We have made a couple of small changes to the preceding recipe.
One is that we have removed the black oil sunflower seeds. We did not see a significant difference in condition with BOSS, so why feed it? We will stick with flax, which has proven itself over the years.
Another is that we have been experimenting with using alfalfa chaff in place of the pellets or cubes. We have alfalfa bales on hand for dairy animals, so we gather chaff from the fallen leaves or from cutting stems with pruning shears. Why not? It's here, and it doesn't take much. We use two big fat handfuls per 1200 pound horse, and add it to the crushed oats and ground flax, along with the oil and vinegar.
One other small adjustment was to figure feed amounts based on weight, since we have both large and small drafts: figuring 1/2 cup per 600 pounds of horse gives a whole cup each of oats and flax for the smaller drafts, and a cup and a half each for the large draft. For convenience in measuring, it is also useful to know that half a cup of oats is approximately equal to one cup or one big handful of crushed oats, so if you crush them in advance, you can measure it out by the handfuls or in a cup measure. Crushing the oats almost doubles their bulk. Also, when using chaff, we allow one big fat handful per 600 pounds of horse; with pellets, it would be 1/2 cup. This all makes measuring feeds easier. The flax we always measure and grind at the last minute, since ground flax doesn't keep well. Also, when using chaff, it is easier to mix it in last.
We are using 1/8 cup oil per 600 pounds of horse, and 1/8 cup or less of apple cider vinegar, also per 600 pounds of horse. We still mix the vinegar into the oats ahead of time when we can, to allow it to help deactive phytates, which can inhibit mineral absorption.
One way or another, the feed is still moistened so it is crumbly, neither dusty nor wet. We use hot water on cold days, just so the feed isn't ice cold when fed.
So in summary it looks like this for a 1200-pound horse:
1 cup whole oats, crushed (or two fat handfuls or two cups if measuring after crushing)
1 cup whole flax, ground
2 big fat handfuls alfalfa chaff (which is probably a quart)
1/4 cup good oil
1/8 -1/4 cup raw cider vinegar
water enough just to moisten (1/2 to 1 cup)
Mix everything really well. Yum. Your horse will follow you to the ends of the earth for this stuff.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Feeding Draft Horses
This is our current recipe for feeding our draft horses.
This recipe is for one draft horse, and is fed once per day.
1 cup alfalfa cubes or pellets
1 cup whole oats
1 cup black oil sunflower seeds (with shells)
1 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup oil (preferably good coconut oil)
1. Combine the alfalfa cubes or pellets with an equal measure of water and leave to soak for a few hours to soften. Pellets are easier than cubes, but cubes have a longer stem and thus provide more bulk and fiber.
2. Crush the oats in a mill just enough to crack the hulls; combine with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup water. Mix and leave to soak for a few hours if time permits. This allows the vinegar to work on neutralizing the phytic acid in the oats. If we don't get around to this step for some reason, we just crush the oats and add the vinegar when we mix the whole recipe together.
3. At feeding time, grind the sunflower seeds in a blender. Do the same with the flax, and mix everything together: the ground sunflower seeds, the ground flax seeds, the rehydrated alfalfa cubes (or pellets), and the crushed oats. Mix this well, breaking up any lumps that remain if using alfalfa cubes.
4. Add oil, and any supplements, as desired. We add, among other things, 1/2 cup of diatomaceous earth for each horse.
This makes a little over two quarts of finished feed for the horse, and is a nice bulky ration that our horses all like very well.
Because we are feeding draft horses, we wanted a feed that is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, to minimize the chances of their encountering equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (EPSM), an affliction to which heavy breeds are apparently susceptible. (For more information, see here: http://ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/epsm.htm)
We also wanted a feed that is made, as much as possible, from natural ingredients that are whole foods and that we could produce, theoretically at least, here on the farm if need be. Except for any added oil, these ingredients pass that test: we could grow oats and flax and sunflower seeds, if we had to, and I guess we could break up some alfalfa hay to combine it with, in a pinch.
Flax has been a constant in our feeds over the last few years. It puts a glorious shine on the horses, reduces skin sensitivities, and is also good for their hooves.
This recipe is for one draft horse, and is fed once per day.
