Fw: RC: Re: Barley

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

The following came from Susan to pass on to RC.  Would only add the comment
that my concern about the hardness of it likely has to do with the fact that
I'm often feeding old horses with less than perfect dentition.  Otherwise,
Susan is right that horses can normally deal with pretty hard grains.... :-)

Heidi

----- Original Message -----
From: <suendavid@att.net>
To: "Heidi Smith" <heidi@sagehillcmk.com>
Cc: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 9:50 PM
Subject: Re: RC: Re: Barley


> Heidi, if you wouldn't mind forwarding this to RC--I'm
> on my dad's computer and it's not letting me post to
> RC.  Your explanation of barley is just what I would
> have said, except that while barley is one of the harder
> grians and so digestibility is increased by processing
> (steaming, rolling, whatever), the digestibility is only
> increased by about 5%, so not all that significant.  If
> you're planning on buying it in bulk and storing it,
> processing exposes it to faster rancidity and oxidation,
> so maybe better to feed whole (fresher) barley and live
> with the very minor decrease in digestibility.
>
> Thanks,
> Susan G
> > 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
> >
> >
> >
> >
>