March 08, 2003

Right Hand and Left Hand

Have you ever heard the old saying "Sometimes the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing"?

Just for fun, imagine putting your left arm in a sling for a day. The next day put the right arm in a sling. How efficient were you in getting your normal daily chores done compared to a day when you had both hands working together? Yes, you will get more work done if your right hand and your left hand are working together or you will get the same work done with a lot less effort.

I have been selling hay to horse owners for more than 25 years. I knew that almost all of them were feeding some sweet feed or grain mix in addition to the hay. I must admit I never considered changing the type of hay based on what they were feeding for a grain mix. My biggest concern was that it be as green as possible. My next concern was that it be as free as possible of dust and mold.

I have never sold a grain mix for horses myself but I have had a lot of friends that have worked for major feed companies and local feed mills. Most of these feed sources had two, maybe three, different types of feed for horses. Usually the difference was based on price. As the horse industry has grown, the major feed companies are offering more choices for the horse owner to choose from. Most of the time the company making the feed doesn't see the horse or the type of hay being fed. The person at the feed store selling the grain mix seldom sees them either.

I was at the Minnesota Horse Expo a few years ago and was visiting with the person at the booth of a major feed company. I had been working on a project for the dairy industry and was involved in developing a total mixed ration. Because you have to know what all the ingredients offer to the needs of the total ration, I asked what they recommended for a horse being fed grass hay? He showed me their product and why it was good for a horse. Then I asked what he recommended for a horse fed mostly alfalfa hay? His response was that it didn't make any difference. Those of you that know me realize why I left before I was thrown out.

I do believe that the horse industry and the support industry are doing a better job today in developing a properly balanced ration for a healthy more productive horse. I have been amazed how forgiving the gastro-intestinal (GI) system of a penned horse is to survive all these years.

I believe that if the hay source and the grain source worked together , the horse today would be healthier, more productive and more efficient.

Hands need to have a certain level of coordination to be productive. The same is true of the nutrients in the horses GI system. Not only do certain nutrients need to be in the system but also it is important the amounts be in balance. The GI system is also a time and space tract. I believe that as the food enters the tract all the nutrients need to be available in that time and space in balance to be the most efficient. Those nutrients need to be in the feed being consumed or already in the horse and available to the tract.

If the system is balanced, the health of the horse will be like a fine tuned machine. A healthy horse will have an immune system that will fight off many of the diseases they are exposed to. On occasion, we will use artificial exposures (vaccines) to challenge the immune system so that it will work at peak efficiency if the horse is exposed to a disease. For the vaccine to work at its best, the horse also needs a healthy active immune system. Good nutrition will contribute to a healthy immune system.

A properly balanced flow of nutrients will allow the horse to take maximum advantage of the nutrients that are passing down the digestive tract. If the digestive tract is not operating at peak efficiency, some of the nutrients in the tract will continue passing and eventually out the back end. (Fat dog) If the horse is taking full advantage of the nutrients, they will need less feed to accomplish the same tasks. I have seen some data that suggests that this efficiency can reduce the amount of feed needed by 20% or more.

If you are trying to get maximum performance from your horse you will want the digestive tract working at peak performance. Many times, we will improve the quality of the feed, quantity of feed and frequency of feeding to gain this advantage. What if we included the forage or hay in accomplishing this coordinated effort? What if the hay portion and the grain portion clasped hands and worked together?

I have seen this type of coordinated activity in the dairy industry take the same cows from a milk production level of 16,000 #/cow/yr. to 21,000 #/cow/yr. in less than a year. In the dairy industry, pounds of milk are a measure of production but in the horse industry it may measure production by endurance or speed.

Whether you want a healthy horse, an efficient horse or a productive horse, coordinating the hay and grain is needed to get the most from your horse. Don't concentrate on one while handicapping the other.