Archive for the ‘articles’ Category

Six Ways to Feed Performance Horses for Greater Achievement

Thursday, August 16th, 2018

Much like human athletes, performance horses have special nutritional needs.

And with all athletes, it’s important for diets to match activity and athletic level to reach the highest level of achievement.

These six tips may help you to supply your horse with adequate energy to support optimal performance.

1. Know if it’s anaerobic or aerobic exercise
Physical activity is broken into general categories, aerobic and anaerobic, and it can be helpful to understand the science.

Anaerobic exercise, characterized by short bursts of maximum effort, is primarily fueled by glycogen, a polysaccharide which is composed of sugars and stored in muscle fibers. Soluble carbohydrates from your horse’s diet provide the building blocks for glycogen.

Imagine a competitive cutting horse with its incredible agility, quick reactions and strength. A horse like this would be primarily engaged in anaerobic exercise while they’re working a cow. Race horses and even Thoroughbreds running a mile and a half are also highly anaerobic while they’re running the race. Such activity depends on a diet providing adequate soluble carbohydrates to store and replenish muscle glycogen needed to fuel these short, intense exercise bouts.

Aerobic exercise, characterized by low to moderate-intensity activity lasting from several minutes to several hours, is primarily fueled by fat. A slow burning fuel, fat can be perfect for keeping the horse going for the long haul.

Three-day eventing, polo, dressage, and endurance riding are all examples of activities that are primarily aerobic. Performance horses engaged in this type of exercise may benefit from high fat horse feeds.

Keep in mind, no performance activity is either all anaerobic or all aerobic; each athletic activity has components of both types of work, especially when you consider the warm-up period before an actual competition. However, fueling the horse with the dietary energy source from which they will draw the most fuel is a targeted way to optimize the horse’s ability to perform.

2. Don’t let forages fall flat
While horses in nature may live entirely on forage, equestrians typically demand more from their horses than would ever be required of them in nature. Therefore, supplemental nutrients and energy are needed to sustain top-level performance in working horses.

Forage can provide adequate fuel for maintenance or very low level activity, but does not supply enough sugar and starch to maintain the glycogen stores required for a hard-working performance horse to succeed. For horses working at a high level, a feed designed to support that workload will provide adequate soluble carbohydrates and fats to maintain the needed fuel storage for performance.

3. Electrolytes are essential
Horses generally need free choice salt, such as Purina® Free Balance® 12:12 Vitamin and Mineral Supplement, but performance horses have additional mineral requirements. Any time a horse is working and sweating, consider an electrolyte supplement and feed as directed.

Check the ingredients on electrolytes in your horse feed. They should include primarily sodium, potassium and chloride. Always ensure your performance horse has adequate access to fresh, clean water and is well hydrated. Do not give electrolyte supplementation to a dehydrated horse.

4. Time the feed
Horses should not be fed a large meal 3-4 hours before an extensive performance event. Feeding any closer to the exercise can have an adverse effect on the horse’s performance, as the blood used for digestion isn’t readily available to the muscle tissue.

If a horse usually has hay available, consider feeding small amounts of hay throughout the day. Feeding forages before an event may not pose the same challenges as a concentrated feed does. Generally speaking, feeding small meals more often is better for the performance horse than one or two large meals a day.

After the event, let the horse cool down before feeding and then consider feeding a small carbohydrate-rich meal, such as Purina® Ultium® Competition Horse Formula, 30-120 minutes after exercise to help replace the glycogen used during the event.

5. Focus on recovery
Recovery from exercise requires the replenishment of glycogen stores as well of the repair of muscle cells damaged during exercise. Research in humans and horses has shown that ingesting specific amino acids after exercise can decrease muscle recovery time. Horses performing intense, repetitive work have been shown to benefit from a very specific amino acid profile available in a dietary supplement, such as Purina® SuperSportAmino Acid Supplement.

AdobeStock_Grey Chesnut Horses Running_660876896. Rethink top-dressing
Horse owners often try to provide additional fat to their performance horses. However, simply top-dressing with oil or an unfortified fat supplement increases the fat and calorie content of the ration, but it doesn’t provide protein, vitamins or minerals to maintain the nutritional balance of the total diet. The best option is to feed a nutritionally balanced feed with a high fat content as well as the proper amount of protein, amino acids, and other nutrients essential to support optimal performance. Consider feeding Purina® Amplify® High-Fat Supplement formulated for horses needing: extra calories from fat for weight gain, conditioning, competition, showing or sales preparation.

Paying attention to these six areas may help your working horse achieve its true performance potential.

