Clydesdale horses on parade
As the Budweiser Clydesdale hitches continue their tours across America, there is a company behind the scenes helping the horses stay healthy and nutritionally sound – Purina Animal Nutrition.
Anheuser-Busch breeds the Clydesdales with the goal of eventually selecting them for the company’s famous traveling hitches. At Grant’s Farm, a 45-plus acre Clydesdale training farm, Purina runs feeding programs designed to promote healthy growth and development, to give young Clydesdales the best chance to one day be selected for the hitch.
To qualify for a hitch, a Budweiser Clydesdale must stand 72 inches at the shoulder when fully mature and weigh at least 2,000 pounds. The program plays a key role in helping young horses achieve their potential while maintaining a steady, healthy growth curve.
As a partner in nutritional care, Purina supports proper Clydesdale development by helping to weigh and measure the horses on a regular basis, tracking growth, and scoring each horse’s body condition. The company also utilizes its national network to provide expertise and support staff for Anheuser-Busch’s three Budweiser Clydesdale teams that travel throughout the year.
“It’s important that we partner with a company that not only shares our commitment to hard work and perfection, but one that provides research-backed recommendations and expertise to help us provide world-class care for the Clydesdales,” said Jeff Knapper, general manager of Clydesdales operations, Anheuser-Busch.
“As a leader in the nutrition industry, Purina epitomizes the type of partner we look for, and its support allows us to maintain the quality and tradition the Clydesdales have come to represent.”
With a team of dedicated Ph.Ds., Purina brings decades of equine research and many nutritional breakthroughs to the partnership to help support the breeding and growing of the Clydesdales.
The horses require frequent travel, high performance and peak physical appearance, with nutritional demands that far exceed those required for an average horse. This makes a proper nutritional program invaluable.
“There is so much about what goes into the overall care of the Budweiser Clydesdales that mirrors our own philosophies,” said Dr. Katie Young, equine nutritionist, Purina Animal Nutrition.
“Purina stands for high-quality equine nutrition and health, and being able to apply that expertise to these iconic horses ingrained in the American fabric is a special opportunity that we’re excited to support.”
To learn more about the Clydesdale nutrition program, please visit the Purina Equine Research Blog.
About Purina Animal Nutrition
Purina Animal Nutrition LLC (purinamills.com) is a national organization serving producers, animal owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent dealers and other large retailers throughout the United States.
With an uncompromising commitment to animal excellence, Purina Animal Nutrition conducts industry-leading R&D initiatives that create and sustain a valued portfolio of complete feeds, supplements, premixes, ingredients and specialty technologies for the livestock and lifestyle animal markets.
Species served by Purina Animal Nutrition include both large and small animals, including cattle, horses, swine, chickens, hamsters, gerbils and rabbits. Headquartered in Shoreview, Minn., Purina Animal Nutrition LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc