Weight Gainer

Question
I'm curious, What exactly makes a weight gainer (such as, Farnam Weight Builder) for horses unsafe for human consumption? I, don't see anything on the labeling that looks poisonous.

Answer
Hi Mr/Ms Doran! Thanks for visiting allexperts.com. First let me begin my saying I'm not wholely qualified to answer this question in depth as I work in animal nutrition but do not have a background in human nutrition at all. It isn't neccessarily that the ingredients are "poisonous" to humans, but animal feed products don't undergo the same testing in the same circles for approval that human food products do and so there isn't a surefire way to say that its suitable for both animal and human consumption. Also, on equine feed product labels, the manufacturer isn't required to list all specific ingredients. IE: you will see proteins listed but it doesn't always say "soybean meal" (which is the most common/readily available protein source, etc. Animals, by and large, (especially cattle w/ their 4 compartment stomach containing a rumen and horses with the hindgut or cecum) are much more efficient digestors than humans are. Cattle (in their rumen or "fermentation vat") and horses (in their cecum)have the ability to digest much more than humans can in their monogastric or simple stomachs via the microorganisms that exist in the rumen/cecum. The rumen/cecum acts as a fermentation vat which allows for extensive breakdown of many things that humans couldn't/wouldn't consider digesting. IE: three of the most common products to feed to cattle would be poultry waste, cotton byproduct and spoiled/soured potatoes. I know that doesn't directly address your question but I wanted to draw in some of the gi tract differences between the animals and humans as far os digestion goes. Many of the weight gainers for horses are also designed to be fed in relatively small amounts. They are formulated roughly for a 1000 lb. animal, not a 150 lb. human. This question is one of the most interesting I've ever received...especially since us humanfolk are for the most part, pretty vain and most of us want to lose, not gain! LOL Myself included. My suggestion to you if you're still very interested in this topic is to visit www.themanestreet.com and ask this question to Dr. Melyni Worth or visit www.ker.com and ask it to Dr's Kathleen Crandell or Larry Lawrence. All three of the above are phd equine nutritionists. Best of luck and thanks again! Regards-Samantha Simons