SANE FEEDING DURING CRAZY TIMES  

We’re into the cold months now, and it looks like this winter will be tough. Hay is in short supply, the quality is questionable, and the supply chain for everything from soup to nuts to farm needs is breaking down. Prices are going up and some items aren’t on the shelves. Trucking is chaotic and ingredients aren’t available.

Let’s stop for a moment and take a deep breath. My intent is not to send you to the feed store in a panic to stock up. There are several reasons why that is not a good idea. Instead, we’ll look at some of the factors that affect the supply chain, we’ll look at the local hay situation, and we’ll discuss alternatives to help you maintain your horses and keep them healthy without sacrificing your retirement.

Let’s start with the availability of ingredients. It probably didn’t hit your radar that there is a shortage of flaxseed this year. You’re more likely to hear about sunflower, corn, or wheat. It’s easy to understand the effect of those shortages because we hear stories in the news. But what about lesser- known products such as flaxseed? Flax is an ingredient in many feeds, it produces a high fat oil, and is a stand-alone fat supplement as well. Because of the shortage, some products won’t be available this year. Feeds that contain flax will increase in price. You will see this in human products too.

What causes a decrease in crops? It can be weather (too hot/cold/wet/dry, storms, wind) or a failure of the seed to germinate. Another component is the increased demand for consumption by humans and the increased difficulty of getting seed. Flaxseed is not the only ingredient that goes through this cycle. Corn can be devastated by a strong windstorm during a tender developmental stage; wheat and oat yields are severely affected by drought. Every crop has a season and a range of tolerance, and if conditions aren’t close to that, crops will suffer a degree of failure. Failed crops mean less product.

What does this mean to your horse? If you’re relying on flax as an added source of calories, you’ll likely need to consider other sources. Start looking now so that you don’t have to make a sudden change when you can no longer get flax. If your feed contains flax, expect the price to increase.

The feed companies are having unique challenges this year. Among these are the lack of employees due to COVID restrictions, illness, and worker loss. (Did you know that 4.3 million people quit their jobs in August?) Feed is a manufacturing business, and fewer people on the workroom floor means that less product gets made, no matter how automated the process. People are needed to test ingredients, do quality control, and input data to make sure that the proper product goes to the proper retail store. People are needed to forecast future production and to source the ingredients. Although we rely heavily on computers for number crunching, mixing ingredients, and many other manufacturing functions, it all starts with human input.

People are needed to pick orders, run the forklifts that load trucks, and drive those trucks to your local feed store. More people unload trucks, stack bags, and load them into your vehicle. We all know that there is a shortage of truck drivers. We all know too that many businesses are short-handed. If your feedstore has people to assist you, give them a big thank-you. And if you know any farmers, give them a huge thank-you too!

Let’s shift our focus and talk about hay. If you were able to get and store you need for the winter, you are very fortunate. Now take a sample to your feed store and get it analyzed, so that you know its nutrient value in case you need to make other changes in your horse’s diet.

If you don’t have all that you need, you already know that it is going to be a tough year. First we had a drought, then too much rain. Production in southern parts of the state was way down, the quality isn’t that great, and it’s expensive. Farms in Canada that help to supply Maine feed stores are already falling short. Hopefully you will be able to get hay all winter, but it will likely come from several suppliers. In this case, having your hay analyzed won’t be helpful if it’s coming from different farms every week.

Okay, enough doom and gloom. I’m not saying that we will run out of feed, suffer biblical floods or a zombie apocalypse. Whatever happens, we’ll get through. What can you do? First, be knowledgeable. Start in your feed room and know what your horse is eating, and how much (POUNDS, not coffee cans!) Save a bag tag or an empty bag so you have the nutritional information and ingredients and the proper feed name. This is a good time to evaluate why you use that product. Is it the protein level? The fat content? The fact that it is low NSC? What is the most important thing to you about this feed?

