The Hay Experience

We've been trying to find a source of local hay for a few days now - the grass hay that they raise here - primarily for the camels. It's nothing special, some sort of brome mix, higher in fiber, lower in sugars. The horses really seem to like it though - I think they're spending more time in the stalls, a righer diet in general (excellent timothy, grain rations) and are just craving some plain old high fiber grass hay.

I've been asking the stewards if they can bring some in, but I don't think anybody has really known what it is I'm talking about... finally Dr. Niranjan (UAE Fed) suggested I go to the camel track and ask for 'Saudi hay' - and that somebody would understand. Ok, but the hay is in big round bales (maybe 800 lb bales) and probably wouldn't fit in the back of the Isuzu. Jackie Shephard (trainer for Cathy Brown) said that one of the Spanish teams had a pickup truck, maybe we could borrow it. Just as we looked over to the Spanish barn, we saw the pickup wheeling out of the barn, headed down the road. They turned off at the King's hill (will explain later) and started driving up the circular road to the top. So I set off to find them and ask. As I went up the mountain (counter clockwise) there were coming back down (clockwise) and I stopped them to ask. My poor Spanish, and their (better) English, finally they understood what I wanted. Since they were just headed out to follow their rider on the course and needed a rig, we swapped. They headed out in the Isuzu Trooper and I took the pickup (very much an Idaho style rig :)

We set off for the camel souk to start asking for Saudi Hay. Terry Simone (father of rider Virginie Simon), the trainer Silvain Flores, Jackie, Jenny Monteath (also helping Cathy Brown) and I loaded into the truck (a six-pack). At the souk we tried various methods, various men, various gestures... and were having a very difficult time getting anybody to understand what we were after. Finally the light dawned, and enthusiastic gestures and pointing, and they sent us off in the direction of one of the camel camps. At the camp we started anew, questions, gestures, and finally an English speaking vet (Indian I think) in a little beat up car came along and took us to the right spot - a flatbed trailer with 2 big round bales on it, and the right man. A little negotiating, 60 dh (around $18) and the hay was ours! I pulled up below the trailer and Terry and the Arab men rolled the big bale into the back of the truck and voila! We backed up to the hay tent inside our barn complex and rolled it in. There it now sits occupying one third of the tent space :)

Arazi is happy!

Steph

p.s. the King's mountain is a huge hill (a mound of sand with a circular drive around it's perimeter - close to 500' high) that was built to allow the King to view the first President's Cup ride. 25,000 truckloads of sand, in just a few days. Now the hill is a major feature on the landscape, which can be seen for miles. Though it has never been used.