1 cup alfalfa cubes or pellets
1 cup whole oats
1 cup black oil sunflower seeds (with shells)
1 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 cup oil (preferably good coconut oil)
1. Combine the alfalfa cubes or pellets with an equal measure of water and leave to soak for a few hours to soften. Pellets are easier than cubes, but cubes have a longer stem and thus provide more bulk and fiber.
2. Crush the oats in a mill just enough to crack the hulls; combine with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup water. Mix and leave to soak for a few hours if time permits. This allows the vinegar to work on neutralizing the phytic acid in the oats. If we don't get around to this step for some reason, we just crush the oats and add the vinegar when we mix the whole recipe together.
3. At feeding time, grind the sunflower seeds in a blender. Do the same with the flax, and mix everything together: the ground sunflower seeds, the ground flax seeds, the rehydrated alfalfa cubes (or pellets), and the crushed oats. Mix this well, breaking up any lumps that remain if using alfalfa cubes.
4. Add oil, and any supplements, as desired. We add, among other things, 1/2 cup of diatomaceous earth for each horse.
This makes a little over two quarts of finished feed for the horse, and is a nice bulky ration that our horses all like very well.
Because we are feeding draft horses, we wanted a feed that is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, to minimize the chances of their encountering equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (EPSM), an affliction to which heavy breeds are apparently susceptible. (For more information, see here: http://ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/epsm.htm)
We also wanted a feed that is made, as much as possible, from natural ingredients that are whole foods and that we could produce, theoretically at least, here on the farm if need be. Except for any added oil, these ingredients pass that test: we could grow oats and flax and sunflower seeds, if we had to, and I guess we could break up some alfalfa hay to combine it with, in a pinch.
Flax has been a constant in our feeds over the last few years. It puts a glorious shine on the horses, reduces skin sensitivities, and is also good for their hooves.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Conditioning Livestock Feed with Ground Raw Flax
Our livestock recipes tend to evolve over time. This year, we increased the amount of flax in our basic feed, and we also quit cooking it. We have been using this feed not only for the horses, but for the goats and the cow as well. They all love it. The recipe below is enough for our three horses, three goats, and one cow.
We feed in the evening, so this is started in the morning.
3 quarts whole oats
3 quarts alfalfa pellets
1 quart whole flax
1-2 cups apple cider vinegar
Optional additions:
up to 2 cups vegetable oil
up to 1 cup molasses
Morning:
Grind the oats, and combine with the vinegar and enough water to make about 3 cups of liquid. Mix this into the oats. This allows the vinegar to work on the oats and help reduce phytic acid that can impede mineral absorption.
Dump the alfalfa pellets into a wide bin, pour 6 cups of water over them, and leave them to soak. (The wide bin makes it easier to break them up later, as they will puff up and stick together in a big clump.)
Evening:
Break up the alfalfa pellets, which will have become nice soft pellet puffs. Dump the soaked oats in with the pellet puffs.
Grind the flax, and dump that in, too. Mix it all up into a nice fluffy mass.
If using the oil, add that too, and mix it all together. If you want to use molasses, combine it with the oil in a separate container first, and then add it to the solids. The oil will carry the molasses through the mix, which is much easier than dumping molasses straight in by itself and trying to work the sticky stuff in.
Notes:
1. I don't use molasses very often, and then only in the winter, when there are no flies to be drawn by it.
2. I grind the flax in a Vitamix, a powerful blender that is quite efficient. It has a pusher that goes through the lid, and I use that to push the unground flax down into the blades. I have also used a regular blender, and this works, too, although not quite as quickly.
3. I grind the oats in an old cast-iron mill that we keep in the feed room. It is adjusted just tight enough to crush the hulls, but not so tight as to grind the oats into meal.
4. The biggest point of this feed, really, is to get flax into the animals, because it makes so much difference in their skin and coat condition; and with horses, as my farrier reminds me, whatever is good for the coat is also good for the hooves.
5. We have made this with only two quarts of oats and two of alfalfa pellets, but still using a whole quart of flax, and it works fine. Each animal doesn't get as much total feed, but still gets her ration of flax. The idea is to get about a cup of flax into each large animal.
