Packing Up to Ship Out

Saracen Horse Feeds, one of our global manufacturing partners, graciously agreed to allow us space to inventory, test, and pack the feeds in their warehouses in Kent, England. Over the past few weeks, feeds from around Europe have arrived here.

We’re importing about 120 different feeds from nearly 20 European brands and will be offering an around 20 different feeds from a selection of U.S. brands as well. In addition, Kentucky Equine Research is coordinating with the federations, Peden, Dutta Corp., and U.S. regulatory agencies to facilitate the shipment of additional feeds with the horses, since in many cases final team selections are made after ocean freight containers depart to reach the U.S. in time for the competition.

Kentucky Equine Research staff flew over from the U.S. to process the feeds gathered at the consolidation point. We’re taking inventory, collecting samples for naturally occurring prohibited substances (NOPS) analysis, and repairing bags damaged in transit. (Unfortunately, a few casualties were beyond help and arrangements were made to have replacements sent to the consolidation point.)

As the importer and distributor of these feeds in the U.S., we need to be able certify they’re clean. Therefore, we’re testing at least one bag of every feed. To do this, we insert a probe into the bag and collect a sample, which is sent for analysis. We then re-seal the bags for transport.  Here’s more on NOPS testing.

A sampled bag.