Next, have a back-up plan. If you can’t get your feed, will you try to find a similar product? Will you switch your horse to a diet that is mostly forage and add a ration balancer? This is where your feed store can help you. Talk with them about products that are similar to what you feed. If you are looking for a high-fat feed, ask about additives such as oil. If low NSCs are your concern, ask them to help you compare products. Many feed stores carry more than one line of feed so they can help you find a substitute. Remember that you must know the name of what you are feeding now, and you must know how much in pounds (NOT coffee cans!) Do your research and find replacements before you need them. You should allow a couple weeks to switch your horse from one feed to another, whether it is a different feed by the same company or by a different company…or a different class of feed altogether.

Third, look at your management practices. Do you routinely wait until you are almost out of feed before you go to the feed store? Start planning further into the future. Keep enough feed on hand so that you can safely convert your horse to a different brand or variety of feed if needed. You’ll have to determine your own comfort level, but here are a few examples:

1. The two old Morgans eat the same senior feed. One receives seven pounds per day over several meals because he can’t chew forage or grass, the other receives three pounds per day plus a ration balancer because he isn’t getting enough senior feed to meet all his vitamin and mineral requirements. He also has access to all the hay and pasture he wants. A 50-lb bag lasts five days, as I’m feeding out ten pounds per day. Ideally, I would keep three extra bags on hand so that I would have 15 days to convert them to a new senior feed if necessary. (With older horses, it’s better to take longer to make a feed change.)

2. The Mustang and the Mini get a ration balancer and forage. Between them, they get a few ounces over a pound per day, so a 50-lb bag lasts roughly 40 days. When the bag is half-gone, I would get another. If I can’t get the same brand, I’ll ask the feed store for suggestions for a replacement. Ration balancers tend to be very similar from one company to the next, and my horses aren’t getting very much, so I can easily switch them from one brand to another within as little as a 10-day period if needed.

3. Let’s say your horse eats a couple pounds per day of a low protein, low fat maintenance feed, plus hay. You aren’t feeding for protein or calories, so he would be a good candidate for a ration balancer and hay.

You may be managing one horse or twenty. Take a good look at each horse’s diet, determine the most important aspect of that diet, research potential replacements, and keep enough on hand for a change-over if necessary. One important thing to remember: always rotate your feed. As you bring in new bags, feed out the older bags so that the supply on hand is ALWAYS as fresh as possible.

Should you stock up and get enough feed to last you through the winter? No, and here is why. First, feed has a shelf life. On average, pelleted feed can be good for as long as six months under ideal conditions. After that it loses nutritional value. If weather conditions are humid or damp, the shelf life is shorter. Textured feeds have a shelf life of 90 days, again under ideal conditions. Storing food for too long means that the nutritional value goes down. That’s like throwing dollars bills onto the manure pile! How do you tell the age of your feed? Look at the bag tag, or on the bag itself. Some companies use a standard calendar date; some use a Julian date (the number of the day in the year, so February 2 would be Day 33.) Any quality feed should have a date. A feed store employee can help you find and read it. Remember, this is the date of manufacture, NOT an expiration date!

Feed lasts longer in cooler weather, but it’s still not a good idea to keep tons on hand. To best store your feed, keep the bags off the floor in a cool and dry place. Once opened, keep them in a rodent-proof container that is easy to clean.

Second, it’s a great year to be a rodent, and their populations are huge. They are everywhere! I adopted two more feral cats to help deal with the explosion. If you have too much feed around for an extended time, rodents will find it. Rodents have no qualms about pooping in food and they can carry parasites such as tapeworms. They also damage bags, leave a trail of destruction, and eat your horse’s feed.

Third, feed sometimes undergoes a recall. If you are hoarding bags that you bought six months ago, your feed store won’t realize it and won’t be able to alert you and replace those bags. You risk feeding a bad product to your horse because you aren’t current. Reputable feed stores pull any product that is recalled and try their hardest to notify customers who may have bought the product.

