timothy hay is a grass a hay and can vary on the protein level depending on where is grown. alfalfa is your clover hay and protein levels will vary on where it is grown. we feed a mxture of grass and alfalfa. some alfalfa hay is very high depending where we get it from and can cause problems in horses if fed a lot of it all the time. especially in horses that are not being work daily, the more the horse is worked the easier it is for them to burn feed off . some feeds are to hot for idle animals ….we only feed grain when the ranch or rodeo horses are working heavy
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I live in north florida and I have 5 horses at a boarding factility I feed them square bales of hay and I try to feed 1.5% of their body weight and I was leaving them in their stalls all night so that they had time to eat it… But they are wasting quiet a bit of the hay I give they have no grass in the pasture so I was reading about horses eating for 16 hours straight so would it be better to leave them in their stalls with hay for 16 hours during the day or night? which is better? I gets very hot and muggy here and I dont know which would be better? we have a pretty good number of flys at our barn and it is an out door barn but I have fly bags and they all have fly spray and fly masks on so which would be better stalled during the day or stalled at night?
I personally think it would be better to have the horses stalled during the day with a fan running to keep them cool. However horses tend to eat less when they are kept inside. I think if you put them outside during the night with their hay, they probably wouldn't waste so much of it. The night tends to be cooler so they wouldn't get overheated. Also if you give them their hay outside at night they might eat more of it because there is less activity going on so they could eat more and look around less. The other thing you could do is give them a little feed in their stalls at night and a little outside during the day. I don't know which one will work best for your horses. I have seen it and done it many different ways and all I can say is to try out the dfferent possibilities and see which one works best for you and which way the horses prefer better.
I am SICK–What suggestions can help prevent this?
By Jerome Burdi | South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach
March 2, 2008
Gege, the 12-year-old starved quarter horse with bones protruding from her skin, has the will to live, a rescue worker says.
Debra McBride who runs an independent rescue center in Loxahatchee, took Gege in Friday and said she will keep her if she is not adopted.
"I think any animal is worth saving if they have the will to live," McBride said.On Feb. 23, Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control saved Gege from neglect at her home west of Lake Worth. Officers filed felony animal cruelty charges against the former owner, Ralph Mansfield, 46.
He told animal care officers he could not afford the upkeep. Gege's shape was so poor she faced euthanasia, but officers say there's hope because she remains social. "Horses are very forgiving animals," McBride said. "It's always unconditional."
(This is part of actual news article–search & read for yourself)
The article has a pic of the horse & wrote this was not the owners first starved horse.
It is just a misdemeanor to starve, abuse a horse because they are livestock in our State. Is a felony if its a dog or cat.
Thank Goodness Animal Planet help make people more aware!
In our area–people in rural areas just open gates & let horses loose to roam. W/drought last year & poor pasture, some can't afford hay.
No one can prove who owns them, neighbors won't rat on another.
A # have been hit & killed by cars! How tragic for the drivers & poor horse suffers till euthanized.
I WISH I could rescue a couple of horse–I can afford to rescue dogs or cats–but I feel the $$$crunch too. Pasture board is only $85 for 2–Excellent! Add feed, hay, recent hoof abscess, meds, teeth floating, supplement for arthritic knee.
I know humans & pets world wide are starving too! Feel so helpless to do anything & also feel angry.
Time to go to barn & grocery store.
Unfortunately nothing will prevent this from happening. Just as there is nothing that will prevent cruelty or abuse. How ever you try and whatever laws are in place, there is no answer for the depraved, the mentally ill, the callous and the plain uncaring in the world. The only answer is to be vigilant and try to report all animal abuses as and when you see them. I know it is part of modern thinking to believe that there are answers to these problems, but the truth is harsh. Humans are capable of horrific cruelty, some are unstable, some insane, some demented, some just nasty. Animals are much nicer 'people'!