6. This could also be done with just oats, in which case I would probably use about 4 quarts of oats and a quart of flax; or just alfalfa, if one prefers to skip the carbohydrates, and there I would also use about 4 quarts of alfafa. We have done this, too, and it works fine.
7. In deciding how much water to add, I have been using the rule of thumb of about one part water for two parts alfalfa pellets, and one cup of total liquid for each quart of oats (as measured before grinding), the total liquid being meant to include the vinegar.
8. Barley is nice stuff, good for vitamin B5 and whatnot.We don 't always keep it on hand the way we do oats, but if using it from time to time, I would probably use two quarts of oats and one of steam-rolled barley, along with the alfalfa, or three of oats and one of barley, if skipping the alfalfa. As you see, the recipe is pretty maleable.
9. There is a lot of discussion online about whether to cook flax seed, and whether to grind it, so I won't go into that in this post. With the amounts that we have been using, though, the uncooked flax has been working fine. With grinding the flax as we do, I have more confidence that the animals are actually getting the maximum benefit that it has to offer.
10. One of our horses tends toward an itchy-skin condition during the warm season, and the flax helps enormously with this.
11. Our horses are drafts breeds, and there is much discussion online about steering away from carbohydrates, as the draft breeds (and some others) sometimes suffer from a metabolic disorder involving difficulty with glycogen storage (polysaccharide storage myopathy); so we never feed large quantities of grain in any case; and we have at times fed the flax with just alfalfa. However, there are questions in this direction, too, as flax with just alfalfa makes a pretty high-protein feed, around 19%. The combination of oats and alfalfa with the flax gives us some balance among these factors. The options for what to do with this ratio should take into consideration what kind of forage the animals are getting. For our part, we usually feed only grass or mostly-grass mixed hay, never straight alfalfa except to a cow in milk, at milking time.
12. Flax is low in calcium, so adding in some alfalfa improves the calcium balance in the ration. With the mix described above, our draft horses are getting approximately three cups of oats, three cups of alfalfa pellets, and one cup of flax. For an animal the size of a draft horse, even a small draft horse, this is not very much. But it is enough flax to really make a difference, and therein lies the magic.
3 quarts whole oats
3 quarts alfalfa pellets
1 quart whole flax
1-2 cups apple cider vinegar
Optional additions:
up to 2 cups vegetable oil
up to 1 cup molasses
Morning:
Grind the oats, and combine with the vinegar and enough water to make about 3 cups of liquid. Mix this into the oats. This allows the vinegar to work on the oats and help reduce phytic acid that can impede mineral absorption.
Dump the alfalfa pellets into a wide bin, pour 6 cups of water over them, and leave them to soak. (The wide bin makes it easier to break them up later, as they will puff up and stick together in a big clump.)
Evening:
Break up the alfalfa pellets, which will have become nice soft pellet puffs. Dump the soaked oats in with the pellet puffs.
Grind the flax, and dump that in, too. Mix it all up into a nice fluffy mass.
If using the oil, add that too, and mix it all together. If you want to use molasses, combine it with the oil in a separate container first, and then add it to the solids. The oil will carry the molasses through the mix, which is much easier than dumping molasses straight in by itself and trying to work the sticky stuff in.
Notes:
1. I don't use molasses very often, and then only in the winter, when there are no flies to be drawn by it.
2. I grind the flax in a Vitamix, a powerful blender that is quite efficient. It has a pusher that goes through the lid, and I use that to push the unground flax down into the blades. I have also used a regular blender, and this works, too, although not quite as quickly.
3. I grind the oats in an old cast-iron mill that we keep in the feed room. It is adjusted just tight enough to crush the hulls, but not so tight as to grind the oats into meal.
4. The biggest point of this feed, really, is to get flax into the animals, because it makes so much difference in their skin and coat condition; and with horses, as my farrier reminds me, whatever is good for the coat is also good for the hooves.
5. We have made this with only two quarts of oats and two of alfalfa pellets, but still using a whole quart of flax, and it works fine. Each animal doesn't get as much total feed, but still gets her ration of flax. The idea is to get about a cup of flax into each large animal.