As an aside, this is why I never empty more than one bag of feed into my metal cans at one time. If a feed is recalled and I’ve already mixed it with another bag, I can’t separate it out. I also like to make sure that the container is empty before I put anther bag in, so that there is no old feed moldering in the bottom. Periodic cleanings are a good idea too. Just make sure the container is completely dry before you fill it again.

Fourth, if you go to your feed store and order 20 bags of feed instead of your usual 10, you are upsetting their apple cart. Ok, I admit that sounds silly, but feed stores like to maintain an even flow of product so that they can supply all their customers and keep their supplies fresh. If someone buys a large amount without ordering in advance, the store may not have enough product to get to their next ordering cycle and someone else’s horse may be short-changed. You’d be upset if you couldn’t get your feed because someone else bought all that was in stock.

Enough about feed. Let’s move on to hay. If you don’t have your winter needs already and your regular supplier won’t be able to provide it, you should be taking steps now. You can try to find another farmer who is willing to sell but that may be hard to do. Many farmers don’t have extra, especially here in southern Maine. If you rely on a feed store, you may find that they are already limiting how much you can purchase in a week. Again, it’s about trying to keep as many people satisfied as possible.

There are two big steps you should be taking now. First, stop wasting hay. Seriously. If your horse doesn’t eat all that you give him, cut back. He should just about clean up whatever you give him by the next meal. Any more than that will likely end up as bedding in his stall or stomped into the mud in his pasture. Install a manger, use a round bale feeder or a hay hut, try slow-feed hay bags or nets…any investment you make in equipment will pay for itself by saving hay. Just make sure that whatever set-up you choose is horse-safe. Horses are meant to eat small meals throughout the day, so use these tools to help spread out his hay meals. Keep an eye on his body condition and adjust his calorie in-take accordingly. It’s easy to misjudge when his coat is long, so don’t rely just on your eyes- run your hands over his ribs, check for a thick crest and fat deposits around his tailhead, look for a crease down his back. If he’s lost weight, you will want to increase his calories, either with more hay or more fat in his diet. If he’s too fat, evaluate your feeding program and decide where you can cut calories.

Store your hay properly so that it doesn’t mold or get too dusty. Hay should not sit on the ground or the concrete floor. It is best to have it on a pallet to allow airflow. And while we love the idea of cramming bales tightly into the barn, it’s better to have ventilation. If you must, cover your hay loosely with a tarp to keep it from getting wet and protect it from bird droppings.

Second, consider a forage alternative. The time to do this is now, before you get into a situation where you don’t have enough hay. By starting now you’ll extend the hay supply that you have. Forage alternatives can be bagged forages, pellets, or cubes. They are more expensive per pound than hay.

There are many varieties of bagged forages available, and they are not all equal. There are different types of grasses. Some have molasses, some don’t. Some are higher in NSCs than others. They do come labeled with a nutritional analysis though, which is very helpful. Again, do your research and ask your feed store for help in making a decision. Just don’t assume that they are like bales of hay, because they aren’t. They can be used to completely replace hay if your wallet can afford it.

Pellets and cubes technically can replace hay, but your horse likely won’t be happy with that scenario . The horse needs a certain length fiber in his forage to help stimulate more chewing and more saliva. This is known as the “scratch factor.” Pellets don’t supply that. Pellets can be eaten very quickly and then the horse is left to his own devices. Cubes are better in terms of scratch factor and it takes the horse longer to eat them, but they can be difficult for some old horses to manage.

Another option is to add forage in the form of rice bran and beet pulp. These do not replace hay but they are great for providing additional roughage. They are key ingredients in complete feeds.

If you have an old horse that quids his hay, find an alternative for him. It may be chopped forages, hay replacements, or a complete or senior complete feed (remember, while a complete feed can feed a senior, not every senior feed is considered a complete feed.)

As you can see, there are many options to help you keep your horse well fed during the next several months. Do your research, ask your feed store about options, and then manage your hay and feed so that you don’t waste it. With increased knowledge and attention, you’ll be able to keep your horse happy and healthy.