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Re: [RC] "Feeding the Hoof"- Just Curious - Maryanne Gabbani

I've been taking Dr. Kellon's course and being in Egypt have found it both rewarding and frustrating. I haven't yet found a place where a reliable test can be done on horse feed (which here consists of about four different kinds of forage and barley) and lord knows what I will go through trying to supplement when the time comes. HOWEVER, there are places where you can get a rough idea of the type of nutrition that various types of feed provide, such as the NRC guidelines for equine nutrition, which is available through Amazon. While this won't give you specifics, it  can put you in the ballpark roughly. Since the figures in the book are from North American sources for feeds, it will be of more use to you all than it is to me, but I still find it very helpful...even if half our  feed doesn't even rate a mention in the tables.

The class itself is more than worth its cost in terms of time and energy.

Maryanne

On Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 10:54 PM, Terry Banister <ebeyrider@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
As with everything, not all information applies to all readers. I am one of those still playing the "guessing game" with supplements because I board my horse, and we buy hay in small quantities from different sources. But I know there are some people on RC who buy bulk and round bales.

I did phone a couple of hay suppliers (Moorpark Hay and Chris Sommers) this morning, and MP Hay said they "usually" have an analysis available, but this last shipment did not come with one. CS said that the Alfalfa comes with an analysis because the dairy farmers & ranchers require it. It doesn't hurt to start asking.
I know there are minimum quantities required for some hay deliveries, and sometimes several owners share a delivery load. That could be practical to have analyzed.

In any case, the vitamin/mineral balance of the horse's diet is an important factor (but not always obvious) in hoof health. That balance has to be addressed in whatever way we can.

Terry


From: FXLivestock@xxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:29:01 -0400
Subject: Re: [RC] "Feeding the Hoof"- Just Curious
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

I really wonder how practical it is to test hay if you don't buy in quantity.  It seems that if you don't buy all your hay at one time and from one source that testing would have to be done quite frequently depending on how often you buy forage, where you buy, and where the broker is getting the forage.  I know when I used to buy in small quantities that quality of the forage could change from load to load even if I was buying from the same feed store. 
 
I am not sure how practical it is for most horse owners in CA (who buy hay by the bale or in small quantities several times a year) to invest in testing forage.  I know some horse owners that buy hay on a weekly basis.   Perhaps endurance riders would do this kind of testing but I find it hard to believe that the average horse owner would do this.
 
Terry, do you know the amount (tonage) that most mills require to formulate a concentrate ration for an individual horse owner?  I was always under the impression that it was quite a large amount but my experience was in a specific ration that was being formulated for a large herd of Angora goats.  Again, I wonder how practical this is for the average horse owner.
 
It is great that all this information is available but I wonder how easy it is to really put in practice considering that in many areas (again thinking of So Cal) that there are very few choices when it comes to keeping horses.
 
Kim Fuess
 



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Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
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