6. This could also be done with just oats, in which case I would probably use about 4 quarts of oats and a quart of flax; or just alfalfa, if one prefers to skip the carbohydrates, and there I would also use about 4 quarts of alfafa. We have done this, too, and it works fine.
7. In deciding how much water to add, I have been using the rule of thumb of about one part water for two parts alfalfa pellets, and one cup of total liquid for each quart of oats (as measured before grinding), the total liquid being meant to include the vinegar.
8. Barley is nice stuff, good for vitamin B5 and whatnot.We don 't always keep it on hand the way we do oats, but if using it from time to time, I would probably use two quarts of oats and one of steam-rolled barley, along with the alfalfa, or three of oats and one of barley, if skipping the alfalfa. As you see, the recipe is pretty maleable.
9. There is a lot of discussion online about whether to cook flax seed, and whether to grind it, so I won't go into that in this post. With the amounts that we have been using, though, the uncooked flax has been working fine. With grinding the flax as we do, I have more confidence that the animals are actually getting the maximum benefit that it has to offer.
10. One of our horses tends toward an itchy-skin condition during the warm season, and the flax helps enormously with this.
11. Our horses are drafts breeds, and there is much discussion online about steering away from carbohydrates, as the draft breeds (and some others) sometimes suffer from a metabolic disorder involving difficulty with glycogen storage (polysaccharide storage myopathy); so we never feed large quantities of grain in any case; and we have at times fed the flax with just alfalfa. However, there are questions in this direction, too, as flax with just alfalfa makes a pretty high-protein feed, around 19%. The combination of oats and alfalfa with the flax gives us some balance among these factors. The options for what to do with this ratio should take into consideration what kind of forage the animals are getting. For our part, we usually feed only grass or mostly-grass mixed hay, never straight alfalfa except to a cow in milk, at milking time.
12. Flax is low in calcium, so adding in some alfalfa improves the calcium balance in the ration. With the mix described above, our draft horses are getting approximately three cups of oats, three cups of alfalfa pellets, and one cup of flax. For an animal the size of a draft horse, even a small draft horse, this is not very much. But it is enough flax to really make a difference, and therein lies the magic.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Old Horse Special Mash, Half Recipe
Here is a halved recipe of the Old Horse Special Mash, for your convenience:
This is a scaled-down version of Recipe #1, which I developed to put condition on an ancient draft horse. This mix has several steps that are done in separate buckets, and the feed requires soaking from morning to evening or vice versa, but once you get the routine in place, it is easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
2 quarts crushed oats (milled enough to crush hulls) - measured after grinding; could substitute oatmeal (steam-rolled oats) if desired
2 cups steam-rolled barley
2 quarts alfalfa pellets
1 quart beet pulp
1 quart wheat bran
1 cup whole flax seed (measured before grinding), then ground (makes a scant pint)
2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon salt
STEP ONE: Combine the oats and barley with 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 2 cups water.
STEP TWO: Combine the alfalfa pellets with 2 cups vegetable oil.
STEP THREE: Combine the beet pulp with 2 cups water.
STEP FOUR: Combine the ground flax, molasses and salt with 1 quart BOILING water. Put a cover on it to hold the heat in. (Easily done using a quart jar, then wrapping it in a towel, and setting the works in a bucket to cool.)
Leave all of these buckets of stuff to soak, then come back that evening or the next morning, depending on when you started, and dump all ingredients from all the buckets into a tub. Add the wheat bran, and mix until everything is well combined.
That's it. After this sits for a while, the mix gets a little drier, and the alfalfa pellets soften up and fall apart, as they soak up the excess moisture in the feed. All of the farm animals surveyed so far have loved this recipe: horses, cows, goats, and even dogs.
This mix should make roughly 7 quarts of finished feed. Feed changes should be made gradually. If starting a new horse on it, I might start with a quart a day, maybe a bit more for a big horse, and increase gradually, if desired. The old Belgian mare for whom it was devised, and who really needed help putting condition on, got about a gallon a day. Rations depend on size of horse, condition of horse, and amount of exercise. My present large draft (1700 lbs) gets no more than 1/2 gallon of mash per day, of Recipe #3, and that is plenty to keep the shine and condition on her. She is already fat and sleek. The smaller draft, 1200 pounds, also gets 1/2 gallon a day, but she needs to gain a little weight and condition at present. I may cut her back to a quart for maintenance, and we often skip a day here and there, depending on work load and schedules.
