To all farm owners – hay is liquid gold!!!
Well not exactly liquid but small/large or round bales of sustenance for their livestock.
From what I understand – hay for cattle is still hay but does not need to be the most excellent nutritional quality (I have no clue) that horse owners demand – not ask for mind you – demand. (me included)
Some info – credit to – http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca – read at your leisure.
“Horses consume 2-2.5% of their body weight in dry matter daily. Forage in the form of hay and hay cubes will comprise 50-100% of the dry matter requirements. Therefore, a 1000 lb. mature horse can be expected to consume 22-24 lb. of hay daily on an as fed basis. (1000 lb. x 2% or 1000 lb. x .02 = 20 lb. of dry matter. Hay is 90% dry matter; therefore, 20 lb. of dry matter is equal to 20 x 100/90 = 22 lb. of hay on an as fed basis). Assuming that a small square bale of hay weighs 50 lb., this represents about ½ a bale of hay per day per mature 1000 pound horse. (For the purposes of this article, the term “bale” refers to a 50 lb. small square bale of hay. However, there is a large variation in bale weight from as low as 30 lb. up to 60 lb. Therefore, it is best to weigh a number of bales and get an average for your hay.)”
Needless to say that horses can be somewhat delicate in their palate and horse owners -well we are a crazy lot of people that feed their equine partners better than we feed ourselves most of the time.
Four words come to mind – “Horse Owners Be Crazy” .
While my pasture puffs don’t need the nourishment that the “athletes” need – I still do look for good quality. Think of it as the difference between a fast food meal and a home cooked meal. You still get full but you don’t get the nutritional balance that you need.
Ok moving on.
Last couple of years have been a struggle to get a source – let alone the quality needed.
Weather has not been kind and drives up the price of this commodity. Watching these farmers struggle as they have these past couple of years and wondering will I have enough to see me through is a stressful and sleepless night dance. When that pile gets smaller – one tends to panic.
This year was shaping up to be a “famine” year but fortune favours the brave and the weather decided to cut us some freakin’ slack after the monsoon season (not lying – we broke a rainfall record).
I am extremely fortunate to have an excellent hay supplier to feed my hay burners.
The quality has always been excellent – he’s a hard working young man with a family to feed and I thank my lucky stars that he can supply our puffs.
For this – I am very thankful.
Hats off to all the farmers that are racing to get off that gold that we need to feed those animals that bring us so much joy. They work their asses off and for some of them – cropping is their source of income.
If you see a tractor with trailer hauling hay or any other crop for that matter and they are driving slow – don’t be an asshole and get impatient – they are harder working people than a lot of people in this world.
Thank a Farmer today!!!
(photo credit to my good friend who has the same supplier as me 🙂 )
Orange Acres 