It would be interesting to see whether free-feeding
with bales would work as well. For two horses in a paddock and with one
being the boss, would you put out 2 bales in different sites? We feed
twice a day in measured amounts; those two have it worked out and both are
well-fed. We couldn't put out bales in winter because of the rain and mud,
but maybe in summer? Or should I just leave well enough alone because the
present system is working? If we were to leave for a few days, for
example, maybe it would be worth trying the free-feed system?
We've been free-feeding with large bales for a couple of decades, first
with the large squares (because that was what was available where we were) and
the past few years with the large rounds.
We don't use feeders--they are just one more point of injury for horses,
and totally unnecessary anyway, IMO. In years past, I dealt with too
many neck and jaw injuries when a boss horse would pick on another horse who
had his head in the feeder. We have less waste from the big bales
directly on the ground than we did when we meal fed and had horses grind it
into the snow or mud in individual piles.
Karen brings up a point of herd dynamics, and that is important. We
find that 6-8 horses per round bale is usually the upper limit, and so put out
more bales at a time for larger groups. But we have also found that the
"underdog" horses stay in much better shape with the free feeding, and also
that the "boss" horses get less fat--when the hay is there all the time, it
cuts out a lot of the "feeding frenzy" that happens at feeding time when we
meal feed, where the underdogs get pushed aside (even with ample piles well
spread out) and the boss horses hoover up the hay quickly to keep others from
getting it. With the free feeding, the boss horses feel less protective
(after all, it isn't "special" when it's always there) and besides, they can't
guard it 24/7.
I absolutely recommend free feeding in cold weather (you don't get the
sub-zero temps in TX that we do here in ID, but depending where you are, you
probably still get the occasional cold snap and ice storm)--the horses can
adjust their intake to their need, and they do it very well. We can
really see the difference in consumption between 20F and -20F!
Heidi
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [RC] Feeding round
bales From: "Amber Roberts" <Amber@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Thu,
December 25, 2008 3:31 pm To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
We live in Texas and have always fed small
square bales of Coastal Bermuda. We have the opportunity from one of
our boarders to start feeding round bales but we have no knowledge about how
to do this. The square bales have always been stored inside our barn,
but round bales would have to be outside, in the weather. Do they have
to be stored up off the ground? If so, how? To feed hay this
way, do the round bales have to be inside feeders? We have 5
horses. Do we need more than one feeder? When a bale gets eaten
down enough to be replaced, do you have to move the feeder? Do you
have to clean up left over hay on the ground? We don't know if we'd be
better off sticking with square bales or trying round bales. It would
save us some work at feeding but perhaps the cleanup would negate that
advantage? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Amber
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