Mashes have to be used up while they are fresh, so it helps to evaluate your rations and make just enough for one, maybe two days at most. Keep it cool in hot weather, if you can. If it sours, you have to pitch it (or give it to the chickens) and make a fresh batch for the horses.
-------------------------------
Copyright oldworldfarmstead.blogspot.com and Elia Neal. All rights reserved.
This content may be reproduced in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.oldworldfarmstead.blogspot.com. Permission to reproduce this content in other media formats must be obtained in writing.
This is a scaled-down version of Recipe #1, which I developed to put condition on an ancient draft horse. This mix has several steps that are done in separate buckets, and the feed requires soaking from morning to evening or vice versa, but once you get the routine in place, it is easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
2 quarts crushed oats (milled enough to crush hulls) - measured after grinding; could substitute oatmeal (steam-rolled oats) if desired
2 cups steam-rolled barley
2 quarts alfalfa pellets
1 quart beet pulp
1 quart wheat bran
1 cup whole flax seed (measured before grinding), then ground (makes a scant pint)
2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon salt
STEP ONE: Combine the oats and barley with 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 2 cups water.
STEP TWO: Combine the alfalfa pellets with 2 cups vegetable oil.
STEP THREE: Combine the beet pulp with 2 cups water.
STEP FOUR: Combine the ground flax, molasses and salt with 1 quart BOILING water. Put a cover on it to hold the heat in. (Easily done using a quart jar, then wrapping it in a towel, and setting the works in a bucket to cool.)
Leave all of these buckets of stuff to soak, then come back that evening or the next morning, depending on when you started, and dump all ingredients from all the buckets into a tub. Add the wheat bran, and mix until everything is well combined.
That's it. After this sits for a while, the mix gets a little drier, and the alfalfa pellets soften up and fall apart, as they soak up the excess moisture in the feed. All of the farm animals surveyed so far have loved this recipe: horses, cows, goats, and even dogs.
This mix should make roughly 7 quarts of finished feed. Feed changes should be made gradually. If starting a new horse on it, I might start with a quart a day, maybe a bit more for a big horse, and increase gradually, if desired. The old Belgian mare for whom it was devised, and who really needed help putting condition on, got about a gallon a day. Rations depend on size of horse, condition of horse, and amount of exercise. My present large draft (1700 lbs) gets no more than 1/2 gallon of mash per day, of Recipe #3, and that is plenty to keep the shine and condition on her. She is already fat and sleek. The smaller draft, 1200 pounds, also gets 1/2 gallon a day, but she needs to gain a little weight and condition at present. I may cut her back to a quart for maintenance, and we often skip a day here and there, depending on work load and schedules.
Mashes have to be used up while they are fresh, so it helps to evaluate your rations and make just enough for one, maybe two days at most. Keep it cool in hot weather, if you can. If it sours, you have to pitch it (or give it to the chickens) and make a fresh batch for the horses.
-------------------------------
Copyright oldworldfarmstead.blogspot.com and Elia Neal. All rights reserved.
This content may be reproduced in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.oldworldfarmstead.blogspot.com. Permission to reproduce this content in other media formats must be obtained in writing.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Conditioning Horse Feed #2 (Simpler than Old-Horse Special Mash)
If you saw the earlier recipe that I posted for the old-horse special mash, you probably noticed that it was a recipe with several steps. While none of those steps was terribly time-consuming in itself, it did require some work, and there are times in the busy life of the farm when something simpler is called for. We will keep the previous recipe in our arsenal and use it as needed, but meanwhile, here is a more streamlined recipe that is getting noticeable results.
We have been using it to put condition on our two other horses, ages 5 and 6. Both are drafts, one large (1800 lbs) and one small (1000 lbs); but because of differences in condition (the bigger one is also fatter), they each get half. This mash is working wonderfully well. In fact, it has turned their coats to silk in short order.
The basic ingredients are flax, oats, barley, and bran.
This recipe makes enough for two horses.
