Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Horse feed

> Bob, I agree with you that monoculture is a big handicap to have to work
> with in working out good nutrition for any species, including horses.

I can't entirely agree with Bob's premise that when we look for the "best"
hay, we are necessarily looking for a monoculture.  Our "best" grass hay in
central Oregon was often a mix of orchard grass and various pasture grasses,
and near as I can tell, there are at least 5 different grass species in our
hay that we grow on our place here in Idaho, with some species heavier on
some parts of the place than on others.   We also have alfalfa in some of
our fields, so that our first cutting of those fields has a little bit, and
our later cuttings run 40-50%.  We stack the cuttings and the different
fields separately so that we can "target" different groups of horses at
different times of the year with more or less or no alfalfa, or by the
quality of the grasses at time of cut, etc.  To my way of thinking, at
least, this is much more the "ideal" way to grow hay, and is one reason why
we finally bought our own place with hay fields instead of relying on the
growers who wait for maximum tonnage (hence lower nutrient value, as the hay
is over-mature) or going with what is the "prettiest."  Our horses sure seem
to stay healthy on this mix...

Heidi



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