how can you keep weight on 5 horses with hardly any pasture left and cant get hay for about a month. help!!!!?

Answer 1

The real question is, Do you have money for feed? If not...

Check with your local food banks. They are not allowed to give out opened / torn packages of food and often have to throw away these items. They may not be allowed to actually give it to you, but if you check their trash, you can take the discarded items and they won't say anything if they know it is for your animals.

Rolled oats & bran are ideal and a few other cereal items are suitable for use as horse feed in a pinch. Watch the additives in the cereals though. We use a good bit of this sort of thing to suppliment our goat feed on a regular basis.

Another thing is to check with the local supermarkets. They cull vegetables on a regular basis and it goes to the trash. Ask the stockers in the veggie department... They can tell you the schedule so you can watch their trash. Though some will even haul it to your truck for you, I think most of the stores have rules about handing this stuff out due to insurance and safety issues. Most will overlook trash bin raids if they know you have animals and are looking for feed.

Check around with folks who have vacant areas that need mowing. Often they will let you do some supervised grazing there. Helps them and your horses! Be watchful that they do no damage to ornamentals and trees.

There were times when we watched for uncut roadside overgrowth too. Johnson grass and other fodder can be had for the cutting... A lot of work, but kept the horses happy when there wasn't money for feed. Just be aware of what you are cutting... loco weed, very young Johnson grass and other roadside stuff can be an issue... go for mature grasses.

Hope this helped!
PS I am assuming you know to introduce new or emergency feeds a little at a time and be picky about the veggies you use... cull any bad stuff and wash greens, limit fruit... use common sense to avoid colic.

Answer 2

I don't know where you live but alot of the feed stores sell square hay. If you are buying alot of hay then this would work until your hay comes through. I also feed my horses a mixture of calf and bull and rice bran. Calf and bull is hard to find sometimes but you can mix the rice bran right up with what ever else you may be feeding. It's a good source of protein and fat. I keep my horses on it year around. Also about a cup a day of corn or vegtable oil works really great to put in their feed. I have used it alot to fatten up horses that I have bought from a sale barn that need alittle tlc.

Answer 3

You do not give enough information. IS it that you cannot find hay or cannot afford it? If it is the moeny, I would suggest selling the horses to a good home, perhaps keeping two. Horses are expensive to keep, rarely produce any sort of income (unless you own a winning race horse), they need feed, fencing, shelter, shoes, vet care, horses are like having fancy boats, but at least you can put the boat away for the winter.

Another thought is that pasture grass this time of year has very little nutrient, and to top it off, unlike a cow, the horses do not pull the grass out by the root, getting even more vitamins.

I wish you luck.

PS Horse meat is good to eat.

Answer 4

I would suggest putting your horses on a mixture of beet pulp and hay cubes. They are both inexpensive and work great for keeping weight on but not adding energy. Corn oil is also a great supplement. Gradually work up to feeding about a cup/day per horse. You may have to add some molasses to the beet pulp as I find some horses are picky about eating it. Make sure you soak it in water for atleast 4 hours before feeding it (warm water works best, about 4 inches above the beet pulp) You can soak the hay cubes with it as well, if you do that you may not have to add the molasses!

I have had many thoroughbreds and I find that they are hard keepers, even on grass the method above has really helped to put/keep weight on them without the worry of higher energy or founder.

Answer 5

I maintain my horse in a fifteen acre pasture with a goat, and steer(neutered male 'cow') No issues. I might NEVER maintain my horse in a pasture with longhorns despite the fact that. I'd by no means take that chance. My steer had small horns and so they get stuffed down whenever my horse will get his hooves performed by means of my farrier. They are peers, they comply with each and every different in all places. My steer is lacking a work of his ear in which my horse bit it off, however not anything critical. EDIT:: after studying my reply, I suppose the have to provide you extra knowledge. My pasture has a typical water supply, and six computerized waterers. It used to be an historic hay area that I took over from my dad to maintain my horse and on, so the grass is well. I nonetheless have got to feed grain despite the fact that, regardless of how well a grass can seem, it would possibly not furnish the vitamins a horse demands, it is tough to maintain my steer & goat style consuming my horse's grain, I have got to stand there and maintain scaring off the steer and goat, so it is a mild suffering within the 'booty'. You may also want a run in refuge of a few form. I have one and my steer loves to dam the doorway to it to maintain my horse out, particularly while it is raining. Cattle also are tough at the land, so you are going to have got to assess and repair any holes, ditches, and so forth. that your horse can fall in.

Answer 6

You have to get some hay and feeding brought in.

Buy hay cubes, pellets etc. Always have enough money and stalk in to protect for those times when pasture runs out and have a month to go.

Answer 7

You might try asking for help from humane organizations, horse and pony organizations or clubs, or horse rescue organizations. If you have a good reason for not being able to get hay, an organization that has an interest in the welfare and care of horses should be willing to help you.

Answer 8

maybe you should ask a friend or local horse people to help out, maybe theres a pasture somewhere they can let your horse graze on or your just gonna hafta cowboy up and find a way to get some feed. Pray that God will help. Good luck and God Bless

Answer 9

You need to give them sweet feed or oats 2 times a day until you can get them some hay.

Answer 10

Go to a feed store or tractor supply and buy bagged food along with grain and oats. You can mix in corn if they have it, or pour on small amounts of corn oil. If you use corn or oil remember it generates extra heat in the horse. I used to buy horses off of kill trucks and that was what I used to help get the weight on them they needed before adopting them out.