So much to go on about, and the tale of Gene flinging off everyone who rides him will have to wait for yet another day.
What time is it?
It's time for Sara to blather on about horse supplements again!
Oh boy oh boy oh boy!
Saturday was devoted to the Great Feed Adventure of 2011. Last year, Gene was fed whole oat groats from our Natural Food Co-op, costing more than $1 per pound. He ate 3.5 lbs a day, which turned into quite a pricey winter. I just could not find a supplier of livestock oats that really made me want to dive in and buy them.
This year, a new feed warehouse opened that mainly supports Delaware Park trainers. It is also open to the public, so we wandered ourselves over on Saturday. Anne-Marie and I each got free 40lb bags of their oats as samples. I was very impressed with the quality of the oats within, and these still bear the husks which is good for fiber. The best part? The oats cost less than 1/4 of the ones we fed last year. Yay!
Later, we all collectively brain-stormed to figure out the best way to handle the feed. Since a good number of people work the barn, we wanted to make it as easy as possible to feed our critters. So, we will have each feeding's oats in a zip-lock bag, and each serving's supplements in a wee reusable container. Dump out oats, dump supplements on top, and done. They would be housed in plastic drawers labelled with each horse and instructions.
I didn't even mention how last week I got a text telling me that peanut and Gene are not eating the new supplement by itself. The Barn Bag is a pellet and they love it, but High Point is a powder and they are not thrilled. It smells like the Barn Bag, you &;*%@ horses!
We also set out to find a calcium supplement to offset the high phosphorous in the oats. The best we could do is calcium chews, dulce de leche flavored, and hope the horses dig 'em.
The final ingredient is still missing: flax. I didn't expect to be tossing Gene on oats already, so I didn't have it ordered. It should now arrive on Thursday.
We also stopped by the barn to pick up the rest of the supplement that they were refusing. This was during the freak Nor'easter, mind you, and we were driving north towards the barn in PA while watching cars coming south covered in snow. Interesting, it was only sleeting. That all changed once we hit the border, and big sticky flakes fell, sticking onto the very green grass (a sight in itself). We ended up getting a dusting in our neck of the woods, and the barn was basically clear of snow the next day.
Anne and I spent until past 1am weighing out oats, doling out supplements, and packing drawers. We ended up with 2 weeks for Peanut (who, FINE, will get oats to try to encourage him to eat the supplement, but only .35lbs per day) and then 10 days for Mona and Gene with a loading week for the oats. We realized we both need another drawer, as we hope to have at least 10 days worth of feed at the barn, and hope for 14.
On Sunday, which was a trim day, we brought the drawers and little samples to see if the ponies would eat the supplements with the oats.
Mona loved it and drooled all over everything in her typical Mona way.
Gene ate it, but didn't lick it clean like he does for plain oats. However, a good portion was gone, and that was far less oats than he will get once he goes to the full amount.
Peanut was a fussy little bugger and left a pile of supplement and a pile of oats. He would stick his nose in the pan, snort so that some supplement would blow out, eat, and repeat until he lost interest.
On Monday night, feeling lousy, I headed to the barn with applesauce - both plain and cinnamon. I didn't know which Peanut preferred. Turns out he likes cinnamon, so I mixed that up with oats and the supplement and he practically took the barn down trying to come over and have some of what I was mixing. Once finished and put in front of his face, however, he ate half of it with a great sense of disappointment before losing interest.
How can such a fat horse be such a picky eater?! The git.
Blasted horse, it's the best that I can find that doesn't contain iron!
So, on to another kind. A pellet. A they-better-eat-it pellet. I'm just worried because this one does not seem good for little tubbins like Peanut, but it's such a small amount that I hope that it should be ok. This doesn't have the extensive vitamin profile that the High Point has, but it at least has a good representation of minerals. Funny thing is, it doesn't list any B-vitamins in its analysis, but there on the ingredient list are both biotin (B7) and a B-12 supplement. The lack of Bs was the major strike against this one.
Peanut is totally losing his oat privileges if he likes this one. Serves him right. I just have to find the best way to buy it, and the store-locator is blocked at work.
On Monday night, feeling lousy, I headed to the barn with applesauce - both plain and cinnamon. I didn't know which Peanut preferred. Turns out he likes cinnamon, so I mixed that up with oats and the supplement and he practically took the barn down trying to come over and have some of what I was mixing. Once finished and put in front of his face, however, he ate half of it with a great sense of disappointment before losing interest.
How can such a fat horse be such a picky eater?! The git.
Blasted horse, it's the best that I can find that doesn't contain iron!
So, on to another kind. A pellet. A they-better-eat-it pellet. I'm just worried because this one does not seem good for little tubbins like Peanut, but it's such a small amount that I hope that it should be ok. This doesn't have the extensive vitamin profile that the High Point has, but it at least has a good representation of minerals. Funny thing is, it doesn't list any B-vitamins in its analysis, but there on the ingredient list are both biotin (B7) and a B-12 supplement. The lack of Bs was the major strike against this one.
Peanut is totally losing his oat privileges if he likes this one. Serves him right. I just have to find the best way to buy it, and the store-locator is blocked at work.
3 comments:
I hope the new pellet is more to His Highness's taste, but if it's not an immediate hit don't give up right away. Dixie is a bit of a fat picky kid too, but she just needs a little time with new stuff. She'll halfheartedly pick at new stuff for a couple days, then realize that it keeps showing up and resignedly eat it. Once she starts eating it she usually decides she loves it ;)
The people who feed our critters tried giving it to both of the horses for a while, and they never learned to just eat it. They tried wetting it, putting it with other grain, everything they could think of, but nope! Insolent little.....
Heh. Peanut sounds like a kid who plays with his food when he should be eating it. Snorting the oats = blowing bubbles in milk.
Maybe if you pretend to eat it and like it, he'll get interested?
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