Reading Feed Labels
7 Steps to Reading a Feed Tag:
1. Identify the Feed Type
Common types:
• Ration balancer -concentrated vitamins/minerals + amino acids
• Complete feed- can replace forage
• Performance feed- higher calories, fat, amino acids
• Senior feed- higher digestibility, often complete
• Growth feed- balanced for bone + muscle development
RULE:
If you don’t know the feed type, you can’t feed it correctly.
2. Purpose Statement
Who the feed is intended for:
• “For maintenance horses”
• “For performance horses”
• “For growing horses”
• “For senior horses with poor dentition”
RULE:
If the purpose doesn’t match your horse, the feed won’t perform
3.The Guaranteed Analysis
Legally required--tells you what’s in the bag, NOT how good it is.
What to look at:
• Crude Protein (%) — quantity only; not amino acid quality.
**If the GA doesn’t list lysine, methionine, or threonine, the protein quality is unknown
• Crude Fat (%) -calorie density.
• Crude Fiber (%) - digestibility + feed type clues.
• Calcium & Phosphorus (%) -growth, bone, and balance.
• Salt (%) - varies widely
• Copper, Zinc, Selenium (ppm) -trace minerals that actually move the needle.
4. Move to the Ingredient List
-This is where the quality shows up.
Listed by:
• Weight before processing
• Heavier ingredients (like water rich ones) appear first
• “Grain by products” ≠ automatically bad
• “Forage products” ≠ automatically good
What to look for:
• Named ingredients (e.g., “soybean meal” > “plant protein products”)
• Forage sources
• Added amino acids
• Added minerals
5. Feeding Directions
Look for:
• Minimum feeding rate — if you feed less than this, you’re not getting the nutrients on the tag
• Bodyweight basis — usually lbs per 100 lbs of bodyweight
• Whether it assumes forage quality
RULE:
If you’re feeding below the minimum, you need a ration balancer.
6. Added Guarantees
If a feed lists these, it’s usually higher quality.
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Threonine
• Vitamin E
• Biotin
• Omega 3 sources
7. Ignore Marketing Words!
These have NO legal meaning!
• “Low starch”
• “Forage based”
• “Cool calories”
• “Gut support”
#1 RULE:
If it’s not on the tag, it’s not guaranteed!