1 cup whole flax
4 cups whole oats
2 cups steam-rolled barley
2 cups wheat bran
Measure out the flax, 1/2 cup at a time, and grind it in a coffee grinder. (We have a grinder dedicated to this purpose.) Put the resulting flax meal in a quart jar and add boiling water to fill the jar. Stir to mix well. Put the lid on, then wrap the jar in a towel, and place this in a pail or other container, to hold in the heat. Let this sit for at least four hours. It is easiest to just do this in the morning, and come back to it in the evening, when you are ready to feed (or vice versa). (See note below on the importance of heating the flax.)
Next, grind the oats. For this, an old cast-iron feed mill works well. If you don't have one of these, you can just use steam-rolled oats. If you have a mill, then grind the whole oats enough to crush the hulls well. Then grind the steam-rolled barley. This barley grinding isn't absolutely essential, but it does help to make the mash nice and fluffy.
Combine the ground oats, the ground-up steam-rolled barley, and the bran, and mix together well. This mixture will be very light. Then add the flax mixture, which after sitting for hours will be a nicely cooled flax gel. Mix this thoroughly into the oats-barley-bran.
About the flax:
According to what I have read in old livestock-feeding books, flax should be heated because in its raw state it contains a substance which in rare instances can give rise to prussic acid, which is poisonous.
Also, you can buy flax meal, and it doesn't have this problem, but it also has most of the oil removed, which for my purposes, materially decreases its charm as a conditioning feed. In the old days, you could get flax meal that still had the oil in it, but not so anymore. Thus the homemade flax gel.
We have been using it to put condition on our two other horses, ages 5 and 6. Both are drafts, one large (1800 lbs) and one small (1000 lbs); but because of differences in condition (the bigger one is also fatter), they each get half. This mash is working wonderfully well. In fact, it has turned their coats to silk in short order.
The basic ingredients are flax, oats, barley, and bran.
This recipe makes enough for two horses.
1 cup whole flax
4 cups whole oats
2 cups steam-rolled barley
2 cups wheat bran
Measure out the flax, 1/2 cup at a time, and grind it in a coffee grinder. (We have a grinder dedicated to this purpose.) Put the resulting flax meal in a quart jar and add boiling water to fill the jar. Stir to mix well. Put the lid on, then wrap the jar in a towel, and place this in a pail or other container, to hold in the heat. Let this sit for at least four hours. It is easiest to just do this in the morning, and come back to it in the evening, when you are ready to feed (or vice versa). (See note below on the importance of heating the flax.)
Next, grind the oats. For this, an old cast-iron feed mill works well. If you don't have one of these, you can just use steam-rolled oats. If you have a mill, then grind the whole oats enough to crush the hulls well. Then grind the steam-rolled barley. This barley grinding isn't absolutely essential, but it does help to make the mash nice and fluffy.
Combine the ground oats, the ground-up steam-rolled barley, and the bran, and mix together well. This mixture will be very light. Then add the flax mixture, which after sitting for hours will be a nicely cooled flax gel. Mix this thoroughly into the oats-barley-bran.
About the flax:
According to what I have read in old livestock-feeding books, flax should be heated because in its raw state it contains a substance which in rare instances can give rise to prussic acid, which is poisonous.
Also, you can buy flax meal, and it doesn't have this problem, but it also has most of the oil removed, which for my purposes, materially decreases its charm as a conditioning feed. In the old days, you could get flax meal that still had the oil in it, but not so anymore. Thus the homemade flax gel.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Old Horse & Pellet Calamity -- A Cautionary Tale
Pellets and I have not gotten off to a good start. They seem to be all the rage for feeding to old horses, as they are said to be easy to digest, and our vet recommends them, so I decided to give them a try to see how they compared with our "Old-Horse Special Mash" (listed below). The old horse did like them, and ate them with relish (yum!), but this did not work out too well, as she choked on them, and we had to treat her aggressively for aspiration pneumonia. This was serious stuff, and the prognosis was 10 to 1 against. Fortunately the horse did not become seriously ill and fall down and die, and perhaps she choked without actually inhaling the pellets after all, but it was still a close call requiring extra work and expense and worry, and this gave me great pause on the subject of feeding pellets.