Looking for a way to get that shiny show-stopping coat? Read feeding horses for a shiny coat.

 

Cattle Water Intake: Did you know?

Thursday, August 2nd, 2018

By Christina Hayes

We focus on balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals, but we tend to overlook water. Every physiological process involves water, and it’s requirement for cattle performance.

Here are some quick water tips:

  • Water quality and quantity can impact feed intake. Limited access to water or low-quality water typically results in reduced intakes.
  • Water quality is affected by microbiological contaminants, nitrates, sulfates, and salinity (the amount of salt dissolved in water). Test your water quality by contacting your local extension agent for sampling instructions and information.
  • Water needs increase as temperature increases. For example, a 900-pound lactating cow only needs 14.5 gallons of water per day when it’s 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but she needs as much as 18.2 gallons per day when the temperature hits 90 degrees.
  • Cattle weight also influences water needs. As cattle gain weight, their daily water intake increases. For example, a 1,400-pound mature bull typically consumes 13.4 gallons of water per day when it’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but a 1600+ bull consumes just over a gallon more per day (14.5 gallons) at the same temperature.

Summer can get busy, but for your cattle things can heat up, which makes water even more important. Ensure cattle always have access to fresh, high-quality water. Also, ensure there are enough easily accessible waterers especially when temperatures spike.

Source: Purina Checkpoint

Cattle Lac Liquid Cattle Feed at J&N Feed and Seed

Tuesday, July 31st, 2018

Liquid Cattle FeedJ & N Feed and Seed offers bulk and liquid cattle feed (Cattle-Lac liquid feed) to the Graham and surrounding communities. We have trailers available for use with purchase in addition to bulk delivery. Bring your trip-hoppers and pick up or we can arrange delivery to your ranch.  Talk to us about your needs, give us a call at (940) 549-4631.

Cattle-Lac Liquids helps farmers get the very most out of their valuable pasture land. The CATTLE-LAC supplement actually stimulates beneficial bacteria in the cattle rumen, allowing the animal to break down grass roughage faster and easier.  The cattle then eat more grass, which means a healthier, heavier animal. The bottom line is that farmers who feed CATTLE-LAC supplements get the maximum amount of meat per acre of pasture.

 

 

2018-2019 Livestock Shows

Saturday, July 21st, 2018

2018-2019 Livestock Shows2018-2019 Livestock Shows for the upcoming season are right around the corner!

The calendar is set for the 2018-2019 Livestock Shows in Texas.  Here are the dates and locations happening throughout Texas. Go to the links for each Stock Show to learn more about event schedules, entry forms, ticket information and more:

State Fair of Texas (Dallas): September 28 – October 21, 2018

Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo (Waco): October 4 – October 13, 2018

Southwestern Exposition & Livestock Show (Fort Worth): January 18 – February 9, 2019

San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo (San Angelo): February 1 – 17, 2019

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo (San Antonio): February 7 – 24, 2019

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (Houston): February 25 –  March 17, 2019

Star of Texas Fair & Rodeo (Austin): March 16 – 30, 2019

Livestock shows are the perfect way to spend some time with the family! Save the date and make plans to come to one of these rodeos near you!

Tips to Help Your Horse Beat the Summer Heat

Friday, July 20th, 2018
 summer heatKatie Young

Ph.D. – Senior Nutritionist & Product Manager, Equine Technical Solutions

The summer heat is here! Heat and humidity place an added burden on horses during training, showing and transporting.

Especially during the busy summer travel and show season, it’s important to make sure your horse is not becoming overheated, stays sufficiently hydrated and remains comfortable, even when temperatures soar.

In this video, Dr. Katie Young, equine nutritionist and manager of equine technical services at Purina Animal Nutrition shares tips for horse owners to help ensure a healthy summer season including heading off heat stress, staying hydrated, replenishing electrolytes and staying comfortable in hot weather.

Article Attributed to Purina and Dr. Katie Young

Forage Snapshot

Tuesday, July 17th, 2018

Forage SnapshotBy Chad Zehnder

These are simple things you can do to make the most of forages today and further on down the road:

1. Implement a grazing plan

Rotational grazing gives pastures a rest compared to grazing them continuously. You can rotate cattle between pastures as often as once a day to as little as once a month. Either way, rotational grazing can help ensure quality and quantity of forage throughout the summer. Simply splitting a pasture in half can help.

2. Consider it soil fertility

Just like you need to look at cattle requirements each winter and determine if you need to supplement, the same holds true for soil. Work with an agronomist to test your soil. Test results will tell you if you need to fertilize to combat caps in soil fertility. Remember soil fertility will impact not only forage quantity but will influence quality – especially protein. What your cattle eat is a direct result of soil fertility.

