I still think we'll be able to get hay, but it may come from multiple sources: a hundred here, fifty there. The price will likely be very high, too, and the quality may not be good. We may be scrambling all winter to keep ahead of our needs, rather than our normal mode of stockpiling 700 bales and then using them until the next summer.
Horses don't take well to changes of diet. It has to be done very carefully and gradually. High carb foods like potato peelings would be disastrous and can't be considered. Sileage, such as is fed to cattle, will typically induce founder as well. This is because horses have a different insulin control mechanism, and it doesn't adjust quickly. A sudden flood of sugars or starches throws everything out of balance, causing diabetic or hypoglycemic symptoms right away, followed in a day or two by serious digestive problems that can be fatal.
Tess is good on pasture grass now, but that won't last after the snow falls. The two boys have not been on pasture for years because of their propensity to break through fences and wander. Putting them onto grass would be possible, but will take several weeks of gradual adjustment.
Hay compressed into dry cubes can be purchased in large sacks, but it is heavy in alfalfa and thus can only be used in small quantities. The horse requires considerable bulk to keep the digestion moving and the appetite satisfied. Hay fulfills that need. The alfalfa cubes are also pretty expensive.
We'll find a solution, but I'm probably not going to like it.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-09-11 03:29 pm (UTC)Horses don't take well to changes of diet. It has to be done very carefully and gradually. High carb foods like potato peelings would be disastrous and can't be considered. Sileage, such as is fed to cattle, will typically induce founder as well. This is because horses have a different insulin control mechanism, and it doesn't adjust quickly. A sudden flood of sugars or starches throws everything out of balance, causing diabetic or hypoglycemic symptoms right away, followed in a day or two by serious digestive problems that can be fatal.
Tess is good on pasture grass now, but that won't last after the snow falls. The two boys have not been on pasture for years because of their propensity to break through fences and wander. Putting them onto grass would be possible, but will take several weeks of gradual adjustment.
Hay compressed into dry cubes can be purchased in large sacks, but it is heavy in alfalfa and thus can only be used in small quantities. The horse requires considerable bulk to keep the digestion moving and the appetite satisfied. Hay fulfills that need. The alfalfa cubes are also pretty expensive.
We'll find a solution, but I'm probably not going to like it.