Sunday, November 10, 2013

A super cool fnd

I'm starting to get over the whole "oh look a yard sale" thing, except once in a while when I get a good feeling about a certain neighborhood or the way the sign was made.

I had one of those feelings the other day out in Apache Junction, and this is what I found....



The gal ended up giving it to me, because we bought a few other things. They had some other stuff that I would like to go back for some day. This is one of those "everyday" yard sales. I just love this little pic. I wish I knew who this guy is.  Actually I'll bet I can find out. I will research it and share what I find.


We went to Casa Grande yesterday for Simon's football game where they won again, but boy howdy was it a close game.  So now it is on to the final championship game of the season.  They might actually win!

After the game we ran over to Stanfield. There is a company there that makes hay pellets rather than cubes.  I am addicted to the cubes, as are my horses, but the only cubes available around here are from Sacate, and they are just to expensive.  I bought a few sample bags to try out, to decide which blend I want to buy in bulk.  There are few different blends and I am unsure as to which one I want to use, or if I want to stick to just straight alfalfa. You will have to biggefy it to see my options.


I bought a bag of the Relieve, the Relax, and the Total.  The man who makes them recommended the total for older hard to keep horses, and the relax or the relieve for horses that don't get ridden everyday.  He also encouraged me to keep up with the grass hay.  He believes that even though there is the bermuda in some of the blends, having the true roughage is still paramount to intestinal health.  This morning I have Danny some Total mixed with his senior feed and the rest got some of the Relieve and then grass hay along side.  I'm introducing it slowly.  My concern is that they are all mixed with 7% corn.  I was under the impression that corn is not good for horses.  When I asked about that, he said that straight corn is very bad for them, a small amount is ok, and he cooks his first to make it even more digestible.

I will be sending some samples into our friend over at Dancing Donkey for a true analysis.

Just for the record, they seemed to love the stuff, but then my horses have never been picky eaters. Well except Danny, who refuses to eat the grass hay.  Luckily he will still graze so he is getting the forage needed.

I was hoping to get to ride today, but I don't think that will happen.  A friend just called who is in dire straights and needs me.  Sometimes ya just gotta go help. This is one of those times.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

3 comments:

  1. That is a cool photo! I am interested in what the analysis will find. . .let us know!

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  2. I love that picture and I am very glad I never let Ramsey get away with that. What a terror he would be now! I hope you find out more about it, it looks lie a good story.

    As for the feed, do send me the analysis, but my first impression is: This is a very high energy, high calorie, high sugar, low fiber feed. I would only feed it as a supplement to hay, not as a replacement for hay. They need the bulk that they can only get from hay/straw. You could feed this along with straw, which would be high fiber, low energy, low calorie, low sugar. The straw is OK for horses as long as their teeth are in good shape and it is not dusty. It might not be a good choice for your older fellow. If I had to choose one of these as a hay substitute, I would pick the all bermuda pellet. The one's with corn and molasses should be considered "grain" not hay.

    If you do feed these as a main feed source, I would strongly suggest soaking them first. One cup of the timothy pellets I use, expands to 5 cups when soaked. A large meal of dry pellets can lead to colic.

    Feeding straight alfalfa can lead to mineral imbalances as it is very high in calcium, low in phosphorus. It's usually far more than horses need unless growing or lactating and it needs to be balanced for bone health. Some grass hay (like mine) also has an unbalanced Ca:P ratio, which is very bad for bone health. Just ask Ramsey.

    I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions or would like me to look it over in more detail.

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