3. Hone in Harvest

There’s no “right” time to harvest. Harvest typically occurs when there’s a happy medium of quantity to match quality. Time harvest to match the quality of forage desired. Keep in mind that as forages mature digestibility and protein tend to drop. Also look at ways to minimize leaf loss and consider the use of a preservation to help with storage.

4. Manage the summer slump

As you get into July and August, forages mature and pasture quality declines. You may need to supplement to meet cattle requirements. Supplementation is especially vital in spring-calving herds with cows still lactating. Don’t overlook calves; as pasture quality declines, consider offering calves supplemental creep feed.

 

Source: Purina Checkpoint

2018 – 2019 Hunting Season Dates

Sunday, July 15th, 2018

2018 - 2019 Hunting Season DatesTexas Parks & Wildlife released the 2018 – 2019 Hunting Season dates. Check them out below. You can find more information on their website.

Alligator

  • 22 Counties & special properties: Sep. 10 – 30, 2018
All Other Counties: Apr. 1 – June 30, 2019

Chachalaca

  • Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr & Willacy Counties: Nov. 3, 2018 – Feb. 24, 2019

Dove

  • North Zone
    • Sep. 1 – Nov. 4, 2018 & Dec. 21, 2018 – Jan. 14, 2019
  • Central Zone
    • Sep. 1 – Nov. 4, 2018 & Dec. 21, 2018 – Jan. 14, 2019
  • South Zone
    • Regular season: Sep. 14 – Oct. 30, 2018; Dec. 14, 2018 – Jan. 21, 2019
  • Additional days for Special White-winged Dove season
    • Sep. 1, 2, 8, 9 (special regulations apply)

Duck

  • North Zone
    • Regular season: Nov. 10 – 25, 2018 & Dec. 1, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
    • Dusky duck: Nov. 15 – 25, 2018 & Dec. 1, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
    • Youth-only: Nov. 3 – 4, 2018
  • South Zone
    • Regular season: Nov. 3 – 25, 2018 & Dec. 8, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
    • Dusky duck: Nov. 8 – 25, 2018 & Dec. 8, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
    • Youth-only: Oct. 27 – 28, 2018
  • High Plains Mallard Management Unit (HPMMU)
    • Regular season: Oct. 27 – 28, 2018 & Nov. 2, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
    • Dusky duck: Nov. 5, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
    • Youth-only: Oct. 20 – 21, 2018
  • Gallinule, Rail, Moorhen
    • Sep. 15 – 30, 2018 & Nov. 3 – Dec. 26, 2018

Goose

  • East Zone
    • Early Canada goose: Sep. 15 – 30, 2018
      • Light & dark geese: Nov. 3, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
      • Light goose conservation order: Jan. 28 – Mar. 17, 2019
  • West Zone
    • Light & dark geese: Nov. 3, 2018 – Feb. 3, 2019
    • Light goose conservation order: Feb. 4 – Mar. 17, 2019

Javelina

  • North Zone: Oct. 1, 2018 – Feb. 24, 2019
  • South Zone: Sep. 1, 2018 – Aug. 31, 2019

Mule Deer

  • General Season
    • Panhandle: Nov. 17 – Dec. 2, 2018
    • SW Panhandle: Nov. 17 – 25, 2018
    • Trans-Pecos: Nov. 23 – Dec. 9, 2018
  • Archery Season
    • Sep. 29 – Nov. 2, 2018

Pheasant

  • Panhandle: Dec. 1 – 30, 2018

Pronghorn Antelope

  • Sep. 29 – Oct. 7, 2018

Quail

  • Oct. 27, 2018 – Feb. 24, 2019

Rabbits & Hares

  • No closed season.

Sandhill Crane

  • Zone A: Oct. 27, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
  • 
Zone B: Nov. 23, 2018 – Jan. 27, 2019
  • Zone C: Dec. 15, 2018 – Jan. 20, 2019

Squirrel

  • East Texas: Oct. 1, 2018 – Feb. 24, 2019 & May 1 – 31, 2019
  • 
Other Open Counties: Sep. 1, 2018 – Aug. 31, 2019
  • Special Youth Season: Sep. 29 – 30, 2018

