After reading this thread I’m kind of wondering about Triple Crown. I used TC Lite back in the mid-2000s with a supplement I was feeding. At the time TC was being milled by Blue Seal when they were independent (now part of Kent Nutrition). They didn’t have a similar product at the time. I shop at a company store, not an independent with other brands. A few years later TC went somewhere else and wasn’t available locally for several years. My BO has used Blue Seal since she established her business in 1994. She’s bought grain for as many as 45 horses and never had a problem with quality, never had to break up a solid block of feed or send something back. Some is packed in paper bags, and some in the newer reinforced plastic bags. No issues there either.
I asked them a week ago why I can’t get it locally anymore, and no answer.
I’m about fed up with the bricks, it ends up falling into my feed bin in huge chunks that I have to break up by hand before I can scoop any out. And it’s not THAT cold here, generally in the mid/high 40’s when I’m feeding.
Between that and the hit/miss of my feed store actually having it in stock, I’m half tempted to drive to the feed store in the opposite direction and buy a bag of Nutrena’s ProForce Senior to try out. I wonder if it’s less brick-like.
TC Senior has a winter and senior formula. If the bricking issue persists past December, question how often your feed store renews its supply.
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Well, sorry, winter and summer. But still. They do. Call them and ask.
I live in a pretty horsey area and our feed store sells a LOT of TC Senior. I fed it for years and liked the results, but I had to switch when I moved barns and my new BO couldn’t deal with the bricking. She was using a claw hammer on it like another poster said. It has ALWAYS bricked. I’ve never heard of a winter/summer formula.
I transitioned to Poulin Fibre Max and I love it. My horse loves it, it’s a little cheaper than TCS and very similar in texture. And, he keeps weight beautifully even doing endurance & competitive trail.
I am in the southeast with temps in the seventies – not cold! We have had to break it with a hammer. I am not happy!
I’ve only been buying TCS since the end of October, but the bags have all been white, and some kind of poly material. Also, prices have dropped where I am down to $22.95 a bag from $25, which the feed store tells me is due to being made by Purina now.
As far as bricking, it definitely sticks together some, especially when I get down to the bottom of my bin, from being packed down, but nothing I couldn’t break up so far with a sweat scraper. But my barn is cold, whatever temp outside is what my barn will be, so we’ll see what the winter brings.
If we had bags brick up in the winter, I’d just set it on its side and kneel on it, flip and do the same on the other side. That was enough to break it up, then it stayed fine once dumped in the feed bin. Any small chunks left were broken up easily enough with the small metal coffee can we used for a scoop.
I just switched to TC Senior. I love the feed and so do my horses. The bricking is annoying, I dump it in my feed can and then use a shovel to break it up. It does not take very long and I figure I am getting a workout to build my arm muscles! LOL!
The bag changed but I have not noticed any change in the product
I live where it’s cold and have never had an issue.
That said, my last bag of TC Sr smelled like bacon. Stunk. I saw nothing odd in it, and my guy still ate it readily. Because he’s picky, I figured it was okay. It made me nervous. The newest bags are fine though.
I’ve been feeding TC feeds for years, including Sr. A few weeks ago, the SR got a lot darker and smelled a touch different. Then with the colder temps the bricking effect has set in somewhat, but not prohibitively so, and it’s not the only feed we use that does that. So, yes, I’ve noticed some changes but not so much the bricking effect. And we now have the poly bags.
I probably will look into the new SS ProElite, but OTOH I assume the milling changes may be an issue with this label, too, since SS sold the mills last year to Purina – so wouldn’t these new feeds potentially be affected by inconsistencies also, since they are being made under the same umbrella of Purina?
I hope that TC is still doing the kind of QC and oversight they always have done when their feeds are milled – anyone know ???
I found it easier to drop/slam 1-2x on each skinny side, and 1-2x on the top and bottom. The feedstore guys would slam it; I usually just dropped it but it worked pretty well on concrete floors.
Didn’t Southern States just sell to Cargill?
https://www.cargill.com/2017/cargill-completes-transaction-to-acquire-southern-states
Yes, the sale to Purina didn’t go through; Cargill owns the SS mills, but it’s the same people doing the same jobs making the same formulas as before. If there’s anything you want to know about ProElite or any SS feeds, ask at your local store; if there isn’t someone there who can answer them, they can set you up with the feed reps, who can go over everything with you. ProElite was actually released after the change.
Oh, ok, thanks! I knew the ProElite line is very new. but didn’t realize the Purina thing fell through.
My local store has been claiming the TC feeds are harder to get lately; I dunno, they’ve also been running out of their own SS feeds too and I think it’s the newish local manager! That’s what the employees tell me on the side, anyway – but still the feed seems in a bit of flux right now.
Yup. In Canada so don’t have Triple Crown feeds here but do have Purina. Anything with molasses in it–we feed the senior and the Trimax–has to be body-slammed on the floor in the winter. Of course, we are well below freezing a lot of the time, so I understand it. It isn’t that bad–pick the bag up and let it drop onto concrete floor once or twice on each side and once or twice on the bottom and then dump into the feed bin–you can chop up any smaller chunks with your scoop. This is a Canadian fact of life!
If you have warm temps and a brick bag, I would return it to the feed store or call the company. . . they shouldn’t hesitate to replace it for you.
I just bought a bag this week, and it’s coming in a plain pale blue paper-like bag with no markings now.
