Re: Hay

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 18:39:17 -0500, Aunt Nasty
<Ye_Olde_Muleskinner@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Good point (that's about 35 pounds).

No, 'Mam. That's 140 pounds. Plus. :-)

The MM's aren't particularly large, and
seem to be a thrifty type, too.

95% of the breed will run from 14.2-15.2 hands.

Yup. Gotta watch out for developing the grossly obese horse, though.

Grass hays don't pose as much of a risk of that
as, say, dairy-quality rich alfalfas. The other part
of preventing obesity in horses is exercise, and
much of that should be at liberty.

Put a horse on a dairy-cow quality grass pasture (and don't add
exercise) you'll either have a "hindenburg with legs" or a world class
case of laminitis. Horses were meant by God/Nature/Whoever to eat the
sparse offerings of the short grass steppes.

Indeed. Primary source should be hay; secondary would be suppliment.
Under the proper circumstances hay quality (total TDN, no dust or mold
factors) can be adjusted downward if obesity becomes an issue. This
would, however, be an unusual circumstance.

Exactly. Then, just as you say, the quality can be
adjusted, in that event, not the quantity.

Tough to sell this to folks, sometimes.

It also helps generate heat on cold days.

That's an excellent point: I'd read somewhere that
the process of digesting hay is exothermic. It has
to be the best way to keep a horse warm. They're
"furnaces with fur" when well-nourished, as I tell
my students when they ask about blanketing.

Lately we've been learning, again, about cold in winter! :-)

"The secret of feeding round bales to horses
is to give them a new bale before they're forced
to eat the outside of the old..."

There is one downside to the round bale. Horses sometimes eat
"tunnels" into the bale. This means that they can be breathing any
dust, pollen, mold spoors, etc. that is in the day. All hay will have
some dust and pollen; spoors should be rare. This can cause a
difficulty in a horse with other respiratory issues.

That corresponds to what I've read and seen. As
John Hasler mentioned, the bales can be unrolled,
which is the way to avoid the tunneling.

Most folks don't do that as it leads to high wastage (trampling and
all). Since we haven't fed rounds for quite a while I've not had to
deal with it.

I know of people who've bought round bales to
unroll for bedding, too, when the lumber mills
aren't producing enough shavings.

Unrolling for feed is not too bad. Trying to break up the "mat" for
bedding is not a pleasant task. :-(

Round bales are usually quite a bit cheaper than
the equivalent weights in small squares.

Ayup.

Again, we feed to need.

Which is as it should be.

Indeed.

Bill Kambic
Haras Lucero, Kingston, TN
Mangalarga Marchador: Uma Raça, Uma Paixão
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Hay
    ... Horses were meant by God/Nature/Whoever to eat the ... Under the proper circumstances hay quality (total TDN, ... There is one downside to the round bale. ... It'd help to unroll them on dry flooring in a shelter, ...
    (rec.equestrian)
  • Re: Adding weight
    ... This summer the horses got a bit too heavy ... and I told hubby to cut back on the hay. ... I was glad to hear that someone else feeds lots ... > of a bale for a single horse for a morning feed, ...
    (rec.equestrian)
  • Re: hay pricing help
    ... am paying 5.50 per bale no matter the size, no matter the type, from ... some places where I traditionally pick up "extra" hay to feed the baby ... bale: big dealers and smaller growers alike. ... grass; oat is lighter. ...
    (rec.equestrian)
  • Re: Round Bales, Botulism, Increased Colic Risk?
    ... increased colic risk. ... Saving money on hay ceases to be a good idea when it ends in colic. ... The horses would rip off the weatherized outer layer and slowly ... A round bale lasted us two to three weeks, ...
    (rec.equestrian)
  • Re: Rainy Day Man
    ... Most of your hay ... to get those horses some good horse quality grass hay. ... If your friends aren't coming back for a few days, ... mentioned how well the horses looked ...
    (rec.equestrian)