Snipe

  • Oct. 27, 2018 – Feb. 10, 2019

Teal

  • Sep. 15 – 30, 2018

Turkey

  • Rio Grande Turkey
    • Fall Season
      • North Zone: Nov. 3, 2018 – Jan. 6, 2019
      • South Zone: Nov. 3, 2018 – Jan. 20, 2019
      • Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg & Willacy counties: Nov. 3, 2018 – Feb. 24, 2019
      • Archery-Only: Sep. 29 – Nov. 2, 2018
  • Fall Youth-Only
    • North Zone: Oct. 27 – 28, 2018 & Jan. 7 – 20, 2019
    • South Zone: Oct. 27 – 28, 2018 & Jan. 21 – Feb. 3, 2019
  • Spring Season
    • North Zone: Mar. 30 – May 12, 2019
    • South Zone: Mar. 16 – Apr. 28, 2019
    • One-turkey counties: April 1 – April 30, 2019
  • Spring Youth-Only
    • North Zone: Mar. 23 – 24, 2019 & May 18 – 19, 2019
    • South Zone: Mar. 9 – 10, 2019 & May 4 – 5, 2019
  • Eastern Turkey Spring Season
    • East Texas: Apr. 22 – May 14, 2019

White-tailed Deer

  • General Season
    • North Zone: Nov. 3, 2018 – Jan. 6, 2019
    • South Zone: Nov. 3, 2018 – Jan. 20, 2019
  • Special Late Season
    • North Zone: Jan. 7 – 20, 2019
    • South Zone: Jan. 21 – Feb. 3, 2019
  • Youth-Only Seasons
    • Early Season: Oct. 27 – 28, 2018
    • Late Season: Jan. 7 – 20, 2019
  • Archery Season
    • Sep. 29 – Nov. 2, 2018
  • Muzzleloader-Only Season
    • Jan. 7 – 20, 2019

Woodcock

  • Dec. 18, 2018 – Jan. 31, 2019

Weaning: Avoid these Common Pitfalls

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

By Chris Forcherio

Have you defined what success and failure look like in your weaning program?

Success might look like live, healthy calves who put on weight with minimal intervention. On the flip side, failure may be calf mortality, sick or stressed, a high rate of treatment and less weight to sell. No matter your definitions, having a plan in place can help you avoid weaning pitfalls and, ultimately, failure during a critical time frame.

“Weaning shows how successful a producer has been for the past year,” said Chris Forcherio, Ph.D. and beef research manager with Purina Animal Nutrition. “For calves going to a market, it’s a producer’s payday. For calves staying in the herd, it’s a time for them to get ready for their next phase of production.”

Make plans now to avoid these common weaning-time pitfalls.

Pitfall #1: The plan is, there is no plan

“Too often producers just go out and wean. They find a break in the weather and decide it’s time,” says Forcherio. “The ‘just do it’ mentality may work out, but much like a producer plans for breeding and calving every year, they should plan for weaning.” Develop a flexible plan at least a month in advance. Planning ahead a month gives you time to order feed, work on your health program, order vaccines and more. Part of your health program may include pre-weaning vaccines that can be administered well in advance of weaning day to boost immunity.

Pitfall # 2: Facility Failure

Prepare facilities for calves trying to get back to their mothers. If calves are in a fenced area, check and reinforce fences as needed to prevent the calves from escaping. For corral areas, be sure gates are secured and without gaps. Another aspect of facilities is the environment. Small, tightly confined areas with mud are not ideal for calves. Give Calves a stress-free space with plenty of room and grass. Feed bunk placement and space are also critical. “Producers often put feed bunks in a place that convenient for them, not for their cattle,” says Forcherio. “Place feed bunks in an area where calves will run into them, not just in a place that’s convenient.” Bunks should be placed perpendicular to fence lines so calves can bump into feed as they are circling the fences. To prevent calves from competing for bunk space, provide 12 inches of bunk space for hand-fed feeds like Precon Complete Feed and six to eight inches of bunk space for self-fed feeds like Accuration Starter Complete Feed.

Pitfall # 3: The height of water and hay

Beyond making sure calves can find water sources and ensuring there is clean, fresh water available for all calves, another common pitfall is water accessibility. “Make sure your water trough is not too tall,” says Forcherio. “We tend to assume that 400- or 450-pound calves are going to be able to reach the same waterer set up for a 1200-pound cow when that may not be the case.” The same concept applies to hay feeders. “I often refer to hay out of reach of calves as the ‘devil’s tower of hay in the hay ring,’” says Forcherio. “The hay ring is out, and the round bale is in the hay ring, but the calves can’t reach the tower of hay in the middle.” Check your hay feeders to ensure they aren’t too tall for the shorter necks of calves. If hay is out of reach, do what you can to spread hay from the center towards the outside of the hay ring.

