Horizon Legacy Dog Food | Review | Rating

Horizon Legacy Dry Dog Food

Rating:

Which Horizon Recipes Get
Our Best Ratings?

Horizon Legacy Dog Food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

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The Horizon Legacy product line includes the 3 dry dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Product	Rating	AAFCO
Horizon Legacy Adult	5	M
Horizon Legacy Puppy	5	G
Horizon Legacy All Life Stages with Salmon	5	A

Recipe and Label Analysis

Horizon Legacy Adult was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

Horizon Legacy Adult

Dry Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 38% | Fat = 17% | Carbs = 38%

Ingredients: Chicken, chicken meal, pea, pea starch, turkey meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, source of vitamin E), salmon meal, pea fibre, flaxseed, egg product, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, vitamin E), carrots, apples, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, blueberries, salt, fructooligosaccharides, Yucca schidigera extract, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae 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, and 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

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 3.9%

Red denotes controversial item

Estimated Nutrient Content
Method	Protein	Fat	Carbs
Guaranteed Analysis	34%	15%	NA
Dry Matter Basis	38%	17%	38%
Calorie Weighted Basis	33%	35%	32%

Protein = 33% | Fat = 35% | Carbs = 32%

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains up to 73% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The second ingredient is chicken meal. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.

The third ingredient includes peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The next ingredient is pea starch, a paste-like, gluten-free carbohydrate extract probably used here as a binder for making kibble. Aside from its energy content (calories), pea starch is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The fifth item is turkey meal, another protein-rich meat concentrate.

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The sixth ingredient is chicken fat. This item is obtained from rendering chicken, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The seventh ingredient is salmon meal, yet another high protein meat concentrate.

Fish meal is typically obtained from the “clean, dried, ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish and fish cuttings” of commercial fish operations.¹

The eighth ingredient is pea fiber, a mixture of both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber derived from pea hulls. Aside from the usual benefits of fiber, this agricultural by-product provides no nutritional value to a dog.

The ninth ingredient is flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The next ingredient is egg product, an unspecified (wet or dry?) form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries — from eggs that have failed to hatch.

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Horizon product.

With 4 notable exceptions…

First, salmon oil is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.

Depending on its level of freshness and purity, salmon oil should be considered a commendable addition.

Next, this recipe contains fructooligosaccharide, an alternative sweetener² probably used here as a prebiotic. Prebiotics function to support the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine.

In addition, this food includes chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

And lastly, we note the use of selenium yeast. Unlike the more common inorganic form of selenium (sodium selenite), this natural yeast supplement is considered a safer anti-cancer alternative.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Horizon Legacy Dog Food looks like an above-average dry product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 38%, a fat level of 17% and estimated carbohydrates of about 38%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 38% and a mean fat level of 18%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 36% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 46%.

Which means this Horizon product line contains…

Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the peas and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a dry product containing a significant amount of meat.

Our Rating of Horizon Legacy Dog Food

Horizon Legacy is a grain-free dry dog food using a generous amount of named meat meals as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

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Horizon Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Horizon through March 2023.

No recalls noted.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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More Horizon Reviews

The following Horizon dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

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