Horizon Pulsar Grain-Free Lamb Formula Dry Dog Food
The first five ingredients are Lamb Meal, Red Lentils, Peas, Pea Starch, Lamb. 2 of them are a named animal protein. We put the starch at 44.2%, above the 38.51% average across the foods we hold.
Nothing alarming here, but a few of the figures sit below what we see across the archive.
How we got to 59
Five things, one hundred points, and the reason for every one. We would rather show our working than ask you to trust a number.
26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.
Estimated, 6% ash assumed.
Count of named animal proteins.
Matched against the flag list.
Manufacturer, not recipe.
The numbers, without the water
Percentages on a bag include the water in the food, so a wet food always looks lower than a dry one. Taking the water out puts any two foods on the same footing. This one is 90% dry matter.
That is 5.7 points above average, so proportionally more of the bag is starch.
Everything on the label
Printed exactly as the manufacturer lists it, heaviest ingredient first. A dog food needs very little salt, so the 37 ingredients listed after salt are present in even smaller amounts. That is the salt divider, and it is why we only weigh the top of the list.
Lamb Meal, Red Lentils, Peas, Pea Starch, Lamb, Flaxseed, Canola Oil, Carrots, Apples, Broccoli, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Blueberries, Salt*The Salt Divider. Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after this point is present in an even smaller amount., Dl-methionine, Fructooligosaccharides, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Taurine, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Pineapple, Dried Trichoderma Longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Rhizopus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Bifidum Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Source Of Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulphate, Iron Proteinate*, Zinc Sulphate, Zinc Proteinate*, Manganous Oxide, Manganese Proteinate*, Copper Sulphate, Copper Proteinate*, Calcium Iodate, Selenium Yeast, Magnesium Oxide
What those first ingredients actually are
The top of the list is most of the food by weight, so it is worth knowing what each one is. Green marks a named animal protein.
Lamb Meal
Lamb that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal, with most of the water removed.
Red Lentils
Lentils of the red variety, which are hulled and split so they cook down quickly.
Peas
The seed of the pea plant, used whole, split or dried as a carbohydrate and plant protein source.
Pea Starch
The starch fraction separated out from peas after the protein and fiber are removed.
Lamb
The clean flesh of sheep, used fresh.
How much of this to feed
A starting point, worked out from the resting energy formula vets use and this food's own calorie density. Every dog is different, so watch their weight and adjust. Your vet's advice beats a calculator.
How it compares
Same figures, same method, put next to another recipe from Horizon and the archive average.
| Metric | This recipe | Horizon Amicus Grain-Free Adult Tri-Protein… | Archive average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Score | 59 | 70 | -- |
| Protein, water out | 28.9% | 33.3% | -- |
| Starch, water out | 44.2% | 37.6% | 38.51% |
| Named in first five | 2 of 5 | 2 of 5 | -- |
Recall history
Recalls are matched to the manufacturer, not this exact recipe. A recall on a different product still tells you something about the plant it came from.
We have not matched any FDA recall to Horizon. We check the feed daily and this page updates when that changes.
Other flavors
More from Horizon, scored the same way.