Plan to drive feed intake

What is Forcherio’s top piece of advice? Have a plan to maximize feed intake. “The end goal is to drive intake and get calves eating the nutrients they need to stay healthy,” says Forcherio. “Anything you can do to set calves up to eat at target intake levels will help them have a higher chance of success.”

Ask your dealer about starter feeds available through Purina All Seasons Cattle Nutrition Program.

 

Source: Purina Checkpoint

Hot Weather Alert: Help Your Cattle Beat the Heat

Friday, June 29th, 2018

By Kent Tjardes

 

If you’re a kid at the swimming pool, the heat of summer can be delightful. But for cattle, summer heat can be dangerous, even deadly. “Heat stress in cattle is not something to be taken lightly,” says Kent Tjardes, Ph.D. and cattle consultant with Purina Animal Nutrition. “A few precautionary steps are essential to help cattle through hot weather.”

Be Water Wise

The Most important essential is the availability of clean, fresh water for all cattle. “Cattle water intake can increase by up to 50 percent during extreme heat,” says Tjardes. “Water not only prevents dehydration, but many animals will place their tongue and nose in the water to help cool the body.” Here are some water Tips:

  • Consider adding trough space when cattle are crowding existing water sources. The recommended standard linear waterer space is about .75 inches per head. But increasing linear area to two or more inches per head has been show to decrease heat stress.
  • Monitor Calves carefully for water intake. Calves are small, and they get dehydrated quickly. Cows typically drink first, making calves second in line. Make sure there is enough water flow for the calves after the cows have been at the water source. After a few long hours in the heat, the last thing you want is calves to return to an empty waterer.
  • Ensure water sources are at an appropriate height for calves to access. The height of some waterers makes it hard for calves to access, discouraging water intake.

Control Flies

Controlling flies is another essential strategy.”Biting, irritation, and blood loss caused by flies adds stress to the animal,” says Tjardes. “To protect themselves from flies, cattle often group together. But this behavior can cause animals at the center of the group to become overheated.” Use fly control methods to reduce irritation, grouping behavior, and help alleviate heat stress caused by grouping. Here are some go-to fly control methods:

  • For pasture settings, offer Purina Wind and Rain Storm Fly Control Mineral with Altosid Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) to target horn flies.
  • In feedyard settings, consider a custom Purina supplement with ClariFly to control house, stable, face, and horn flies.
  • In any environment, cleanliness is critical. Scrape manure out of lots, remove excess feed along the outside of bunks and cut weeds to help reduce fly populations.

More Essentials

In addition to water management and fly control, here are a few more essential to help cattle beat the heat.

  • Offer shade: shade can’t always be provided but, when available, it can help cattle avoid heat stress.
  • Consider air flow: A five to ten mph wind helps to cool the animal’s body temperature. Avoid the use of pens with limited air flow (i.e., pens surrounded by tall cornfields or bales) or remove potential windbreaks. If you do use pens with limited airflow, build mounds within them to help raise cattle to an elevation of airflow.
  • Don’t handle the cattle in the heat: If possible, consider waiting until a cooler day. If you must work animals, do so in the morning when the temperature tends to be the lowest.

A few small changes can help keep cattle comfortable when the summer temperature rises.

Source: Purina Poultry

Purina Strategy Horse Feeds Product Updates

Wednesday, May 16th, 2018

Purina Strategy Horse Feeds Product UpdatesNew Purina Strategy Horse Feeds Product Updates

Customers that use Purina Strategy Professional Formula GX and Purina Strategy Healthy Edge horse feeds will see a new look this June with the inclusion of Purina Outlast Gastric Support ingredients.  Purina Outlast Gastric Support Supplement contains a unique blend of ingredients designed to support gastric health and proper gastric pH. Purina Outlast Gastric Support Supplement is the foundation of the Purina Equine Gastric Health Program. You can learn more about this program by visiting www.FeedOutlast.com. This program has overwhelmingly positive feedback from horse owners and seen favorable responses in a wide variety of horses. Since gastric discomfort affects so many horses it makes sense to update Purina Strategy horse feeds to include the Outlast Gastric Support ingredients.

Purina Strategy Horse Feeds Product UpdatesWith this update, Strategy horses will benefit from Outlast Gastric Support with every meal. To help showcase this exciting change Purina is updating the packaging with a fresh new look. Horses will benefit from the inclusion of Outlast Gastric Support Supplement. Horse owners will appreciate the convenience and value of effective gastric support included in the feed. These changes will be implemented in early June 2018 when all new Purina Strategy horse feeds will come in the new packaging and conveniently include Outlast Gastric Support.

You can access the Purina Strategy Professional Formula GX Information sheet here.

You can access the Purina Strategy Healthy Edge information sheet here.