[ Post a Response | Zebra Mania Message Board ]
Posted by Sammi Jo's Mom on 3/21/2009, 7:18 pm, in reply to "'Splain that to me..."
12.168.43.235
A cow's digestive procees is fermentation Grains and legumes (alfalfa etc) ferment well. A horses gut also ferments but it is the fiber that creates warmth. I have been out to feed in sub-zero weather with the snow blowing and horses humped up with their butts to the wind some shivering. Within 5 minutes of feeding straight mountain meadow grass hay (nothing better for horses in my opinion) the shivering is done. The corseness of the fiber does make the digestion process work harder (if you will) or I think, take longer, creating more heat from the inside. I only feed once a day, at night. My theory, they eat at night when they are less likely to move around for warmth, then during the day they pick at the leftovers. I have very little wastage and my animals maintain their weight. As for the corn stalks, around here they have started baling them in big square bales I put a bale in for free choice fodder. They will actually eat that before the hay. The sugars in the stalk, of course provide energy, the fiber as already discussed provide warmth, and the occassional whole ear with kernels is a coveted treat! They will even eat the cobs and root wads! They will get the nutrition from the hay and the "grazing" from the corn. I wasn't able to get any cornstalks this year and it is noticeable. They are being slower to shed, not as glossy, and harder on the fences than usual. I have even wintered my herd exclusively on a harvested cornfield. As for alfalfa we are fortunate enought to have "dairy" quality here and that's what it should be used for, dairy cows. The calcium content in alfalfa is to much for horses on a regular basis. I will mix it with grass for my young growing horses and later stage pregnant mares on through lactation for obvious reasons. I have had issues with stones in my horses when I fed alfalfa and even have some that are allergic, they break out in hives or leg swelling. I had a HYPP mare that would have her "episodes" everytime she got alfalfa and/or sweet feed. So far her heterozygous HYPP daughter who has never had alfalfa and is now 4 years old has not had an attack of HYPP. I'm not a big fan of graining them either. They get grains in the fall naturally in the wild from grass heads. same with the hay although it's usually cut just prior to being a mature head it is full of good proteins in that head. Called "in the milk". Oat hay is cut at that time and is excellent horse hay. When my horses are up on the mountain, they have to move around a lot after they mow down the green grass around the springs/waterholes. They eat mature and yellowed grasses all summer long, and by fall they are so fat I have to put one less horse in the trailer than when I put them out in the spring. They wander over 450 acres all summer long. I also have a 29 year old horse that is still going strong even tho he's losing teeth. I do feed him Nutrena Life Stages Senior, Shredded beet pulp, hay cubes and just a bit of sweet feed. He also gets fed only once a day. He gets a small flake of hay once in a while but he just sorts out the leaves and good stuff. He has quids all over his pen! This is just what works for me and my horses I've done it for 30+ years! Had only 4 cases of colic in those years too! One from well meaning people thinking they were treating my horse with watermelon, lots of it! Another was a horse that I rescued way back when and didn't know not to just give him the best I had all at once, I had a young horse excape and get into new green grass, she was the only one I had to put down from complications of colic, and one impaction due to "snowballs" in the hooves so she wouldn't walk to the water this winter.
I've had a LOT of horses, donkeys, mules, and minis from new foals to ancient ones, healthy ones, rescued ones with baggage and special needs ones, (probably close to 250) over the years (currently 45 with babies coming) so I'm pretty well experienced in their maintenence issues. What works on one may not work on another.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread
( Message Board first page) zebramania webscribe