RE: soaking hay

[Steph Teeter <step@fsr.com>]

We did Heidi's ride - Sunriver Classic - a couple weeks ago, and at
all of the holds there was hay - alfalfa and grass - floating in the
water tanks. The horses love it! The tanks were big enough that the
water never got warm or stale, but the hay was nice and moist. 
One of our horses in particular can be a little picky about eating at the
vet checks - but he wolfed down the hay that was floating in the
water tanks. Good stuff. It's a little harder to do this on your own,
because as Heidi mentioned, it gets pretty sour if the water  warms up and
it sits too long. But at a hold you can fill a bucket with fresh water and
toss some hay in it, they'll probably love it. 

Steph


-----Original Message-----
From:	CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com [SMTP:CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]
Sent:	Monday, June 22, 1998 7:52 AM
To:	grs@theneteffect.com; ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject:	Re: soaking hay

In a message dated 98-06-22 10:45:11 EDT, grs@theneteffect.com writes:

<< Do you put a flake of hay in a 5-gal bucket and fill it with 
 water?  How long can/should you leave it in water -- min and max times -- 
 to do enough good without causing it to rot?  Isn't mold/mildew a problem 
 here?  Do you leave it in the water until you actually feed it to the 
 horse?  What are the dangers to avoid?
  >>

I mostly do this at rides, but it works for hot weather and for horses with
heaves, too.  I put it in immediately before feeding, and only put in what I
think they will consume in one feeding session.  I would recommend something
bigger than a 5-gallon bucket.  Muck buckets work well.  If the weather is
warm, it will start to sour after several hours--ask any ride manager who has
had to go bail a water tank the next morning after several riders have put
their hay in it--whoooooooeeeeeeee!

Heidi