1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 June Voice RS

USE PELLETS TO RELIEVE HAY PINCH Due to the severe winter over much of the United States, many horsemen have run out of hay. Many re port that, pound for pound, hay is more costly than grain. As a result, there is much interest in all-pelleted horse rations, in which the hay and grain are com bined ... an all-in-one ration. Advantages of All-Pelleted Rations Because of the several advantages of an all-pelleted ration, the shifting from conventional hay and grain feeds to an all-pe lleted ration may prove to be a bless ing in disguise, for most horsemen will never return to the fuss and muss that goes hand in hand with feed ing long hay. Here are the advantages of an all- pelleted horse ration: 1. Pelleted feeds are less bulky — Roughage re quires 1/3 to 1/5 as much space when pelleted as is required by the same roughage in loose or chopped form. Hence, it’s easier to store and handle pellets — they lessen transportation, building, and labor costs. For these reasons, it is particularly advantageous to use pelleted feeds where storage space is limited and feed must be transported considerable distances, con ditions which frequently characterize small enterprises and the suburban horse owner. 2. Pelleting prevents selectivity in eating — Pellets keep horses from selectively refusing ingredients likely to be high in certain dietary essentials — each bite is a balanced feed. 3. Pelleting practically eliminates wastage — Since horses may waste up to twenty percent of long hay, less pelleted feed is required. Wastage of conventional feed is highest where low quality hay is fed and/or feed containers are poorly designed. 4. Pelleting eliminates dustiness and lessens heaves — Good pellets are completely free of dust. 5. Pellet-fed horses are trimmer in the middle and more attractive — Due to consuming less bulk, there are no "hay bellies.” How to Prepare and Use Pellets Like many good things in life, pellets may be, and often are, misused. Based on experiments and experi ence, it is recommended that all-pelleted rations for horses be prepared and used as follows: 1. Size and hardness of pellets — One-half inch pel lets are preferred for mature horses, and one-fourth inch pellets for weanlings and short yearlings. Also, June, 1969 very hard pellets should be avoided; if horses cannot chew them, they will spit them out. 2. Proportion of roughage and concentrate — It is recommended that the ratio of roughage to concen trate be higher in all-pelleted rations than when long hay is fed. For most horses, 60.5 to 69% roughage and 31 to 39.5% concentrate is just about right. 3. Feed preparation — It is important that any horse feed form a loose mass in the stomach, thereby assuring (a) ease of digestion; (b) fewer digestive disturbances, and (c) less impaction. To this end, in a complete (all-pelleted) ration, such feeds as oats or barley should be crimped or steam rolled (not finely ground) and the roughage should be one-fourth inch chop or coarser. Otherwise, a couple of pounds of long hay may be fed daily to each horse. 4. Severity of work or age of animal — The heavier the work or the younger the animal, the higher the energy requirement; and the lower the roughage and the higher the concentrate. 5. Overfeeding or underfeeding pellets — The lower the proportion of roughage and the higher the concen trate, the more horsemen are apt to overfeed and get idle horses or, at light to medium work, too-fat horses. Also, if the total feed consumption is limited too se verely to hold the weight down, the problem of wood chewing is increased, simply because of a lack of physical filling of the digestive tract. 6. Legume vs. grass hay — When the roughage con sists of high quality legume hay, a higher percentage of roughage may be used than where grass or other nonlegumes are used, all or in part. 7. Providing more energy — For race or young stock on an all-pelleted ration, if more energy is needed it can be provided by replacing a portion of the all-pel leted ration with a suitable concentrate or supplement. 8. Amount to feed — Because of eliminating waste, less all-pelleted feed is required than of conventional rations. For a horse at light work, feed 14 to 18 pounds daily of a 53 to 56 percent TDN pellet per 1,000 pounds of live weight. Increase the feed allow ance with the severity of work. 9. Switch gradually to all-pelleted ration — As with any change in feed, the switch to an all-pelleted ration should be made gradually; otherwise, such vices as wood chewing and bolting (eating feed too rapidly) may be induced. Continue to offer all the long hay the horse wants, and slowly replace the grain portion of the conventional ration with the complete pelleted feed. Increase the pelleted feed by one to two pounds daily while gradually lessening the hay. Let 'em roll on ... MR. FREE WHEEL JIMMY ELLIS up for R. F. ELLIS Orrville, Alabama 1968 Southern Junior Champion—And he's back!! » __________ 25

1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 June Voice RS | Page 25