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Ontario Horse News & Views
www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/news.html Published: 01/02/2009
February 2009 - Dr. Bob Wright - Lead Veterinarian, Equine/OMAFRA
With good hay in short supply, and expensive, no one can afford to waste 20% or more. But that is what happens when hay is placed on the ground. In the late 1980s, the Alberta Horse Industry Branch conducted research where horses were either fed on the ground or from a simple plywood box feeder. An alfalfa-grass, mixed hay was fed at a rate to meet the requirements for moderate growth. The horses fed from the box were significantly heavier. In addition to wasting feed, hay fed on the ground forms a mat, which will kill any grass under it, creating bare spots in the pasture/paddock and muddy areas. (Ref: Coleman R. Feeding Horses When Feed is Short, republished by the Government of Alberta, Agriculture and Rural Development.)
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