May 2017 Snow Storm

I hear Bill muttering in the office; when I ask what's wrong he says, "We are under a winter storm warning for the next two days. 1 - 3 feet expected."  This time they were right.  Raining when we went to bed Wed. night; 14" on the ground in the morning - and not stopping.

Finally (Friday) this morning the sun comes out and we have a count of 36".  Wonderful spring storms.  Gotta love 'em!
The horses keep the corral stomped into baths, so all we have to do is shovel our way TO the corral, because you don't walk too far in thigh-deep snow.

We shoveled last night to get extra hay to the horses, and had an additional 6" in the track this morning.  The biggest problem we have found using our slow feed feeders is that they get packed with snow when it comes down this heavy and the horses can't paw the snow off to get to the hay, so when we went to feed this morning, the feeders themselves were still full after the snow melted off.

This is the horse's shed, which a couple of them actually used part of the night.  The horses themselves.....

....were happy to have their feed boxes back - except for Al, who has become quite the camera mooch.
Bionic Cowgirl

Hay Net Update

It's been 12 days now since I installed the hay net and wow, what a difference.  They now consume about 1/3 less hay than 'before net'.  Our bales weigh between 40 and 50 lbs mostly, so for three thousand-pound animals (average of the three) they should consume 45 - 60 lbs of forage a day (one bale), depending on their work schedule, which right now is very slight, although they are out 24/7 on a dry lot of about 1/2 acre, so they move around quite a bit.  I used to have to feed 1 1/2 bales a day to keep them even slightly happy.  Now one bale in the net usually still has a little less than a flake in it after 24 hours, and they seem more than satisfied.  It also looks like they are beginning to drop a little weight, which is a good thing as they came home too tubby.  Besides, the more weight Jesse puts on, the crabbier she gets.  She is way happier slimmer (aren't we all?).

The biggest drawback for me so far has been handling the net when it is wet and below zero.  The cinch and rope are still easy to handle but you freeze your fingers.  Bill found me some very slim waterproof mechanix gloves to try, but it hasn't snowed again yet.

Give haychix.com a look see.  They come in all sizes.  I am already considering a couple travel ones for the trailer because I don't like all the wasted hay on the floor at the end of a long day of travel, plus when we get to our campsite, we can just toss the pre-loaded one in their corral and know it will get them through the night.

This will probably be the last update, unless something truly devastating happens this summer, but I can't imagine what right now.

Bionic Cowgirl

The Wonder Net

Just a quick update on the slow feed net I purchased for the horses:  I LOVE IT - and so do the horses!

Unbelievable how fast they took to it.  I still put small amounts of loose hay in the feeder, but as soon as I throw the loaded net in, they all start picking from it - and leave the loose stuff alone.  Yep; even Ranger.  There has always been small amounts left in the net after 24 hours.  I dump the handful out and they wait patiently for me to refill the net.  The operative word in that last sentence was 'patiently'.  They were never patient before, barely holding it together, trying not to paw or stomp at feeding times.  That was actually the first thing I noticed the day after I started using the net; I couldn't believe how much better behaved the horses were.  I think it is so much more like true grazing - picking out a few stems at a time - that they are more satisfied.  No more scarfing food  and then getting bored and picking at the fences and stuff.  They are still consuming the same quantity of hay throughout the day, but none is getting wasted.  Therein lies the savings.  Many times I've gone out to check and found them just 'hanging out', and hay still in the haynet.  Later when I take their 'bowl food' to them, the net will be emptier, but still have some.

So far, so good.  Now to see how long it lasts.  Even if it only does one season, it is worth it to watch the change in their demeanor.
Bionic Cowgirl

Post Scribble-

This was an unsolicited review of this product.  They gave us nothing.  If we hadn't liked the product, we wouldn't have told you about it at all, because it's embarrassing to get taken...
Bill
Purchased from-
Hay Chix
www.haychix.com
(715)483-1770

Slow Feeder, Day 2

B-  RANGER!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?

R-  Is this a trick question Beel?

B-  You have reached through the fence, torn open the tarp and are pulling the hay out of the barn!

R-  I am eating.

B-  Ranger, there is still hay in your feeder.  WHY AREN'T YOU EATING THAT HAY?

R-  Beel the hay in the food place is tangled up in ropes.  It is hard to eat.

B-  It is a slow feeder net.  It's supposed to slow down your eating, so you can "graze" all day.

R-  Too hard.  I will just eat here.  I will stop when I am not hungry.

B-  Nope.  You will stop now.  Juanita has re-stacked the hay you knocked down and pulled the tarp back in place.

R-  I will go eat at the food place now

B-  Good for you.

R-  And then you will leave.

B-  Don't  you dare.  Jerk.

