Susan, if you aren't in the midst of finals. .
.
I'm curious - what is the point of barley in a COB
mix? My pasture ornaments get about a half pound of oats and a half
pound of cracked corn along with an ounce of Farnam's VitaPlus two times a
day. Once a day, they get a half teaspoon of Selenium (I drew blood
levels to arrive at that). Five months a year, the two get free choice
grass pasture, the other seven months, free choice first cutting grass/alfalfa
mix hay. I could probably get away with no grain at all, at least for my
husband's easy keeper, but his feelings would be hurt. Anyway, back to
my original question, what does barley add?
Hiya Laurie,
Sorry about the long delay, never enough hours
dontcha know. :-)
If my office didn't look like a bomb had hit it,
I could give you more exact numbers, but the general rationale behind
corn-oats-and-barley is that every type of feed has an inherent imbalance in
the nutrients it supplies. For example, corn is the highest energy grain
available, but is a poor source of lysine. Oats are a better source of
lysine and zinc but are also higher in fiber, so not as energy dense. If
you mix together the three grains, the strengths of one tend to mediate the
weak points of another and you get a better overall nutrient
profile, mostly in terms of the amino acids. That general principle
of balancing different feeds applies to forages, protein supplements,
minerals, etc as well, not just corn-oats-barley. There's really
only one feed per se that supplies all the nutrients required by an adult
horse at maintenance in the right ratios and amounts and that one feed is, you
guessed it, good grass pasture. Everything else we feed is essentially
an artificial diet (which is why I crack up over the idea of "natural" rations
that aren't any less foreign to the equine digestive system), and so being
artificial, we have to play games balancing a dab of this with a pound of
that. Especially when we start asking our horses to do things other than
what they're evolved to do, that is, mosey around on the steppes grazing and
watching out for cave bears.
Is it a big deal that you're just feeding corn
and oats and not barley? Nah. You're not missing anything
vital. Yes, you could get away with any grain at all as you suggested,
but in your case, the grain is providing Proof That Mommy Loves Me and you
can't beat that. :-)))
Sorry again about the delay.
Susan G