Customer Testimonials

A Horse Named Frog
Lisa Robinson's 26-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, "Frog," is technically an equine senior citizen, but he's not even slightly interested in retirement yet.
"He doesn't know he's old, and we haven't told him," Lisa says with a chuckle when describing her faithful friend. "He thinks he just has to go to the shows with us, and my daughter can show him and win. He won't have it any other way."
Frog's youthfulness can be credited in part to his diet - a mix of forage and Seminole's Senior Formula, which is carefully mixed with ingredients that help older horses digest their food properly.
"If anything, he's a little on the pudgy side," Lisa says of Frog. "I started feeding him Senior Formula about two and a half years ago because his teeth were wearing down and I wanted him to masticate all his food. He's 26 now and looks great. His back is down a little, but otherwise, we treat him like he's 10. Right now, he's mostly a pasture ornament but still commands the respect of his pasture mates. He will always be an important member of our family." Frog
Lisa, who is a regional manager for Trammell Crow Residential Services in Winter Park, Florida, is one of Seminole Feed's most loyal customers, having made her treks to Seminole feed stores faithfully since she got her mare in 1969.

Skeeter the Speedster
Gwenn Wilds has to think back a little to remember the day in 1983 when her husband gave her one of the best birthday presents ever - a fast, athletic sorrel Quarter Horse nicknamed Skeeter.
"He was the first horse I had the opportunity to compete on in futurities, and we have competed all over the Southeast over the years in local amateur rodeos and as well as the Women's Professional Rodeo Association," Gwenn says. She adds that the duo has picked up "quite a bit of cash, saddles and buckles," throughout their competitive years.
Skeeter, who is trained by Gwenn, has won within the National Barrel Horse Association, too, including 1996 Open 2-D District Champion, Florida state Open 2-D Champion and the 2-D Sweepstakes Championship in Augusta at the NBHA World Show.
"He has qualified me four times to go to the World Championships in Augusta," Gwenn says. "This year, we will be competing in the open division along with the senior (over 50) division. I am excited to have accomplished this much on this horse."
So what's the secret? Gwenn says it has a lot to do with her feeding program, which consists primarily of Seminole Blue Ribbon 12.
"He is a wonderful tribute to a good feed program, and I attribute his condition and health a lot to Seminole Feed," Gwenn says. "Skeeter has been on Seminole Feed - Blue Ribbon 12 - for about 15 years or better -
Skeeter thus his excellent condition and health. You can see by the photos that he is very fit and beautiful."
Skeeter continues to win with Gwenn's 15-year-old granddaughter, Ashley WIlliams, who has ridden the gelding to the NBHA Youth World Championships for the past three years.
"This gelding is admired by our friends, fellow competitors and family, due to his good looks and accomplishments," Gwenn says. "He is truly a great barrel horse. I hope to continue competing on him as long as I can and he is happy and sound, so Ashley and I can have another chance at a World Championship."

Weber's Ways
Chester Weber is an internationally acclaimed horseman who is consistently ranked as one of the top-10 drivers in the world.

Recently, we quizzed Chester about his horses' exercise and feeding program.

"My horses work six days a week for roughly an hour and a quarter," Chester says. "They are fed twice daily - in the morning around 7, and in the evening around 5."
Chester feeds his horses Spillers/Seminole products, which are nutritionally formulated based on decades of top equine nutrition research in the United Kingdom.
"My horses eat either Spillers/Seminole Meadow Herb or Original Mix and HDF Pellets, depending on how ambitious they are," Chester says. "An average is 1.5 scoops of each (2qt. scoop). I also supplement with some corn oil and/or Seminole Ultrabloom if they are lacking luster.
"I feed Spillers/Seminole because it is the best feed available in North America, and I expect the best from my horses every day," he says.
Chester also provides each horse a bran mash once weekly or when his horses arrive home after a trip.
"I like barley-based feeds because I primarily use Warmbloods that historically have been fed these feeds," he says. "Their records show this works for them."
Chester Weber
After Chester's horses finish their daily exercise, they enjoy roughly three hours of turnout in a grassy paddock, though while traveling they are hand-walked instead of turned out. In their stalls, they are bedded primarily on straw - unless they have an allergy.
"I usually try to feed a high-quality grass hay like timothy," Chester says. "While in Florida, we are lucky to have super quality hay at our disposal, however, in Europe we can find average quality grass hay. The amount varies from horse to horse but they all get hay at least three times a day.
"We are diligent at trying to keep their feeding schedule the same, and we always travel with enough feed for our trips," he adds.

