Re: RC: Re: Re: Complete Feed Recommendations

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Hi Susan
Since we are talking about feed... my horses were taken off pasture in
Nov. (since we were expecting more rains--- turned out to be just a
tease until the "floods" in Feb.) and fed alfalfa hay all winter. Now
the pastures are just drying out and I expect the grass to have a big
water content initially. We have a summer AND 2 winter pastures and they
are all still damp. There was perhaps just a little bit of grass
shooting up in the dry lot we had to put our horses in to let the
pastures rest. Now how do I reintroduce 20 horses to pasture without
having to try to catch each one and let them graze for a few hours and
then longer and longer each day... or can I give them probiotics
(yogurt?) and let them just go on it or feed alfalfa during their first
few days or... or...?
We have never had this problem before as our pastures have always been
year-round and never before have turned into raging rivers and a lake.
I have never had a horse founder on me and don't want to start now.
Help!
Bette

Susan Garlinghouse wrote:
> 
> > Yes, we'll have a support vehicle following our progress.  However, we
> won't
> > always be in contact with it so will carry horse feed on our pack animals.
> > We worry about grazing in some places so that's why we want to have proper
> > feed that will take care of our equines when grazing isn't a possibility.
> > Transporting hay for 6 to 8 equines is out of the question.
> 
> Then I'd pack a bag or two of  pellets, preferably one that has some grain
> product included but with a crude fiber content of > 16-18%.  Purina's
> Equine Adult or Horse Chow would be possibilities, or even potentially
> something like Equine Senior (or their equivalents from other
> manufacturers).  Complete Advantage would be fine, too, although I'm just
> not wild about the idea of feeding it as the sole feed.  I'd be a lot
> happier feeding it as a supplement along with some grazing.  You can also
> consider packing a bag of straight beet pulp pellets, but especially if your
> guys are going to be potentially a little dehydrated, I'd really suggest
> soaking it well and that requires packing some buckets or tubs.  And of
> course, make sure that you're feeding them things that they've been getting
> for awhile---don't just wait until you're in the middle of nowhere and then
> plop down a bunch of feed they've never seen before.  Trying to get a field
> call from a vet when all you can provide is longtitude and latitude would be
> Not Fun.
> 
> I guess if I had to make a decision myself when I wasnt sure there would be
> plenty of grazing, then my choice would be to carry a bag of forage-based
> pellets or cubes with a crude fiber content of >16%, plus a bag of Complete
> Advantage, plus find an overnight site that had *some* sort of grazing
> available.
> 
> I have a good friend who's been a professional pack outfitter for about
> forty years and when he was taking dozens of animals into the high country
> for hunting trips, he said his stock maintained weight and did just fine
> with no problems if they got about an hour and a half of grazing a day
> (regardless of the quality of the graze), plus about 3 pounds of alfalfa
> cubes, plus another 2-3 pounds of grain, plus maybe a half cup of Mazola
> corn oil dribbled on top of their rations.  These are mostly 1200 lb horses
> or mules carrying 200 lbs and covering 15-20 miles a day at high altitude.
> 
> I'm going to go on my first (solo) pack trip this summer and even though I
> expect the grazing to be adequate, I'm going to carry a bag of alfalfa
> pellets and a bag of Complete Advantage for four animals for about five
> days.
> 
> Susan G
> 
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-- 
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of 16.2hh TLA Halynov	
(Yes, really 16.2!)
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com