Horses & Hay

I didn't know if I should post this in barns or here...

This time of year the grass isn't growing, and I am buying hay. I have 2 horses, and I usually buy square bales 60-80lb at $5.00 per bale. Seems like I am using 1/2 bale per day. I can buy a 1,000lb roll for $50.00. I have no place to put the roll, and some people have stated that if the horses are not used to unlimited hay, they can colic since the cut is longer than in a square bale...

My options are:

Buy a 10x10 or 10x16 metal canopy for $200 to $250, and put the round bale under it. Possible risk to horses health?

Continue buying square bales since I do not have too many horses.

I would like input on the risk of horses eating from round bales vs square... If any... And if a small metal canopy is the way to go?

My calculations:
Consumption: Approx 30lb hay/day cost $2.50 x 30 = $75/mo
Round bale: 1000lb/30 = 33 days is about $50/mo
Monthly savings $25
Return on canopy investment @ $200 would be 8-10 months.

Is the investment worth it??

Thanks,

Joe

Don't know much about horses and hay, but... why would the round bales would need to be covered? Around here, they usually just let them sit outside uncovered. In fact, the neighbor has about a dozen bales sitting there now. It was my understanding that is why they went to round bales, because you could store them outside. Or, am I way off base?

Steve

Look into alfalfa cubes from Colrado or wherever. They run about 15% protien and are of consistant quality. I used them down there because of the inconsistant quality of the hay available.

In Florida we get plenty of rain, which creates mold and mildew in the hay. That's why most people in the FL area cover it, so it doesn't get wet.

Joe R.

I can pretty much guarantee you you're going to waste at least 25% of that hay. You are going to need to buy a roundbale feeder as well. Also the horses will eat more with free choice hay. IT"S NOT GOING TO CAUSE colic though. It won't hurt them at all. If you are only going to save $25 a month going to round bales though it isn't worth it.

With regard to getting a metal canopy this is a definite nono with horses. They will kick through and cause some serious damage. If you're building it to only house the hay and the horses will not have access to it then you will be ok.

Lastly if you are going to feed off of the bale everyday it's a pain. Much more work than just pulling off a flake of hay and throwing it over the fence.

Due to the selective eating habits some of the waste hay may be lying there for long periods and could get mouldy just from the damp environment. Means you got to clean out the feeder regulary.
How are you fixed equipment wise for hauling and handling large round bales?

Egon

Ahhh.. 25% waste! That I did not figure.

Cowboydoc: Do you leave your bales in the open? How long before the bales go bad? Do the horses graze less or does it help reduce over grazing? The reason I ask, is that I am going to be implementing a ton of pasture work. Lime, re-seeding, etc... This means a great deal of the pasture will not be usable until I get them re-established, so I need a contigency plan for the horses.

Egon: I have a class 1, 27hp diesel tractor. I use it extensively when I clean out the stalls. The front end loader is a great tool!!! If I go the round bale route, I am going to visit TBN for ideas for a bale spear to go onto the FEL.

Thanks,

Joe R.

Yes all of our bales are left in the open. They are net wrapped which helps. They will usually last quite awhile out in the open though. I don't know if we have as much moisture as you but we get quite alot.

My experience is that it won't prevent the horses from grazing. They will still want to go eat the grass instead of hay for the most part. Usually they will just leave the hay if they have grass. Your best bet there is to pen them up with the hay. Then let them out for controlled grazing. If you don't do this you will never get your pasture going. In the beginning your grass won't have roots strong enough to keep the horses from pulling the roots and all out of the ground.

As far as a 27 hp tractor I don't know if that's going to be big enough to move round bales. At the very least you're going to have to get a bale mover on the back as well to keep your tractor from tipping over. Check the max. loader rec. You can go over this some but be careful you don't bend your cylinders.

I had someone tell me that they don't like the round bales because they are dustier than square bales. Has anybody else heard of this, or is it just a localized phenomena?

Steve

Just curious as to how many acres of pasture you are talking about?
Note: I never give answers, just ask questions!

Egon

No problem on the questions... 8 acres of acidic soil. I need to spread 2,200lbs of lime per acre to get the pH normal. Once that is complete, I should be able to grow Bahia.

Joe R.

Definitely true.

Joe,

If you get the lime on now maybe you can have a crop this summer. Standard advice I hear is 6 months for lime to reach its full benefit. That puts you mid summer.
If memory serves bahia is a warm season grass and it works well when planted in early spring. Maybe in late summer you will have a descent stand.

Just don't follow my example and get one of those 40,000-50,000 lb lime trucks out in the middle of a soft pasture (see attached).:o
We have two seasons on the ranch; dust and mud.
What seems solid with a compact or utility tractor can still be quick sand for one of these guys.

Fred

We grow and bale hay with our neighbors. Last year our neighbors decided to have some of the hay round baled, so right now we're using round and square bales. We put tarps over the round bales, and put them up on a few wooden pallets to keep them off the ground for storage. Around here (upstate New York) they get moldy pretty quickly when they get wet. As Cowboydoc said, AT LEAST 25% will be wasted. And you do need a big tractor to move them around. I use a bale spear on the loader of my Oliver 1550 which is a pretty big tractor. A smaller tractor would definitely need a counter weight.

At least with our horses, there's a lot of waste with round bales. They pull hay out of the middle, and throw a lot on the ground, which they trample and won't touch. I guess a round bale feeder would help that situation, but I'm not going to invest in one until we decide if we're going to make more round bales next year.

Hey Joe:

My horse was on round bales that where kept under cover. The hay got mold and as a result my horse now is on medicine for the rest of his life (he has a condition called Heaves) this comes from mold. It's not worth it believe me.

I am very careful about anything with mold on it - including hay cubes, hay, sweetfeed - believe me all of them can have it. So my experience with MOLD has been a very costly one not only for me financially but my horse's health as well.

J.

JoeR:

shadowruner:
<font color="blue">My horse was on round bales that where kept under cover. The hay got mold and as a result my horse now is on medicine for the rest of his life (he has a condition called Heaves) this comes from mold. It's not worth it believe me.

I am very careful about anything with mold on it - including hay cubes, hay, sweetfeed - believe me all of them can have it. So my experience with MOLD has been a very costly one not only for me financially but my horse's health as well </font color>

read this........I live in Florida too and throw away bales of hay when they get moldy and it happens in the barn without getting wet.....you know what I'm talking about it's called hummidy (spl*) do not period feed this hay to your horses.....if they can do it in other states fine...but not in Florida

Whiskey

HaHa Memory lane. In an earlier life I drove these trucks spreading fertilizer. One day I was bootin along in my world,s biggest doonbuggy and it felt like the underside of the truck disappeared. Out in the middle of nowhere I had dropped it down to the frame in dry soil. Turns out the owners had leveled the buildings, filled in the foundations and were tilling right through.The ground had not settled yet though and I drove over where the house had been. Boy did they laugh at me, I was kind of mad because I had to walk a couple miles to call for a tow.This was the days before cell phones.Thinking back I sure did love that job except for the long hours in springtime. Longest two week pay period was 159.5 hrs.

Round bales are for cattle. Horses just need better hay than cattle. If you try to save money on hay with round bales, a vet bill is going to come around and wipe it away.