Would it be safer then to hand feed pelleted hay at
a time (on the trail) when the horse might be eating voraciously? It'd be easy
to carry a heavyweight baggie and since it is more condensed than cubes it'd
take up less space. I had to feed it for a while as a mash to a pony who
was too sick to eat (I syringed it) & couldn't have any grain/mollasses in
her feed. Prior to that I didn't know you could get pelleted hay. Just a
thought.
Kathy
I have a side question re feeding hay cubes, specifically right after a
ride. I have not fed them myself, but have thought of taking them on a
long ride that might not have much readily available food (ie grass etc) on the
trail that the horse can grab and eat when moving. However, I have
seen horses choking at a ride on two separate instances (one where they had to
tube the horse, one where the horse managed to dislodge the block
themselves)and both times a hay cube was the culprit. I am not
saying that feeding them is bad, but am just wondering that, when right after a
ride when a horse is EALLY hungry, if they do not chew them as thoroughly as
they should and then try to swallow them when the size of the food is still too
big to easily do so, as opposed to in a "at home" normal feeding situation, they
would take their time to chew it and it would not be an issue?
Granted, the same thing could happen w/ other feeds (large pieces of carrots or
something similar) and two horses is in no way are large number of
instances to deduce anything definitive, but possibly if partially chewed the
pieces would have edges on them that might cause them to stick in the
throat? Would appreciate any insight from someone more experienced with
this type of feed; thanks
Lauretta and Shaba (who will hoover food
anytime, anywhere, that is not tied down..especially if it does not belong to
him :)>
