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Post by Zero2Hero on Sept 23, 2014 8:58:57 GMT -5
Just curious how many farms/people get their hay tested on an annual basis? It seems like hay is the number one thing we feed to our horses, but at the same time not everyone knows exactly what nutrition to expect from their hay.
I board out, and the hay is grown onsite. My BO doesn't test it - that I'm aware of anyways because most of her barn are pleasure riders and the horses are mature horses. But we also find out what the averages are in the area for hay to have some ideas on protein levels, etc.
What does everyone else do?
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Post by midnightdream on Sept 24, 2014 12:01:31 GMT -5
The hay that my horse at home gets is tested simply because the cattle and sheep get the same one and we like having it tested to make sure everyone is getting a proper ration. My horse at a boarding barn does not have hay tested. BO takes care to make sure good quality hay is brought in.
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Post by robyn on Sept 25, 2014 7:37:21 GMT -5
It might be a silly question, but how do you go about getting your hay tested? We've never done it before and I'd really like to give it a try
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Post by Secret Recipe on Sept 25, 2014 11:45:00 GMT -5
Robyn, where are you located? Your local feed mill should be able to take a sample and submit it for you.
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Post by midnightdream on Sept 25, 2014 11:50:30 GMT -5
IF you're in Guelph you can also have hay tested at SGS agrifood lab on Imperial Rd. I often find it easier to just go through the feed mill though as they have nutritionists on hand who do the work of interpreting it all in the event that you don't know how to read a feed test. Usually it just comes back as a series of percentages and numbers with no written explanation of what it all means so your nutritionist will be able to interpret that and let you know if you need to make diet changes based on the hay tests.
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Post by Zero2Hero on Sept 25, 2014 12:23:19 GMT -5
Most feed stores have someone on hand that can come out a take core samples to get them tested, a few of the feed companies can do it, like Purina.
Agri-labs in Guelph also does a lot of hay testing - I think if you drop it off it's like $50 something like that. It is important to get core samples from several bales to get an accurate reading of your hay.
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