Florida: I tried Scotts Weed and Feed and it turned my backyard into Hay to say the least. The grass is growing back but I am not interested in making the same mistake.
Here is a link to a fertilization schedule for St. Augustine grass. This was published by a Houston radio talk show called Gardenline. This host definitely knows his stuff.
http://www.ktrh.com/pages/gardenline-lawn.html
Classic Men At Work song performed with the Ringo Starr All Starr Band at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in South Florida on 7/3/08.
Duration : 0:4:15
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A friend of mine is looking into round bales, and found two types here in Florida: Pangola and a Horse Hay mix. Can anyone comment on whether there are bad qualities about this hay. Is there a risk of colic? Is it lacking nutrients, ect…
yes pangola hay is perfectly all right for horses and has been grown and fed to horses in Florida for years because it is one of few grasses that will grow well in the humid climate of the south. unfortunately pangola fields have been continually lost to spittle bugs, and its supply has become limited in the last several years. also high humidity and occasional rain fall during the haying season can make the hay too moist when baled and stored. However, good quality, dry hay can be made during the spring and fall so to be safe you should make sure the hay you are looking at is not too moist before you buy it and ask what time of the year the hay was put up
I don’t know if anyone will be able to help me with this but I thought I’d go ahead and ask.
Is there anyone here that lives in Florida (or even the SE) know where I might be able to find large bags (40 to 50 lbs) of Timothy hay CUBES? Like alfalfa cubes, but just straight Timothy. I’ve checked with all our local feed dealers here in our area of FL and no one carries them or seems to be able to get them. I know they make them b/c I have heard of some people up North using them. I can’t use a T&A cube either - just straight 100% Timothy.
The best I’ve come up with is hay stretcher pellets put out by Blue Seal Feeds. See if there is a dealer near you. These pellets are grass mix, I think. You’ll have to check ingredients.
After you have purchased the best quality horse hay you can locate, it is necessary to pay attention to how your hay is stored. In Florida for example, humidity and temperatures are high. Dry hay can absorb moisture from the air especially when hay is stacked in a breezeway with the doors on both ends open during rainy days. Dry hay approximately 18% moisture or lower stored in an environment of around 90% moisture in the air and the breeze flowing through the breezeway positions that hay to absorb moisture like a wick on an old-time lantern.
Hay must be kept dry so if you’re storing it in a barn make sure there’s no roof leaks or water drainage problems. Also pay attention for the accumulation of condensation on the inside of your roof. You can lose the whole top row of stacked hay just from condensation penetrating one to two inches into the top row causing heavy dust concentrations. Use a plastic tarp to channel water away from bales. Keep an eye out for rodents. Rats and mice can contaminate your hay. Plug any entrances with steel wool. If you can’t keep them out, cats and black snakes are great mousers!
Horse hay should not be stacked directly on concrete or dirt. The use of used pallets or placing a bed of heavy chaff four to six inches thick under your stack of hay works very well. I have seen a layer of plastic covered with a layer of gravel then a layer of chaff to be good for storage as well. Stacking hay in summer in hot humid climates can benefit by leaving some space on all sides to breathe by not having contact with walls. Square bales can be stacked on edge with narrow gaps between rows to also assist breathing in summer. Heat can be checked in the bales by driving a metal rod into the centers. Use older hay first. Pull old bales to the front or side before stacking in new hay, and feed older hay first before starting on the fresher supply.
Outside storage suggestions (best don’t do it but if necessary purchase smaller amounts and rotate often). For outside storage, hay should be stacked on pallets preferably on higher ground to prevent water runoff from storms penetrating stack. Some type of ventilated platform to keep ground moisture from infiltrating the bales would also work. Protecting stacked hay with tarps should be only considered if stack is sharply peaked at the top to prevent water from pooling on top of stack (very important). Tarps also prevent fading from the sun leaving hay somewhat brittle as well as nutrient losses.
For more of your Florida horse hay needs visit www.FloridaHorseHay.com
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