Walk through the grocery store, and you’ll find that most food products have a “sell by” or “use by” date on them to let us know when the food is safe to consume. What about animals? What do we do when there’s no expiration date on what we feed horses and other livestock?

Some dog foods and other feeds have expiration dates, but horse feeds are not required to have dates on their labels, according to Dr. Bob Judd, host of Texas Vet News on the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Radio Network.

“Many will have the manufacturing date on them, and some may have a ‘best by’ date, but it’s not mandatory,” Judd said. “It’s difficult to determine the significance of a ‘best by’ date because the storage of horse feed is sometimes in less than desirable environments that will affect the ‘best by’ date.”

Products maintained in cool, low humidity and pest-free environments may be okay to feed after the “best by” date, according to Judd, while those stored in a hot barn in the Texas heat and humidity may not be good to feed even up to the “best by” date.

“Extruded feeds probably have a longer shelf life than sweet feeds containing molasses,” Judd said. “Regardless, it’s best to store feed in a cool, low humidity environment, which I know is difficult in Texas.”

Placing feed bags off the ground is helpful in preventing rodent and insect infestation.

Another important feed-related issue is the feeding of corn straight out of the field.

“Corn is a great feed source for horses, but it can contain a fungus that produces a poison called fumonisin,” Judd said. “This poison causes moldy corn poisoning and is almost always deadly. It is never a good idea to feed corn to a horse unless it has been tested.”

All of the major feed companies test their corn before including it in feed, according to Judd.

“If you are feeding a product containing corn to your horses, make sure the corn is tested and never feed corn directly out of the field,” Judd said.

Texas Vet News can be heard on TFB Radio Network affiliates across the state and found at https://texasfarmbureau.org/radio/.