In twelve years of horse-keeping, I have never had a horse choke on its feed. Perhaps it wasn't just the pellets -- my vet said a horse can choke on anything -- but adding (Equine Senior) pellets was the only significant change I made to the feeding program, so this raised a red flag. As a result, I have set a policy that if pellets are to be used at all, they will only be used after they are soaked.
I would probably apply this policy to younger horses, too, if I were to feed them pellets... which I won't.
After this calamity, I experimented with soaking the pellets, and found that adding an equal portion of water to the pellets and soaking overnight yielded a nice non-soupy mush. I added 1/2 part of ground oats to that to make it a little more crumbly, and the old horse was able to eat it well... without choking.
I still prefer my own recipe, but this works okay, and it is good to have backup plans or alternatives to suit variations in situation.
I hope this helps somebody to prevent a potentially disastrous but easily avoidable problem.
In twelve years of horse-keeping, I have never had a horse choke on its feed. Perhaps it wasn't just the pellets -- my vet said a horse can choke on anything -- but adding (Equine Senior) pellets was the only significant change I made to the feeding program, so this raised a red flag. As a result, I have set a policy that if pellets are to be used at all, they will only be used after they are soaked.
I would probably apply this policy to younger horses, too, if I were to feed them pellets... which I won't.
After this calamity, I experimented with soaking the pellets, and found that adding an equal portion of water to the pellets and soaking overnight yielded a nice non-soupy mush. I added 1/2 part of ground oats to that to make it a little more crumbly, and the old horse was able to eat it well... without choking.
I still prefer my own recipe, but this works okay, and it is good to have backup plans or alternatives to suit variations in situation.
I hope this helps somebody to prevent a potentially disastrous but easily avoidable problem.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Smoothie of Destiny
I love this recipe. It is delicious, satisfying, and very health-building. It makes an energizing and sustaining breakfast, and goes nicely with whole grain toast, if a more substantial meal is desired.
2 cups fruit, fresh or frozen (peaches, strawberries, etc) or a banana or two
2 cups milk
2 eggs
Honey to taste
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon Spirulina (optional)
Combine ingredients in blender and blend until fully pureed. Recipe can be cut in half, but I make the whole batch, because if there are any leftovers, they make a nice mid-morning pickup.
This drink varies in its health-building properties, of course, with the quality of ingredients used. In our case, the honey is from our hives, the eggs from our partially-free-range hens, the milk from our mostly-grass-fed cow, and all ingredients are whole and raw. If you live on or have access to a farm, and can take advantage of similar blessings, wonderful. If you live in the city, you may still find good organic ingredients through health food or farmer's markets. Whatever your circumstances, use the best you can find and afford. It is worth it.
NOTE: If there is no fruit on hand, the smoothie can be made without it, which variation yields egg nog, and benefits from a splash of vanilla. Also, if I am feeling decadent, I'm not above leaving the fruit out anyway (unless it is banana), and adding a tablespoon of cocoa in place of the Spirulina. Just, you know, for Chocolate Emergencies.
2 cups fruit, fresh or frozen (peaches, strawberries, etc) or a banana or two
2 cups milk
2 eggs
Honey to taste
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon Spirulina (optional)
Combine ingredients in blender and blend until fully pureed. Recipe can be cut in half, but I make the whole batch, because if there are any leftovers, they make a nice mid-morning pickup.
This drink varies in its health-building properties, of course, with the quality of ingredients used. In our case, the honey is from our hives, the eggs from our partially-free-range hens, the milk from our mostly-grass-fed cow, and all ingredients are whole and raw. If you live on or have access to a farm, and can take advantage of similar blessings, wonderful. If you live in the city, you may still find good organic ingredients through health food or farmer's markets. Whatever your circumstances, use the best you can find and afford. It is worth it.
NOTE: If there is no fruit on hand, the smoothie can be made without it, which variation yields egg nog, and benefits from a splash of vanilla. Also, if I am feeling decadent, I'm not above leaving the fruit out anyway (unless it is banana), and adding a tablespoon of cocoa in place of the Spirulina. Just, you know, for Chocolate Emergencies.
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