Post by prizmbluekigers on Jan 20, 2009 17:48:21 GMT -5
Well we are still here and I am still feeding 6 horses and I wondered about oat hay and Kigers. I had the colt sold but the lady was afraid he would not be tall enough for her at maturity. It was a hard sell cause dumb me had him in with his half sisters and one of them is about as tall as he is and she was born in April this year. Her sire is about 16 hands now at 5.
I need to get hay again and the solution I thought was at hand to feed them is not going to be but we are not beaten yet. A local program provided 1/2 a ton at Christmas but with 6 it goes fast. I have done my reading on the subject and as we see on this board there are many opinions and schools of thought on properly balanced feed.
What I get out of all of my reading is that oat hay is not harmful (as in stones from alfalfa) and can be fed successfully along with supplements to offset any mineral deficiency. Keep in mind I am feeding a range of horses from 8 months to 11 years and from fillies to a stallion. I like Equierrys as a supplement, and use psylllium periodically to hold down build up of dirt or sand. Oat hay is less expensive here and would last me longer, but I won't sacrifice quality for price even in my position. Seems I fed a few bales several years ago and they picked through the seeded parts and then went back and ate the rest. They are all wintering well as we had a few mild weeks recently so I am not worried about putting weight on, just keeping it on.
An early spring would help.
I think I will try a few bales and see how they like it and unless someone has a "bad" story about feeding the stuff I will try it. Thanks
I need to get hay again and the solution I thought was at hand to feed them is not going to be but we are not beaten yet. A local program provided 1/2 a ton at Christmas but with 6 it goes fast. I have done my reading on the subject and as we see on this board there are many opinions and schools of thought on properly balanced feed.
What I get out of all of my reading is that oat hay is not harmful (as in stones from alfalfa) and can be fed successfully along with supplements to offset any mineral deficiency. Keep in mind I am feeding a range of horses from 8 months to 11 years and from fillies to a stallion. I like Equierrys as a supplement, and use psylllium periodically to hold down build up of dirt or sand. Oat hay is less expensive here and would last me longer, but I won't sacrifice quality for price even in my position. Seems I fed a few bales several years ago and they picked through the seeded parts and then went back and ate the rest. They are all wintering well as we had a few mild weeks recently so I am not worried about putting weight on, just keeping it on.
An early spring would help.
I think I will try a few bales and see how they like it and unless someone has a "bad" story about feeding the stuff I will try it. Thanks
I was told had I stuck it out there is a possiblity the horses would have adapted to the oat hay it put weight on them, for sure. They did like the oats, it however made a mess of my farm the straw they left behind. I found some really nice low cost grass hay, hay is just getting cheaper around here.