Re: RC: Pasture to hay

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/18/99 7:36:27 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
ablythe@columbia-center.org writes:

<<  Here is my question....Everything I read says to not change feeds for two 
weeks before a ride.  How do I go from pasture to hay for the ride with 
minimum stress?  We have not had any problems so far, but I keep wondering 
what is the right thing to do. >>

Since the central Oregon orchard grass and pasture grass mix hays are pretty 
similar to your pasture grass on the West side, that shouldn't be much of a 
problem.  A bigger concern is whether or not your horse will consume enough 
total nutrients on grass, since the water content contributes so much of the 
weight.  No problem if your horse maintains body weight, but if the weight 
starts to drop on the schedule you are riding, you might consider limiting 
pasture time and substituting hay for part of the diet, just to get more 
actual pounds of "food" in there.  I'd suggest getting a ton or so of the 
central Oregon grass hay just to have on hand and for rides.

Heidi


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