Getting Hay...

From Jim: Our hay is raised, baled, and stored by Lyle. He's been putting up hay since forever and he's really good at it. He's careful with the ground preparation, uses the proper seeding practices, fertilizes when necessary, and cuts and bales at the right time. His barns are dry and well ventilated. The hay is good. When you have 70 or 80 critters to feed twice a day, you really need someone like Lyle. There's just no time to run around trying to find appropriate feed. I'm old school when it comes to feeding horses. They need hay, and lots of it, to keep them fit and to give them something to do. It's more than calories and nutrition, it's a mental health issue for them. They enjoy eating. They like to spend a long time doing it. Cubes and pellets and beet pulp and such will keep them going, but it's so concentrated that in 20 minutes or so, they're done. They will then start getting themselves into trouble for want of something to do. A couple of fat flakes of hay can take a few hours for them to eat. That's a couple of hours when their heads are down and they're focused on groceries. I like that. It's a three hour proposition to get a load of hay, around 80 miles round trip. Lyle uses a squeeze to load the trucks and trailers most of the time. Once in awhile, he or I will hand load a pickup for a "get by" load. There are days when getting a full load just isn't in the cards. We feed 11 or 12 bales day in nice weather and 14 or more bales when the weather is nasty. Horse's stay warmer when their forage is fermenting in their gut. I see a lot of folks mess around with their horse's diet. They add this and amend that. I've done that when the vet thinks it'll help in a special situation, but for the most part, high quality hay in abundant quantities is all you need to feed. Graining horses can cause some behavior issues. Sack feed for seniors can extend their lives after their teeth are worn out. Salt is important and should generally be available to the critters. Lots of fresh water for sure. Horses should have access to water at least every five hours when working. A little grain for a hard working animal isn't all that bad. A pasture model can be fire up and get in trouble with hot feed and nothing to do. Going to get hay is one of the recurring tasks at the sanctuary that I usually really enjoy. It's nice to see the valley, the orchards and all. Driving the old flatbed, with all of it's quirks and signs of age, is it's own adventure, same when tugging 100 bales on the big trailer with the GM. Folks that don't have critters miss out on the fun that getting hay can have. Maybe they wouldn't think it was fun. They don't know what they're missing!