by Naomi Loomis, WSRRA
Association Representative
“Cowboy Complete Pellets are designed to fully cover Equine needs for fiber and nutrients. … A complete and high-fiber feed, 100% hay-replacement for any horse. Cowboy Choice Feeds is unique blend of low starch, all-natural ingredients contain a sustained energy source for peak performance. No grain. No sweeteners.”
I sat down with Rich Dobbins with Cowboy Choice Feeds and chatted with him about Cowboy Choice Feeds. “I’m an entrepreneur with 25+ years in the equine industry with strong experience in starting and running companies. I’ve been around horses and feed my whole life. My Grandad ran a Buckey’s Feed and Grain in Orland, California for years. My Great Grandad started the Red Bluff Bull & Gelding Sale, an event that has been around for 79 years. I had great examples and leaders teaching me about horses and feed from a young age.. I’m a married man with 5 kids, living on a ranch in Oregon. I spend time with my family hunting, riding horses and raising my kids in a traditional fashion.”
How long have you been selling Cowboy Choice Feeds?
Cowboy Choice Feeds started in 2015 and Rich tells us about how it started. “My partner’s and I founded in Cowboy’s Choice Feeds in 2017, we saw a need in the industry. We wanted to help horse, livestock, deer and elk ranch owners feed their animals right. Without fillers, without binders and other nonsense mainstream competitors use to extend their feed’s shelf life and improve palatability. Many feeds on the market today have binders added, are high in starch, are sweet feeds that cause insulin spikes and do not help digestive disorders (like hind-gut problems, ulcers, tendency to colics); Leading feed companies’ over-price their feeds to create false-value for their end-users while inexpensive feeds often have low palatability. Our feeds do not have binders, are low- starch, do not contain molasses or any other binders, improve digestion and offer a low glycemic index (created by the natural fats in the almond hulls) that creates great and lasting energy”
Rich talks about his degree and the need he saw in the horse feed world. “I went to San Diego State University and majored in Safety Management. Like many in our industry, my expertise comes many years of real-life experience. I’ve been a cowboy and been around horses all my life both professionally and personally. I’ve experienced the problems my customers face. I know what they go through when they buy a bag of junk feed and their horses won’t eat it because it doesn’t taste good to them. I know how it feels to be taken advantage of by a large corporation as a horse owner, and as the owner of Cowboy’s Choice Feeds, we refuse to do that to our customers.”
On behalf of the WSRRA, we appreciate the relationship with Cowboy Choice Feeds. “We’ve sponsored the WSRRA two years because we believe in their mission to give the everyday cowboy – men and woman, an opportunity to compete in sanctioned ranch rodeo events. Not everyone can be a full-time ranch-hand competitor. This is a great event to give those who work in the real world an opportunity to compete and enjoy what others get to do full time,” states Rich.