R-  *munch munch*

This Year's Food Experiment - The Slow Feed Hay Net

Hay - and getting enough of it - is a major concern for any horse owner.  We have three horses: Jesse, an easy-keeper; Washoe, a flow-thru (those that can eat everything and never seem to gain weight); and Ranger, a 'normal' I-will-quit-when-I-am-full horse.  How to best feed these guys together and have them all at optimal weights?  Last year I had thought I would need a grazing mask for Jesse, who could easily become insulin resistant.  Thanks to good weather conditions last summer and enough ride time (read exercise), I did not have to.  But the issue still resided in the back of my mind, so when I saw a new ad in a horse magazine from a company called Hay Chix, I decided to give it a try.  They sell different types of hay nets to fit your normal sized bales of hay - everything from flakes to large round bales - for a reasonable price.  After much thought, I ordered the size for 2-string bales up to 70 lbs.

Within a week, my new 'feeder' arrived in the mail.  This is going to fit a whole bale?  I ordered the heavy duty version, since Jesse is known for demolishing just about anything with her teeth.  It has 1 3/4 in. webbing; about one half the size of normal hay nets.

This is one of the things that tends to happen - even when there is always hay in the feeder.  This year it was Ranger's turn to officiate the opening of the hay stack!

Good, simple directions come with it.  Start by standing the bale on end and opening the mouth of the net.

Drop the net down over the hay bale.

Tip the bale over ...

... slide the boggle down the ropes and tie with a double knot.

Transport the hay to the feeding location by either using the strings on the bale, or passing the tie rope to the opposite end of the bale and using it as a handle.  I chose to just carry by the strings since that what I usually do anyway.  My greys were instantly interested.

To get it into the feeder, I decided the easiest way was by getting into the feeder and pulling it in.  Washoe ignored me; Jesse was irritated that I was IN the feeder.  Once the hay is in place you can either put the tie strings inside the netting or use them to tie off to something so it can't be drug around.  Considering Jesse's proclivity to do just that, I tied it to the fence rail.

Ranger was NOT impressed; this is him snorting his disapproval!  Then he backed away with an I'm-not-going-there attitude.

For the first few days or so you are supposed to cover with lots of loose hay, until they learn that there will always be hay without getting frustrated at the slow feed idea.  If you notice Washoe's mouthful of hay you will see why there is such a mess.  It would be nice to not have such waste.

Jesse seems quite pleased and preferred to eat from the bale while the others ate the loose stuff - and she is the one who needs this the most.  Yay!!!

This morning the net was still almost full - and there was plenty of loose hay left.  The horses did not seem upset at all.  Tonight there was still plenty of loose hay and the net was a little less than half full.  The horses seem quite happy so I guess they are making the transition pretty fast.  Notice the new snow on the ground.  Winter is not over yet up here.
Bionic Cowgirl

Corral Inspection

The horses are still down on winter pasture at the base of the mountains.  Eating grass.  Sleeping in the sun.  Being lazy.

It's driving us nuts.

We looked over their corral a bit to see how long we will need to wait for enough snow to melt off so we can bring them back up here.

The hay we bought and stacked last season seems to still be tarped and dry.

Hay Okay

The corral itself has some clear ground.

And some drifts.

But the most interesting find was this.

Those are moose droppings next to my size 11's.


Man, is Ranger going to be pissed.


Bill

It's Not As Good As It Sounds.

Today we had our lodge's hay-day.

Not to be confused with a heyday.

   Our hay supplier, a wonderful 70+ year old farmer, brought up six tons of hay at 4:30 am this morning from his farm in Nebraska.  After a short nap and a cup of coffee, he was ready to start unloading hay.

   This year, we bought 6 tons from him, because we only have 3 horses to feed, and a lead on some winter pasture we should be able to turn them loose on for 4 months or so.  Shouldn't need quite so much food so we didn't ask for the usual 7 1/2 tons.  And that's a darn good thing.  Because in years past, we've always managed to get two or three of our kids/in-laws/young friends up here to help unload and stack the stuff.

   Not this year.  This year all of our kids are employed (full time).  All of their spouses are employed (full time).  And the young friends, employed full time.

Damn.

   One would think we would be delighted that all of ours are gainfully and fully employed.  And usually we are VERY grateful.

   Unless, of course, we have tons of hay to take off a truck and have to do it on a weekday, 'cause we're busy on weekends with guests.  Then, a little unemployment seems like a good thing.

  Juanita, the 70+ year old hay farmer, and I worked at unloading the hay from the trailer and stacking it, in front of a VERY attentive audience.  Three starving horses, who spent their time muh-muh-muhing at us until Juanita raked up some of the loose stuff for them to snack on.  They still kept an eye on us, but it's hard to nicker with your mouth full.

They approved of this years crop.

  After an hour and a half, we broke for breakfast.  During breakfast we came up with a list of the world's problems and a set of perfect solutions for them.  Then we went back to work. and finished unloading and stacking the hay.  Sadly, all of the solutions to the world's problems were forgotten by the time we finished.

That happens sometimes.

  The weather was nice, so we have put off tarping the stuff that is not in a shed until tomorrow.  Hopefully there won't be as much wind as there was today.  Big tarps are...awkward in the wind.

  After the hay was unloaded, and the hay-guy drove away, I got to thinking.

Today is Veteran's Day.  Every one of those kids was probably off work.

Double damn.


Bill

(Happy Veterans Day, and my thanks to all who served.)