Leaping Lauren
Olympic veteran Lauren Hough reclined on a tack trunk in front of a tent barn at the 119th National Horse Show in Wellington, Florida, last. She was calm and cool – despite having a huge grand prix event – the $100,000 National Horse Show Jumper Championship – to compete in just hours away. “No one has ever won this event twice before,” she said calmly. “My horse feels great, and we’ll do the best we can. When you’re at this level, if your horse is prepared well, you’ve still got to have luck on your side.”

Luck?
As it turned out, good fortune was on her side. Out of a field of 17 of the best riders in the country, only Lauren and the Clasiko, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, and fellow Olympian Norman Della Joio riding Glasgow, jumped clean in the first round. Lauren and Norman rode the difficult jump-off course with precision and speed, but Norman had an unlucky rail down and a few time faults, putting Lauren in first place. Moments after her victory gallop around the international arena, with crowds cheering and the band playing, Lauren was sitting in a National Horse Show press conference, all grins. And she was still thinking about luck. “With grand prix jumping,” she said to a mass of media representatives from around the world, “it’s got to be your lucky day.”

Roles and Goals
Lauren was only 23 when she competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, thanks to an early start in the horse world with parents Champ and Linda Hough. Linda, a prominent USA Equestrian judge, and Champ, an Olympic veteran of the 1952 US 3-day event team, had her riding good horses from the beginning. Lauren rode in her first grand prix when she was 15. “I’m always impressed with riders who can stay at a top level for years at a time, and that’s what I’d like to do,” she says. “I’m very fortunate to have the success I’ve had at such a young age. And I hope I can continue to do so for several years. As long as I can continue to stay at that level and have nice horses, I’ll do so. I don’t think I’ll be 60 in still riding in grand prix,” she laughed, “But maybe for 15 years or so.” The equestrienne hopes to be on the US Olympic Show Jumping team in 2004, when the group heads to Greece. In the meantime, she has her sites set on the 2003 Pan Am Games and the 2003 World Cup, held in Las Vegas April 16-20.

What’s in Lauren Hough’s Feed Room?
Lauren Hough typically has eight to 12 horses at her home in Wellington, Florida. “I try to keep it to a small number,” the grand prix rider said. “I have three main horses right now that stay on the road.” Traveling throughout the U.S. and abroad on a regular basis puts serious strain on Lauren’s horses, and she acts proactively to prevent health problems. “Our feeding practices vary slightly, depending on the competition schedule,” she says. “When I’m doing the trials and heavy competition, they get fed grain three times a day. The more times they can eat, especially close to a competition, it seems to give them more energy. Not large amounts, but at different intervals, so their energy is peaked during competition.” Lauren feeds primarily Spillers/Seminole Original Mix and Seminole Ultra Performance, but Clasiko, her 2000 Olympic mount, craves Seminole Blue Ribbon 12+. “We use some Spillers pellets,” she says. “Especially for the younger horses, and they’ve done well and maintained their weight well. The competition horses will have the Ultra Performance or the Original Mix.” Each horse gets a bran mash with mineral oil and some sweet feed weekly, and for forage, the horses munch on a timothy/alfalfa mix. “Even when we don’t feed grain three times a day, we feed hay that often,” she says. “And to get weight on a horse, particularly a horse that arrives from Europe, I’ll keep hay in front of it all day long.”

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