Re: Hay

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 19:11:57 -0500, wkambic@xxxxxxx wrote:

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

Oh, yes, you're right, my mistake. I knew the
conversion factor was about 2.2 but did it the
opposite way. It's over 154 pounds. Now I
wonder exactly what the material had been.

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

That's a good size for an optimum combination
of sturdiness and thriftiness.

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.

Yes, that's quite right. They're actually better at
the digestion of high-fiber low-nutrient forages
than the ruminants, iirc.

Bill wrote:
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.

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

Tough to sell this to folks, sometimes.

Logistically, it's easier to sling scoops of grain
than bales of hay. It's a convenience thing.

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! :-)

I was wondering if this latest spell of brisk weather
had made it that far south.

I'd written:
"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.

It'd help to unroll them on dry flooring in a shelter,
but most feed them outside, which also contributes
to additional wastage.

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. :-(

Those I've seen do that don't break it up. It forms
a very thick soft layer for the horses to lie on.

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

Ayup.

They're less labor-intensive to produce. I still like
my small squares, though.

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
    ... Put a horse on a dairy-cow quality grass pasture (and don't add ... 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. ...
    (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: 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: Hemp Bedding
    ... few horses. ... They tend to have hay which they will sell an odd bale ... Nicholas is in an area where horse hay is easily obtained (Even though the area is seriously in a drought, he can buy a bale of hay from just about any farmer or horseman, if he explains what he wants it for, and they realize that he's not going to be buying off their whole winter supply of hay. ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: A Dilettante, Indeed
    ... They also get hay in the turnouts, and we have two grass turnouts we ... Um..cause I have been around horses long enough to tell the difference? ... Lots of horses do not have access to turnout, ... Combinations and amounts depending ...
    (rec.equestrian)