WHAT YOUR FEED STORE WANTS YOU TO KNOW

WHAT YOUR FEED STORE WANTS YOU TO KNOW  Feed stores have been part of our local economy for many years, although you may not have been aware of them before having horses. They may be small independent stores run by families with an agricultural background, or large box stores that are part of a nationwide chain. In this article we’ll look at your small local feed store and give you a little insight into the horse feed business. Your local small feed store is grateful for your business. In this age of almost instant gratification, internet ordering, and big box stores, small businesses depend on you to keep their doors open and to retain their employees. You’ve probably heard this statistic before: it’s estimated that when you spend money with a local small business, over 60 cents of each dollar stays in your community. That means that your local business can keep your friends and neighbors employed, support local organizations and sports (including horse events), and support your local economy, including schools, parks, and roads. Big box stores contribute only about 40 cents of every dollar to your local economy. The rest of your dollar leaves the state. Local feed stores typically have at least one person (usually more) who have horse experience and can answer your questions about different feeds. They can be a great source of advice and are happy to talk horse with you. If you are looking for a specific supplement or piece of equipment, they will try to find it. Because they are vested in their community, they want to make sure their customers are happy. Small local feed stores may not have as much product on hand, but it tends to be fresher. Most small stores order directly from the feed mill and receive their bags within a week. Big box stores tend to order in large quantities and warehouse their products at distribution points, then ship to stores as needed. It may not be a big deal in the winter, but a difference of a couple of weeks can mean a deterioration in quality during a hot and humid summer. Obviously, I’m strongly in favor of shopping local small businesses, and I hope you are too. In return, there are some things that you can do to help your local store. First and foremost is to know what you are feeding your horses. When you walk into the store, you should be able to specify the feed you want by name. Feeds have a company name and a proper name. Some examples are Triple Crown Senior, Pro Elite Senior, and Cavalor Fiberforce. Some also have a product line name, such as Nutrena Safechoice Senior, Legends CarbCare Senior, or Blue Seal Sentinel SR. Many feed stores carry product from more than one company so if you ask for Senior, you may find yourself playing a game of twenty questions. The clerks aren’t trying to frustrate you, they are just trying to make sure that you go home with the right feed. The same will happen if you ask for “horse pellets” or “horse sweet feed.” There are dozens of choices. It matters to your horse’s gut that you get the same feed and not jump around to different feeds…unless you intend to make a change in your feeding program. (Remember that you should take two weeks or more to switch feeds.) But, you may be thinking, when I go to the store, Junior knows what I want so I don’t have to remember. Well yes, you do have to remember. It’s your responsibility, not Junior’s. What if he is not available or has retired? Who will know what you feed your horse? And what if your friend or non-horsey spouse is picking up feed for you? They need to be able to ask for the correct product. That’s not a problem, you may think, because I’d recognize the bag. Here is another thing your feed store wants you to know: bags change. The colors change, the horse on the front changes, and the design changes. If you go home with the wrong feed because you said that you want the yellow bag and it’s now blue, it’s not the store’s fault. Keep this in mind too if you go to a store where you pull your own bag off the shelf. If you can’t say for sure what your horse is eating, take a good look at the bag and write down the name. Then remember to take it with you to the feed store. While you are there, ask for a business card and write the name of your feed on the back. Then tuck it into your wallet and leave it there. When your non-horsey spouse is tasked with picking up your feed, hand over the card. It will have the feed information and the location of your local store. Let’s talk about inventory for a moment. Local feed stores are concerned with keeping their product fresh, so they order as much feed as they think they will need to cover all their customers until the next ordering cycle. Some cycles are weekly (for the most frequently used products) or every other week, or maybe once every four or six weeks. It all depends on the number of customers using the products and how quickly they sell through. No store wants to stockpile large amounts of feed that won’t move for months, because as the feed ages, it isn’t as palatable and can attract rats to the warehouse. (You shouldn’t stockpile several months’ worth of feed in your barn for the same reasons.) Ordering is a constant guessing game. What does this mean for you? It can happen that your store runs out of your feed because someone bought more than their usual number of bags, or new customers have started using the same feed that you use, or the store in the next town is closed for a holiday weekend…any