Are times really that hard?

[cowman]

BSE, drought, the cost/price squeeze. Tough times right?
And yet drive through the country and you see useless horses all over the place! A farmer will have a bunch of skinny cows eating straw in one field and half a dozen nags in another sleeping on the best alphalfa!
What is it with all these plugs? Most of them are never ridden and most of them are fat as seals! In the drought I saw people forced to sell whole cow herds but the horse population seemed to increase!
Want to sell your hay for top dollar? Sell to a horse owner! They don't care how much they have to pay!

[carebear300]

If you notice cowman, at least in our area, the horses aren't owned by honest to go farmers or ranchers. They are owned by wage earners that aren't dependent on agriculture for their livliehood. Maybe that is the way of the future, some lawyer or doctor will own the cows or horses and you as a farmer will be paid to take care of them. Hope not but something will have to change pretty soon!!!!

[cowman]

carebear: A lot of the horses are owned by the playboys but quite a few are owned by real farmers too!
Occasionally I'll sell some hay and I've always found the horse people don't care how much they pay just as long as it looks good and isn't dusty. Now mind you, get the money in your hand before they get the hay as they are not very prompt at paying sometimes!
It just sort of bugs me that nothing is too good for a totally useless horse while good cattle have to make do with the worst sort of feed.
But if some idiot wants to pay me $160/ton for hay that is worth $70/ton, then I'm open for business!