Re: Barley

["Heidi Smith" <heidi@sagehillcmk.com>]

I'm not Susan, and she can elucidate further, but barley is one of the three main components in the common horse feed called "COB"--the name itself comes from the first letters of the three grains used in it, which are corn, oats, and barley.  Barley tends to be a bit "hotter" than oats, but we fed it for years because good, clean rolled barley was readily available and good oats were harder to find in our area.  (It was pretty much the only grain we used to use when I was a kid.)  You can feed less of it than oats.  Haven't looked at NRC charts comparing the two for several years, but am thinking that mayhaps the barley is lower in fiber, while being higher in carbs.  Susan can no doubt clarify such details.  Barley in its unrolled state is harder to chew than whole oats--pretty tough little kernels--so would definitely only feed it rolled....

 

Heidi

 

PS:  My mom makes a GREAT turkey/barley soup with the leftovers of the Thanksgiving turkey.....

----- Original Message -----

From: Linda B. Merims

To: ridecamp@endurance.net

Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 9:02 AM

Subject: RC: Barley

Since Burkhardt's 1831 essay claimed that barley was the

staple grain fed to horses by the bedouin, I'm curious:

Susan, what is the nutritional breakdown of barley?  Is

it commonly used in processed horse feeds today?

 

The only barley I've ever eaten is in Campbell's Beef

and Barley and Scotch Broth soups!

 

Linda B. Merims

lbm@naisp.net

Masschusetts, USA