E-Tec and everyone does great.
[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;6427469]
At the bottom of their chart, which came from the Poulin rep, it says:
“Carbohydrate content is based on NSC (nonstructural carbohydrates) = starch plus simple sugars (Ethanol Soluble carbohydrates, ESC).”
I read that to mean the Carb Content listed above on the chart is the NSC value, which is the sum of simple sugars and starch.[/QUOTE]
Did you look at the pamphlet I posted? It’s put out by Poulin. I don’t know what’s up with your chart, as I’m not overly familiar with NSC…the wording “based on” makes it sound as though they are not one in the same.
'Course, what I posted was put out in 2005, so it’s possible that they’ve changed their formulas significantly, but I haven’t been able to find that 6% number anywhere else on the internet, just the 11%.
The chart was e-mailed to me directly from the Poulin rep in my area. ?
ETA: I asked for the NSC levels of their feeds, and the chart is what they sent to me.
I love the E-Tec line all my horses are on it
I also feed the E-TEC Fibremax grain, as do several other boarders in our barn. Works very well for hard keepers and is less expensive than Triple Crown Sr. My horse hated Poulin Senior feed, which almost put me off of the brand altogether. Then we went to Fibremax and he is very happy.
Love Poulin - I even use their chicken feeds.
I feed Fibre-Max and Senior Low-Carb primarily nowadays, which my horses like, and which make them look great. My vet recommended the Senior Low-Carb, and they much prefer it to the Carb-Safe I was feeding before.
If you’re looking for reduced starch, you might compare these and see which you like better. The Carb-Safe is definitely more hard core in terms of NSC, but not every horse loves it:
Love Poulin. I fed Fibre Max for years but now my horse can’t have it because he’s IR.
But, be advised that they are another company that does not use dedicated lines for horse feed.
Several years ago when horses were dying from Monensin, I emailed the company and got the standard “We clean the lines thoroughly, blah, blah…” back. I still continued to use them even though I was disappointed in that.
But, it seems they have never had an incident. (So far.)
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