Re: [RC] "Feeding the Hoof"- Just Curious - FXLivestock
I really wonder how practical it is to test hay if you don't buy in
quantity. It seems that if you don't buy all your hay at one time and from
one source that testing would have to be done quite frequently depending on how
often you buy forage, where you buy, and where the broker is getting the
forage. I know when I used to buy in small quantities that quality of the
forage could change from load to load even if I was buying from the same feed
store.
I am not sure how practical it is for most horse owners in CA (who buy hay
by the bale or in small quantities several times a year) to invest in testing
forage. I know some horse owners that buy hay on a weekly
basis. Perhaps endurance riders would do this kind of testing but I
find it hard to believe that the average horse owner would do this.
Terry, do you know the amount (tonage) that most mills require to formulate
a concentrate ration for an individual horse owner? I was always under the
impression that it was quite a large amount but my experience was in a specific
ration that was being formulated for a large herd of Angora goats. Again,
I wonder how practical this is for the average horse owner.
It is great that all this information is available but I wonder how easy it
is to really put in practice considering that in many areas (again thinking of
So Cal) that there are very few choices when it comes to keeping horses.
