barley?

[kato]

We've made a lot of hay that turned out to be really good, which we never would have baled if not for the moisture tester.

In a wet year that one piece of equipment can make you a lot of money. Sometimes you would be really surprised at how dry it is.

As for preferring a quad, our neighbour was stampeded over by a bid bunch of heifers when he was chasing cattle with a quad, and spent a long long time getting over it. A good horse would have saved his hide that day.

As for the cheap barley...bring it on. We're very likely going to be dumb enough to feed this years calves out too! LOL

[whiteface]

There's like three converstions going on in this thread, I'll try and multitask. You bet my horses are bored cswilson. Way back when I was a kid I thought I wanted to raise cattle the cowboy way with good horses and out in the wilderness. Started to breed and train some good horses when I lived on the coast and did quite well thank you, like cowman says the hobby horse market is huge and they'll pay a fortune for a sensible, good headed safe horse. If it has some "cow" the price goes up, the coastal guys love to play cowboy on the weekend and go cattle penning. Moving to Alberta got the cattle thing in high gear and suddenly they were the ones making money ( for a while! ) and the horses got sidelined. Got bored as you suggested, cswilson, got fat, got locked up so they wouldn't founder and started getting fed a little poorer hay to keep the weight down and keep them eating all day like a bored horse does but not get hurt or eat me out of house and home. Good hay is outrageously expensive to people who seriously think a horse can't survive on anything else, but my situation just sort of evolved that way and most are gone except a few broodmares that haven't foaled for years and I'm just stalling for time with them I guess. On the hay conversation, for sure guys, not to worry we'll try ad have it baled as dry as possible, maybe we can get some feed out of it. Calling for more thundershowers and rain by the weekend, I'm getting very concerned about the health of my second cut (which at this stage looks like it belongs in a museum ... it's fabulous!). The junk on top has got to come off if I have to burn it but my grandpa drilled into my head waste not want not. For sure "mixing" the two cuts will get me quite a bit further add a little straw, a little barley ( which I buy so it's not as cost feasible ) and I just may make it through BSE. I won't feed hay that's dangerous ie. slimy white mould in it, but will certainly try and get it dry enough to salvage. I was told once alfalfa doesn't lose feed value the same way hay does when rained on, just color. I've never tested any hay I made. What are some of your experiences with rained on alfafa for feed quality?

[cswilson]

Well if cut not to early it can be actually not too bad-are any of those old mares broke pretty good-thats all we use here are mares(sell geldings).