AUBURN – Purina has issued a recall for a variety of horse feeds because the food may be contaminated by aflatoxin, a toxin produced by mold.

The recall was issued in February, but at least one local horse owner is concerned that area horse owners don’t know about it.

“Even where we buy our grain, and we do a lot of business there, they didn’t tell us. Someone should be doing something about that,” said Cindy Webster, whose daughter had been feeding her elderly horse the recalled grain before it became constipated and fell ill last week.

Her daughter, Kerri Webster, saw a story about the recall in a horse magazine soon after the horse got sick. She started withholding grain and giving the horse, Domino, probiotics. He’s now getting better. The family believes the grain made him sick, either because the feed was contaminated or because it was old – older than the family realized when they bought it.

They’re now telling every horse owner they meet about the recall.

“She (Kerri) went to a riding clinic this weekend, and she brought the magazine. Nobody knew about it. They’re all horse people, there’s a lot of people there, and nobody knew about it,” Webster said.

The recall affects Land O’ Lakes/Purina feed manufactured before Feb. 8, 2008, in plants in Statesville, N.C., and Harrisburg, Pa., and before March 10, 2008, in Guilderland, N.Y.

In a release dated May 8, the company said it had no confirmed cases of aflatoxin-related health problems, but it urged customers to contact their veterinarian if they had any concerns.

For more information about the recall and for a list of the feeds affected, go to www.purinamills.com.