Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Just catching up on ridecamp posts, so this may be a little delayed, but wanted to share. I worked at Texas A&M's equine ICU for a few years, and around here, the cheapest and most available type of hay is coastal, especially in this little pocket of Texas - it's all I feed, and the only colic (knocking on wood) i've had has been unrelated to the hay.

 

One of the colic surgeons there told me that he's worked in several parts of the country, and that each geographic region typically has one type of colic you see a little bit more of than elsewhere, or that's more severe, etc. He'd been here for 3 or so years at the time, and was really surprised at the number of surgical impactions he saw (i remember it wasn't terribly uncommon to have 2 come through in a night, and i think i remember one day that had 4) as compared to other places.

 

His personal thought is that it is related to the coastal - because it's a fine hay, the horses sometimes don't chew enough, and therefore don't produce enough saliva, making things a little drier than they might have otherwise been, as they course through the GI tract. From taking histories, by far the highest risk group does not include the majority of our horses. Horses kept in stalls whose diet consists of only coastal hay are the ones to worry about. Those able to graze who are supplemented with coastal don't seem to have as much of a problem.

 

 

Kris

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

From: Sky Ranch

To: Jim Holland ; rdcarrie@xxxxxxx

Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 8:36 PM

Subject: Re: [RC] Switching from green grass to hay before a ride

When I lived in Texas I fed ONLY coastal bermuda hay, and never had problems.  This was over a 20 year period that I had horses, and over 20 horses in that time.  I never had a colic.  My grandfather bred QH for over 40 years, his mares and stallions were on bermuda grass (mostly native, and later on, some "improved" coastal) pastures, and the hay he fed was bermuda grass.  Alfalfa doesn't grow down there on the Texas gulf coast - ha! - that's why they call it coastal bermuda... it's an improved grass over the native bermuda grass.

 

Recently I bought some orchard grass hay from a BIG producer here in Cortez.  He sells semi loads of hay, mostly to people in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, because of the drought -- he can command a big price.  He told me that people were wanting *his* hay because bermuda grass was so harmful.  Somehow I think this rumor has started out of some small study or some isolated incidents.  It's to some hay producers' advantage, of course!  But all the horses in Texas, alone, being fed on coastal bermuda can't be wrong...

 

Coastal bermuda hay is very, very good hay.  I have a hard time finding hay that compares to it, around here.  When I first moved to Colorado all I could find was alfalfa.  And most people did NOT store their hay in barns, it was left out, so you often got mold.  It's better now, more people barn-store their hay, and there's more grass hay available.  Mostly orchard grass and brome around here.

 

Carla Richardson

Colorado

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

From: Jim Holland

To: rdcarrie@xxxxxxx ; jazena@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:26 PM

Subject: RE: [RC] Switching from green grass to hay before a ride

Just once I would like to see ANY kind of study that justifies this position on Bermuda Hay. IMHO, this is totally unfounded.  A horse is no more likely to have an impaction problem with Bermuda hay with than any other hay.

 

I have never fed anything else.  It?s an excellent, nutritious forage and extremely palatable.

 

Jim, Sun of Dimanche+, and Mahada Magic

 

Richard T. "Jim" Holland

Three Creeks Farm

175 Hells Hollow Drive

Blue Ridge, Ga 30513

(706) 258-2830

www.threecreeksarabians.com

Callsign KI4BEN

---

From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of rdcarrie@xxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 2:08 PM
To: jazena@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [RC] Switching from green grass to hay before a ride

 

Coastal bermuda is the main hay here in Texas.  It does have finer leaves, and I've heard that it has a slightly higher incidence of impactions, but I've not personally heard of problems with it.  We've fed it a lot, and know a good number of others who do so, all with no problems.  We're currently feeding fertilized bahia, but that's just due to having a very good source for it, at a very good price.  And, the horses love it and get fat as pet ticks on it.  But they did great on the bermuda, too. 

 

Dawn in East Texas

and the herd (we'll eat anything...just bring it on!)

 

-----Original Message-----
From: jazena@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:35 PM
Subject: Re: [RC] Switching from green grass to hay before a ride

I've been feeding Bermuda grass hay free choice, and a flake of alfalfa daily to my horses.  Recently my vet said Bermuda grass hay has fallen out of favor with the vets at the Murrieta Equine Clinic as they have seen too many impactions from it.  He suggested Timothy and Orchard grass hays as an alternative to Bermuda grass.  I couldn't find Orchard grass so I bought two bales of Timothy Hay at $22.00 PER bale.  This is in So. Calif. (Riverside County) Is there a cheaper source of Timothy or does anyone know of a source of Orchard Grass?

From Linda-k
Have a horse lovin' day!!!

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