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RE: [RC] Feeding hay on the ground - David LeBlancI saw a study summarized in Equus where they established pretty clearly a connection between feeding on sandy soil and other approaches, and I think they went as far as to look at groups of horses fed on sand and those fed from feeders, but also kept on sand. The woman I rented from when I was working in CO (near Boulder) fed hay in a sand lot, and she constantly had problems with colics and impactions. In terms of the water, I think the stuff that causes problems is coarse enough that they don't get a lot in their water intake. The silt would just pass through. When they're grazing, they're not usually eating all the way down to the soil, like they do scavenging that last bit of hay. I'd also suspect it may also have something to do with other factors, like how much of other feeds are given, what the other feeds are, etc. Plus it could just depend a lot on the horse - 1/2 our horses do fine with dry beet pulp, the other 1/2 choke. If we'd only had the 1/2 that are fine, we might be saying it's not a problem. Most of us don't have enough horses to make a decent study. Like most things, if you feed on sand, you're more likely to have this problem, but that could mean 1 out of 10 instead of 1 out of 30. You might own the other 9 horses... Something I'd look into if I lived in an area where it was much of a problem would be something simple, like 4x6 stall mats - we have a couple of these at the entrances to our barn, and sometimes use them to feed, mostly to keep them out of the mud. That way they get their heads down, but they're not in the dirt. -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sky Ranch Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 9:47 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Feeding hay on the ground I've fed hay off the ground for years and years also (since 1972), and have never had any impact colics, or in fact any colics other than one mild stress colic after a very hot and steep, high altitude (10,000 ft) ctr ride. Nothing due to impactions (and like Amber, I'm knocking on wood!) Maybe I've been lucky, maybe not. I think it's not luck. Remember, horses do graze off the ground a lot, and in the dry west, they're eating right in the dirt all the time when they're grazing the sparse pasture. So do wild horses, btw. I think they can also get sand and grit from muddy water, too, wouldn't you think? I've seen horses drink from very muddy ponds, streams, etc. That's silt in the water.... they seem to like the taste, too! and usually seem to prefer to drink out of an algae-rich, muddy pond than out of a clean, chlorinated bucket. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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