 

Hay-L's Bales

We had decided to try large hay bales this spring; I thought of it as being nice to Bill, so he wouldn't have to feed the crew twice a day while I was on the mend.  We were delighted to find that our normal hay person had actually baled up some decent 1500# bales, right from the field where our guys were grazing at the end of their board time.  She kept three of them for us and hauled the rest off to the sale barns.

Come hay day, we take our flatbed truck and GunDiva meets us with RCC's flatbed trailer, so we can pick up all three bales at once.  This part of the planning went great, especially since Ida used their backhoe to load them all up.  OK, one small glitch.  Bill had wanted two bales on the trailer, end to end, thinking we could park the trailer in the corral, tarp one bale and he could build a sort of feeder thing around the trailer to protect the bales from being destroyed by our crew of five.  The bales were too long to fit on the trailer that way; they had to be put on side by side, with just a little hang over.  Figured we could come up with something when we got home.  We were just glad to get it all done in one trip.

GunDiva got her load in the corral in good shape, unhooked her truck and headed home.   Bill and I tarped the bales in the wind, trying not to get blown away whenever the wind grabbed the tarp from us.  We left the one bale on the truck and tarped it there, just as the snow started to fly.  We had a week until the horses were to come home, so no problem to wait out the storm.

The bales before the horses got to it!

Fast forward to the next Thursday, day before horse pickup.  Oops.  There is that 1500# of hay on the back of the truck...you know, the one with the hitch for the gooseneck trailer?  So we headed out to the corral with the truck and Bill had already figured out how to get it off the truck and it sounded really simple.  (We don't own a bobcat or anything of the sort and you can't just lift or shove that size bale!)  We do have a nice tree in the corral, in a good location with a flat spot close by, so the idea was to back the truck up to the tree, lay out some pallets to keep the hay off the ground, hook a line up from the hay to the tree and drive out from under the hay.  Now, remember the snow storm?  Yeah.  Had to back over the flattened out manure pile from last year, now covered with six inches of melting snow.  Very slippery.  Fortunately, with a lot of luck and prayers, 4 wheel drive and major slipping, the truck did finally end up backed up to the tree, in a good position.  Just barely enough room under the truck to slide the pallets (in the mud).  Hooked up the tow rope and Bill drove forward.  OK, so he had to go slowly...no traction, so instead of the truck slipping smoothly out from under the bale,  the bale ended up sliding slowly down to the ground and tipping end over end.  We had to laugh...it was slow motion!  We moved the pallets to the side of the bale, Bill moved the truck around so we could hook up the tow rope to the bale and it did nicely tip right onto the pallets, actually in a nicer, flatter spot than we had picked out.  Got it tarped and felt pretty proud of ourselves.

Not one to do anything part way, Jesse is certainly showing no fear.  I really wouldn't be surprised to find her almost completely inside that tarp one of these days, just to get the good stuff at the bottom.

Next morning we load up and go after horses.  It is so great to have them home and we hope they enjoy all their great hay..one bale at a time.  Yeah, right!!!!  When Bill went out later to check, my grays had already taken the straps off the pretty single bale and chewed holes in the tarp, for their very own feed bags. 

Jesse on the left, Washoe on the right

Hey, we are trying to be neat, here!

The rest, not to be outdone, had worked over the open bale on the trailer, spilling a great deal on the ground.  We had expected this, but not quite so soon.  So the two of us go out with hay forks, tidy up the trailer hay, retarp the single bale, and fill the feeder with excess hay from the ground, in hopes that they will use the feeder instead of the nicely tarped bales.

Well, several days have gone by now and many iterations of hay and tarp fixing have taken place.  GunDiva has helped when she is here; the neighbor helps when she sees us out there (one horse is hers), and I am getting LOTS of therapy on uneven ground in the wind (did I mention that I am still supposed to only walk on smooth, flat surfaces?).  GunDiva did comment that she thought the whole idea of the big bales was to make feeding much easier for this spring.  Well, feeding is easier.  Cleanup has taken on a whole new perspective.  We are getting it figured out and I am thoroughly enjoying the time with the horses.  Today, while waiting on guests to arrive, I went over for hay duty.  Jesse, my guardian, kept everyone away from me as she stood guard at the hay mound in the center of the corral, now on the ground and surrounded on three sides by metal panels...except about 1/4 of the hay is no longer inside the panels.  Enter:  hay fork.  My afternoon exercise.

The horses moved one bale completely off the trailer, so we moved the trailer away from that bale, tarped the trailer ..again... and thought they might leave it alone. 

That back corner in the lower left:  Eli sticks his nose in there, then very neatly cleans up the trailer when he is done.  He's currently napping, with a full tummy.

Estes - OK, three happy horses.

Nope, neighbor horse has claimed that hay.  Estes, GunDiva's horse, has claimed the single tarped bale, Washoe gets the feeder, and Jesse and Ranger seem to get the pile in the panels...or mostly anyway. 

Ranger posing by his stack, still fairly neat after yesterday's cleaning.

There is always something new to learn with horses, but they seem to be quite happy and it is costing us about half what small bales do.  We'll have to think this over.

Anybody want to buy some nice, new tarps complete with assorted large ventilation holes? (Bill)


Juanita