ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: Complete Feeds

Re: Complete Feeds

Bonnie Snodgrass (snodgrab@ncr.disa.mil)
Tue, 11 Feb 97 11:39:23 EST

Patricia, you didn't specify whether you meant 1) fed complete feed
pellets without additional hay or 2) fed complete feed pellets in
place of grain and also fed hay.

I have been in a situation (when stationed in Guam) where we had to do
1). No regular hay. The riding club I rode/taught at fed strickly
complete pellets. There was no grazing available and the cost of hay
versus pellets wasn't favourable. Most of the horses were terrible
wood chewers and there was one bad cribber who regularly coliced till
they finally lost him. The pellets are eaten way too fast leaving the
grazers with nothing to do for hours except think of the next meal.
Cubes take a little longer but you still have the time factor.

It's not just that your horses get bored with nothing to eat, it is
also potentially detrimental to their health. I read an excellent
article a few months ago about ulcers in horses. They are suprisingly
common although usually undiagnosed. One major cause is feeding
infrequently (2-3 times a day) and feeding highly concentrated feed
instead of roughage. Another article from the Marion Dupont Equine
Clinic about the results of a research project on causes of colic also
comes to my mind. Horses who have constant access to grass rarely
colic. Stalled or padocked horses should have roughage round the clock
and have their grain split into frequent small meals. It's the getting
hungry and anticipating being fed that causes acid problems in the
stomach without roughage to deal with the acid.

If I lived where prices were very high for quality hay I would
probably use a good pellet and a clean roughage of a poorer class of
hay. As long as it wasn't dusty or moldy it will give the horse his
roughage. You can even use straw. Better that then wood chewing,
cribbing, weaving, pacing, colicing etc. Hey, I paid $18-$20 a bale
for hay in Hawaii but my horse always had something to eat on. He ate
2-3 of these 130lb bales a week. Talk about eating you out of house
and home!

Bonnie Snodgrass

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Complete Feeds
Author: ridecamp@endurance.net at smtp
Date: 2/10/97 9:19 PM

Hi: Is anyone out there using, or has anyone used, the Montana Pride
complete feed--or any other type of complete feed. Would like some input on
this if anyone has had any experience with this type of feeding. Patricia 

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