Fabulous Feed Store - Fred C. Gilbert's

Considering that I live in a pretty "horsey" community, we're not exactly brimming with feed stores. We do have a Tractor Supply, but it's a 30 minute drive (or more). There are also two or three other feed stores to my west, but they too are a solid 30 minutes away. The river corridor, where my boys live, is home to at least a thousand horses. With such a concentrated group of equestrians, you would think we'd have more feed stores nearby. It's a good thing that the one closest to the barn is fabulous.

Inside Fred C. Gilbert's - photo borrowed from their Facebook page.

Fred C. Gilbert Farm and Ranch Supply is a short, ten minute drive from the barn. It's also directly on the way to the barn from work. For me, convenience trumps most everything else; within reason of course. It's also family owned and operated. Whether or not that's the reason for the excellent customer service, it keeps me coming back for more. 

March's haul.

Even though I love Fred C Gilbert's, I hate taking the time to stop in. Most months, I pick a weekday when I think my boys need a day off, and I buy everything that I think I'll need for the entire month. That usually means two bags of this, two bags of that, throw in two of those, and maybe a small bag of that one.

There are five kinds of feed in this photo!

The first week of the month tends to be pretty crowded as last month's feed is still in the rotation. Both horses share the rice bran, but the Senior CarboRaider is all Speedy's. The beet pulp is mostly for Izzy; Speedy gets a handful. They both get the peppermint wafers as well as the Horse Guard Vitamins. 

Dated for easy identification.

About a year ago, maybe more, I started realizing that "stockpiling" posed some small risks, namely stale or old feed. Before I bring in the new bags, I always move my old bags and sweep the area clean. I then bring in the new bags and place them in the back against the wall. The old bags get placed in front. While I rarely keep bags for more than two months, it can be easy to lose track of which bag is oldest.

Lots of bags purchased in March.

About 6 months ago I realized that it was possible to keep shuffling the same bag to the back, especially on a month where something is on sale and I buy three or four bags of the same thing. I keep a Sharpie on hand to make notes on my calendar, so I decided to start writing the dates on the corner of each bag when I buy it.

Still working on February's bag.

Besides helping me use the bags from oldest to newest, it also helps me know how many bags I should buy each month. As the seasons change, I feed more or less depending on my boys' needs that season. By noting the date I purchased something, I can tell how quickly I am using it. It seems like a good idea, and since I do that same thing in my own refrigerator, I was surprised that I hadn't done it sooner.

Anybody else have a system for feeding the old stuff first?