Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

OK, my two cents worth:

 

If they will eat it....LET them EAT.

 

Back in the day before the wonder drug....Beet pulp, nobody fed anything like apples, carrots, whatever.  It was either hay or grass or NOTHING.  I did that along with all the others here in the SE for years.  I had a horse that never had impressive gut sounds.  Looking back, it was because I was so afraid he would eat something that he wasn't used to and colic.  Heck, it is a wonder he did colic and die from NOT getting to eat stuff.

 

So, my way of thinking has changed big time.  My horses get anything and everthing imaginable at rides.  Apples, carrots, raisins,  Nicker Makers(horse treats), grain (Yes, it has molasses) plain oats, plain cracked corn, beet pulp, grass hay AND some rather stemy Alfalfa.  (unlike Angie, I don't have a good source).  I have seen Rose not want ANY of this stuff, but Joel stopped in some nice farmer's corn field and pull her a few "real ears of corn".   She gobbled those up !!!  Ate that corn right off the cob.  But, she also really LIKES cream cheese danishes.  :))

rides2far@xxxxxxxx wrote:

> , then they will actually have more energy to 
> > keep> their guts operational and may even stimulate them to eat more
> hay 
> > which> will eventually get to the hindgut, but not for quite a while. >
> the next vet check.
> > Laney
>
> Hmm, I've never paid that much attention to this stuff. Just put a bunch
> of stuff out and let him eat what he wants...but this reminds me of a
> time I *almost* had to pull at about 90 miles. I was in Mississippi,
> doing well on the 100 when at about 90 miles Kaboot trotted out well but
> suddenly
>  had that look on his face like he just didn't feel good. Offer
> him food and he just looked at it. He wasn't interested in eating for
> about the first 15 minutes, then Glenda Weeks walked over with a bag of
> apples and he tentatively took one....then two, then three. He stood
> there and ate apples for the rest of the hold. I stayed a few minutes
> over, but I had to make a decision whether I thought he was OK or not
> (could he run on apple power?) when the last of the riders who knew the
> *minimally marked* trail were leaving and I jumped on and took off with
> them. Just outside camp they stopped at some good grass and he really
> tore into it. It was just like he needed his appetite jump started. Your
> post about the glycemic index, etc. makes me wonder if that was the deal.
> This was back before I put much grain out for him. He was not interested
> in his beet pulp with carrots & apples in it, and when the sun came up we
> found out the alfalfa
>  we were offering him had some mold in it. :-( It's
> probably been 8 years and I'm still wondering how I could have done a
> better job in that ride. I have a much better source of beautiful alfalfa
> now...but have bought the only horse in the world who isn't very
> impressed by alfalfa. :-P
>
> Angie
>
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
> Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
> Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
>
> Ride Long and Ride Safe!!
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

---

Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls.  Great rates starting at 1¢/min.