Ridecamp: Re: [RC] anything essential missing from grass? AKA,how to deal with barn manager?

I thought of something else that I want to pass on to everyone here--Julie's
problem is a prime example of something I see in all sorts of animals, not
just horses.  The idea behind giving grain supplements is to correct for
energy, protein, mineral and vitamin deficiencies in forages.  Horses on
maintenance (nutritionally mature animals, that is) don't always need grain
for energy--the energy content of grass hay and pasture is usually adequate.
This idea that grain is a must-have under any and all situations for horses,
cattle, sheep, and goats is a myth.

Every state has a horse extension specialist that can give you a hand in
determining whether you need to make any diet changes if you don't have a
nutritionist in the area that you can call on.  I know for a fact that the
one in NC loves to tackle just this sort of situation!  LOL

----- Original Message -----
From: "julie fox" <treaster@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 8:15 PM
Subject: [RC] anything essential missing from grass? AKA, how to deal with
barn manager?


> Hi everybody.
>
> I am hoping that someone out there can at least ease my mind.  I have a
yearling Kiger filly, who I think could subsist on air alone if she had to.
Unfortunately, the barn manager has always known Thoroughbreds, and insists
on feeding my little mustang like a TB.  This means one "ration" (about 3.5
pounds) of generic sweet feed twice a day.  Needless to say, Sombre has
blown up like a balloon since the grass turned green.  She is out 24 hrs a
day in a HUGE pasture with 8 other horses, with unbeatable trail access, and
close to my house, so I really can't move her to another barn.  The problem
is that every time I ask the barn manager to reduce her grain, she gives me
the "I don't like it, but she's your horse" speech and reduces the grain,
but within a week she's back up to where she started.
>
> I have finally convinced her to not feed Sombre any grain at all.  I truly
believe that she will get plenty of calories from the pasture, but I am
concerned about essential nutrients or vitamins that the grass alone may not
provide.  For example, I know the east coast is notorious for being low in
selenium.  (We live in central Maryland).
>
> So my question is this.  Is anything essential to a growing yearling
missing from a 100% grass diet?  If so, can somebody recommend a good
supplement that will provide the missing essentials, without adding
calories?  Also, since our barn-manager-problem is guaranteed to repeat
itself when fall comes around and the grass isn't so rich, can anybody
suggest a way to deal with the barn manager so that she will listen to me
and my instructions on how much to feed?
>
> I really appreciate any thoughts on these issues.  I'm so stressed about
it that I'm actually dreaming about grass and sweet feed at night.
>
> Thanks a ton,
>
> Cristin
>
>
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=