Posted on 08/07/2007 7:33:14 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share, usually about our horses, sometimes about our dogs, gardens and other stuff we do. :~)
I have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will ping everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list.
So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends.
Previous threads:
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
That ~is~ a handy skill. :~)
Did you think you will be on TV?
Good morning everyone and sorry I haven’t been here in a while. The pictures are all great.
I’m having massive computer problems at home and the fact that it takes so long for Free Republic to load means I get timed out more often than not. And I’m generally not at work early enough to be able to catch up.
I received this email from Horse Journal this morning - Purina Feed info from the Horse Journal vet.
Major Feed Recall
Land O Lakes/Purina has issued a feed retrieval for a number of brands.
Land O Lakes/Purina has issued feed recalls, or “retrievals,” for a variety of their brands manufactured between the dates of November 3, 2007, and March 10, 2008. These feeds were identified to contain greater than 20 ppb of aflatoxins, originating from a single ingredient from a single supplier. Only specific manufacturing plants and dates are involved. The recalled products also vary.
As of May 6, 2008, the contaminated feeds had been distributed in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
The manufacturing plants involved, and dates, are:• Statesville, North Carolina: Feeds manufactured between November 3, 2007, and February 8, 2008.• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Feeds manufactured between January 1, 2008, and February 8, 2008.• Guilderland, New York: Feeds manufactured between January 8, 2008, and March 10, 2008.
If you have purchased a Purina feed and live in one of the involved states, check the bottom edge of your feed bag for a date code. The date codes on Purina feeds are in this format: 7NOV03STA
The first number is the year. “7” = 2007, “8” = 2008. The next code is the month. “NOV” = November. Next two digits are the day. “03” = 3rd (of November in this case). Last three letters are the plant code. STA = Statesville. HAR = Harrisburg. GLD = Guilderland.
If you have feed from one of these three plants manufactured within the recall dates, call your feed dealer to see if your specific brand is involved in the recall. If you purchased feed during the time frames listed for the recall but no longer have your bags, call your dealer anyway to see if the feed you use was involved in the recall.
If your horses are having health problems of unknown cause, call your veterinarian and let him/her know you may have fed aflatoxin-contaminated feed. Feed, urine or liver biopsy tissues can be tested for aflatoxin and aflatoxin metabolites. Your state’s Department of Agriculture should also be notified if your veterinarian suspects feed related health issues.
Note: As of May 6, this was an ongoing issue. Further recalls could be issued. Details are still very sketchy. Other feeds could also be involved but no details are available. Signs range from acute liver failure to stunted growth in young horses, poor hair coat, abnormal liver enzymes on blood chemistry, jaundice (yellow eyes and gums), feed refusal, unexplained loss of condition, poor immune system function. Fetal abnormalities have been reported in other species.
Eleanor Kellon, VMD
Horse Journal Veterinary Editor
Well, we should, if only for a few seconds per person. They definately filmed us, but who knows how much of it will make it past the cutting room floor. So we’ll see I guess. At the very earliest, the episode will not air until August or September.
Thanks for keeping me on the ping list!
Oooo that’s scary! I’ve been feeding Purina since late last year, and even though Alabama isn’t listed among the states involved, Tennessee and Georgia are close enough that my feed may have come from one of those plants. I’ll have to check my bags and see. Thanks for the info!
Hey Squarebarb! Long time no see. How’s things with you?
Been debating what the facts are in that for a few days now in the horse forum. I’m so mad at a particular gal on that forum I was sortof hoping this recall would turn out to be false.
Certainly if I thought I was in an affected area I’d take the feed back, but I think the risk is actually low. It wasn’t really a ‘recall’, in the sense of an urgent health threat that had caused illness, it’s a possibility that some of the feed from that time might have a ‘higher than acceptable level’ of that toxin, which was found in routine testing, if that makes sense, so they decided to pull it and figure out the extent of it. There are no indications any animals actually got sick.
Have you planted your morning glories yet? And do you start them from seed? Or buy little plants?
I saw the thread there on this. We feed Purina, of course we aren’t in the affected area, but I believe Purina is erroring on the side of caution. To my knowledge, no horses have been ill and I believe the the toxin is fairly common in the south in corn - I just can’t remember if it’s the one I used to run into all the time in NC.
I’d take back any I had with that code though - better safe than $100’s of dollars in vet bills.
Hi :)
I agree, and unfortunately I don’t think any company is immune from this kind of stuff happening.
Dr. Eleanor Kellon, who wrote the article, is a really widely respected horse nutritionist so there's bound to be something to it somewhere.
Since BladeRider posted a pic of her dog pile I thought I'd post one of my cat pile. This is Buster and Bear, laying on me like a rug...
And a pic of one of the blooms on the gardenia tree y'all gave me when Mom died. They smell HEAVENLY! Thanks again!
That’s a lot of cat pile there! Ours used to snuggle so much with each other, and with Cartman, but now that Cartman’s gone, they’d rather crab at each other than snuggle.
Gorgeous Gardenia :~) So glad.
Good Afternoon.
Great pictures Frog:)
Yes, I have planted my morning glories. I start them from seed every year. The seedlings have started coming up already. They do reseed themselves every year, but never really come up where I want them too, so I just buy a package every year so I can put them where I want them. I find seedlings sprouting all the time in many places. They even grow rather profusely where I throw the old vines at the end of each year.I just let them grow, at the side of the driveway. Morning glories don’t do well to transplant.
We have had a lot of rain again the past two days, and the creek is up again, but didn’t go over the bridge, thank goodness. Here’s a link to the stories in our paper about the bridge.
http://www.bixbybulletin.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19663120&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574062&rfi=6
http://www.bixbybulletin.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19663122&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574062&rfi=6
Becky
Sounds like the locals are in an uproar! I hope they get it fixed... I wondered if you thought it might make buyers wary if they don’t. :~\
Do you think the morning glories would do OK on my front fence? It only gets sun after about noon, and of course, we don’t get the kind of sun and heat you get. Do they do OK in cooler climates?
I just think yours are so neat... and they sure would pretty up my view of the store!
I think they would do all right on your fence if it gets sun for most of the day. The ones at the side of my drive don’t get too much sun. Have you ever noticed if they sell the seeds in any stores? If they do I would imagine then they would grow there.
Yeah, I do think the locals are in an uproar? IMO, a bit too much of an uproar. Yes something probably needs to be done, but it’s not like the thing is going to cave in. The thing is the ones making the uproar are known at the city for being people who gripe about “everything”...it’s put the city officials off some from what I’ve heard. But on the other hand the officials have been stringing the neighborhood along for a long time about that bridge so it’s hard to determine just who is the problem. I’m staying out of it, don’t have the energy to fight that battle. Will it put buyers off....that I can’t say. I would tell people the reality is that in the 27 years we have lived here, the water has only been over that bridge about 6 times, and it only stays over the bridge for a few hours then goes back down. It’s really not been that big of a head ache. LOL...probably it should be something I should be more concerned about, it just hasn’t been such a problem to me. None of the current neighbors were around to see the “bridges” that were there when I first moved out there...what we have is still better then what use to be there.
Becky
If you liked the house and the land I have, would that bridge be a concern that would make you wary of buying the place?
Becky
I don’t know... I think the repair looks pretty good, but lots of stories in the paper might make someone think... particularly because it’s about the only way into town, right? Can you get to town going all the way around the other side by your kids’ place?
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