As you know, I struggle with keeping Hampton at a good weight, especially in the winter. He did great this summer when I switched grain and added alfalfa cubes to his diet. (He was also able to graze on nice grass) He has been steady so far this winter, maybe a little thinner but no ribs yet. I did up his cubes and added Purina Amplify (a high-fat nugget). But Hampton isn't the problem.
THIS is:
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| mmm gimme some ranch dressing |
I know that roundbales sometimes have a gross outer shell and the hay inside is good. Well, not these. The above photo is a roundbale that is just sitting in the pasture. The horses haven't touched it!
Here's a photo of a bale the horses were nibbling on:
Is it just me, or does this not even look like "filler?" It's GROSS! I rooted around and did not find any mold, so that's good. I usually root around in the hay bales and take off the stringy stuff. My instructor's young horse ate that netting and ended up dying on the table at Purdue because it had made a giant hole in his colon. So yeah, take off the netting. My current BOs do not do this, so that is why I do.
I know this is why Hampton has issues with his weight. The BOs seem to be aware of this issue (other boarders have complained) ... but yet ... they still have this shit to eat?
I do not mind spending extra cash on a horse who is a "hard keeper" but honestly I do not think Hampton falls into this category. I mean he doesn't even get a fighting chance with this stuff. I am so frustrated and not sure what to do. If I could make it out to the farm 3x a day to feed him better flakes of hay, I would. But work doesn't allow that. And frankly, I PAY to board my horse so I don't have to do that.
I'm done bitching .. for the time being. :)
Next up: Blogger awards!
I think that the reason that healthy horses do not chow down on gross round bales like that is that they are not really hungry so they just nibble. If you could throw him a flake or two of good quality hay when you go to the barn you will be giving him extra calories and he will prefer it over that other stuff.
ReplyDeleteI feed Nina soaked beet pulp for weight. It also works well for any supplement because she likes it and doesn't appear to notice anything I dump in it. In the summer she gets about 1/2 cup of canola oil added to it and in the winter I can work her up to about 2 cups, which is 4,000 calories. She has to be cold and hungry to eat that much oil.
Those look awful. I don't have the best round bales this year but they are way better than this. That is so crappy especially since there doesn't seem to be anything you can do about it. So Hamps, The Dude would share a bale with you.
ReplyDeleteEw. I would feel bad even feeding COWS that. I have been interested hearing about this 'leave round bales outside' thing done in the States, but this has put me right off. Or is this just a particularly bad example?
ReplyDeleteGross. I would be upset too if my horse was being fed that! That doesn't even look edible...
ReplyDeleteOh and I forgot to mention that I also left you (another) award over at my blog!
ReplyDeleteLove the new header!! I can't wait for your exciting summer adventures.
ReplyDeleteThat bale is disgusting. I wouldn't expect Izzy to eat if she was starving, much less for daily intake.
Eww! I definitely wouldn't eat that or let my horse. I'm very particular with hay because at a barn I used to board at, they got some really dusty hay and Scarface had a cough for over a year as a result. Not cool.
ReplyDeleteIn a perfect world, that round bale would be in some type of holder/feeder so it wouldnt be just on the ground soaking up mud/dirt/urine. I agree, that one the horses aren't touching...is for a reason and I can't say I blame them. There are such great bonuses of round bales, namely the all day nibbling which is the best. If you can supplement w/ either a soaked BP with added soaked Tim/alf cubes, once a day, I bet would help. At least during winter months. I do it, and it makes me feel good that I'm putting moisture in Laz's gut as well. I would be annoyed too, though, so I don't think you are wrong. I also have issues with nets/strings laying around and I too am constantly picking them up.
ReplyDeleteIf you struggle with weight on your horse, and are boarding, a good solution can be giving your guy hay subes at night feed (late night) if they do that. You can fill half a bucket, (I like to soak them) and just have them throw the bucket in his stall at night. Puts weight on fast and most horses love them.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the new header! I should have you make me one cause I can barely figure out how to post a picture as a header.
ReplyDelete