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Cutting Hay
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Hay Wilson in TX
Posted 5/31/2006 19:21 (#16184 - in reply to #16171)
Subject: Agree but for a different reason.



Little River, TX
In a humid eastern climate you cut when there is a window of opportunity in the weather.



For the typical horse what he will be producing will be of higher feed value than the horses need or use for energy. All the hay required for 95% of the horses is something that looks good, does not have any foreign smells, is reasonably weed free, and has no mold. The remaining 5% are athletes or little mothers and need all the protein and carbohydrates they can get. Horses are designed to consume forages, not grain, or cubes. For this small percentage of animals a high quality forage is what is needed.

I try to limit my sales of hay containing alfalfa to horse owners with horses in training or with a wet mare. Even a stud in service, here, does not need that good a feed.

The typical horse owner, here in CenTex, will feed some kind of grass hay. Supplemented by oats or a magic ration from the feed store, and/or sweet feed. The horse will stand around for weeks with nothing to do except eat. If they are lucky they will be in a 5 maybe 10 acre stomp lot, along with 10 to 20 horses. People pay more attention to their cattle than they do to their horses.

My usual grass hay will be 12% CP with a fair amount of energy. For some horses this is too rich.

Our academic friends tell us a horse will eat 18 hours a day if allowed the time. I have heard of folks feeding horses native range grass straw. That is the straw, after combining off the seed for sale. Sort of like eating only cabbage, but for some that is what the doctor ordered.

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