Re: [RC] Weight hay requirements/question for Heidi and Susan - Ag47xAu49
My sentiments exactly. My friends are dumbfounded at the way I keep the
boys. I keep telling people that horses are designed to eat 20 or so hours a
day. The stomach holds a quart or so. Constant in, constant out. All are on a
bit of a diet now, so 747 liquid vitamins go in a gallon of water with a
sprinkling of trace mineral salt and some whole oats, but not much. They act as
if they are in hog heaven. Beccy in Ut, hay and water fanatic
In a message dated 10/11/2005 6:38:11 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,
suendavid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Unless a
horse is pig fat and in dire need of losing weight, IMO, all horses should
have something to munch on in front of them 24/7. If they throw some
around, tromp on it, sleep on it, pee on it, fine. Much cheaper than
a $400 vet bill for an emergency colic, or $8000 for surgery. So
allow for 25-30 lbs a day, and be happy if they spend their time wasting
hay rather than eating sand. Don't feed rich, leafy, high protein
alfalfa or clover or whatever in your area is fed to the high-producing
dairy cows. Feed a decent quality grass hay, supplement the
deficiencies as needed in your region, throw out some salt, become a
fanatic about water quality and quantity and that's that for 95% of the
horses out there.
