Re: Round Bales, Botulism, Increased Colic Risk?

WordSmith has brought this to us :
On Mar 17, 11:00 pm, Eileen Morgan <eg...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
OK, so on my eventing list a couple folks feed round bales, but several
raised concerns about increased botulism risk, excessive hay waste, and
increased colic risk.

Comments? Data? Anecdotes?

Saving money on hay ceases to be a good idea when it ends in colic.

We've occasionally used round bales. We got the 700 - 800 lb. size
bales. Two will fit in the 8-ft. bed of a pickup truck. Without
special equipment we rolled them off the truck and into the barn. (A
couple of wide, sturdy planks will serve as a ramp when needed.)

Some of the round bales we got were pretty nice. Others not so much.
The horses would rip off the weatherized outer layer and slowly
demolish the rest. A lot of hay gets wasted, at least a third. The
horses rip the bale apart seeking the tastiest bits. They lay down in
it. They roll in it. Soil it. Trample it.

A round bale lasted us two to three weeks, depending on whether I had
two horses or four horses eating off it.

But then I've never had more than four horses go at a round bale. With
more horses, you'll probably go through the bales faster, but with
less waste.

In the September or October 2008 issue of Hobby Farms magazine, we
came across plans for a manger sized for pygmy goats. Thinking that it
would be perfect for the alpacas, David built one. They're pretty
sturdy. (Leave out the tub at the bottom, by the way.) I liked them so
much, that I asked David to build me three more for Christmas. <g>
They've held up really well with the horses. (The alpacas managed to
destroy one. Go figure.) They're low enough that it's easy to drop in
half a ~50 lb. square bale and the horses aren't eating with their
heads raised way high.

--Karen Smith


Would you still have those plans, by chance?


.

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, ...
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  • 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. ...
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  • 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. ... Some of the round bales we got were pretty nice. ... The horses would rip off the weatherized outer layer and slowly ...
    (rec.equestrian)
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