1965-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1965 November Voice | Page 26

The feces of pellet-fed horses are
softer and less firm than those not
fed pellets; they are more compar­
able to horses on pasture — as
nature intended.
Cleveland, Tennessee, Horseman
Killed as Truck Leaves Road
ALL-PELLETED FEED
FOR HORSES
During the question-and-answer
period following a recent address
that I made, a little old lady spoke
up thusly: "I understand that Mr.
(name withheld) feeds an all-in-one
pellet to his race horses, and that
is the reason his horses are so nar­
row-chested.” Fortunately, I didn’t
have to field that one. A fellow in
the back of the room did it for me.
Said he, "With his fabulous winnings
and earnings, I want to find out
what he’s feeding so that I can use
some of the same stuff.”
As is true of most innovations,
complete pellets (containing both
hay and grain) are likely to be
blamed for many things — and for
various reasons. But seldom will a
person admit that he didn’t use
them properly. Despite this, the use
of all-pelleted rations will increase,
because they are well adapted to
horses — if they are used properly.
Contrary to what some folks think,
all-pelleted rations are not new. They
were used extensively in the cavalry
by both the German and Russian
armies during World War II. Among
their advantages: They are cleaner
and' require less storage and trans­
portation space (1/5 to 1/3 as much
space as long hay); they make for
convenience and feed uniformity on
the show or race circuit; it takes
less labor and time to feed pellets;
there is no dustiness (dustiness may
cause heaves); there is no waste —
with the result that 5 to 20 percent
less feed is necessary; they can be
used as a hay extender; because
less feed is consumed, there is less
defecation — stalls are cleaner and
26
there is less clean-up; and they make
for trimmer middles — there are
no "hay bellies.”
It is important that horse feeds
form a loose mass in the stomach,
thereby assuring (1) ease of diges­
tion, (2) fewer digestive disturban­
ces, and (3) less impaction. To this
end, such feeds as oats and barley
should be crimped or steam-rolled
(not finely ground) and the roughage
in a complete (hay plus grain) ration
should be %-inch chop or coarser.
As with any change in feed, the
switch to an all-pelleted ration should
be made gradually. Thus, when
switching from long hay to a pelleted,
complete ration, proceed as follows:
Continue to offer all the longhaythe
horse wants, and slowly replace the
grain portion of the conventional
ration with the all-pellet. Increase
the all-in-one pellet by one or two
pounds daily while gradually lessen­
ing the hay. After a few days, the
horse will stop eating the hay of his
own accord, following which it can
be completely eliminated.
If the switch to an all-pelleted
feed is not done properly and grad­
ually, such vices as wood-chewing
and bolting (eating feed too rapidly)
may be induced. Increased exercise
and/or more frequent feeding (feed­
ing three times daily, instead of
twice daily — but with the total
daily ration remaining the same)
will usually alleviate wood-chewing,
and too-rapid eating can be rectified
by placing in the feed container
round stones as big as baseballs or
bigger. Occasionally, a horse will not
adjust to an all-pelleted ration. Un­
der the latter circumstances, feed
two to four pounds of long hay daily,
along with an all-pelleted ration.
DAVID HARDY NEIL, 52, was
killed October 24 when his pick-up
truck went out ofcontrol about seven
miles north of Ooltewah, Tennessee.
The Cleveland horse breeder, train­
er and show judge was well known
in the Walking Horse industry.
Mr. Neil, owner-operator of Blythe-
wood Farms in Cleveland, was fam­
ous as a horse show judge. His spe­
cialty was the breeding and training
of American Saddle Horses, but he
bought and sold Tennessee Walking
Horses also. He maintained one of
the largest stables in the Eastern
United States, and sold horses to
someof theworld’smostoutstanding
horsemen, having shipped the Bly-
thewood Farm animals to several
foreign countries. In addition to show
horses, Neil bred and trained tho­
roughbred horses, specializing in
Roadster animals with which he has
won many honors. We know that
David Neil will be missed through­
out the horse business.
BROODMARE, WEANLING &
YEARLING COLTS A
SPECIALTY
Don’t start your breeding program
by just buying a horse! Get started
on the right foot — Purchase an
animal with top blood line and con­
formation — Something you’ll be
proud of NOW and more proud of
in future years.
“if we don't have it - we can find it!”
LET ME ASSIST YOU IN YOUR
WANTS AND NEEDS.
JAMES L. ROWLAND STABLES
(Highway 99, Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Address: Rockvale, Tennessee
(Near Murfreesboro)
Phone: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
893-5513
BUYING . . . SELLING . . . SHOW­
ING! REGARDLESS OF WHAT
IT IS YOU WANT TO PROMOTE,
YOU CAN DO IT BETTER FOR
LESS IN THE “VOICE” THAN
IN ANY OTHER HORSE MAGA­
ZINE.
VOICE of the Tennessee Walking Horse