Fodder - Is anyone feeding fresh sprouted grass to their minis ?

[Joanne]

There are several companies selling ways to sprout large amounts of sprouted grass (mostly barley seed) to replace most of the dry hay we normally feed.

Just wondering if any of you are using this fresh "fodder" ?

Seems like a great alternative.

 

[Bess Kelly]

Farm Tek has several pages with info/products to do this in a green house set-up. Basically hydroponic, it appears. I've done similar for chickens but, never horses. Hey with numbers you and I have it would be a full time job!

I rely on beet pulp to help with the forage, yr round. I have enough pasture and they are being rotated between all the fields even now. Some of my elders really get either a dry lot or a very well grazed field as they can't handle most of the longer grasses and no hay. In fact, I'm getting ready to move one of the stallions from his 1/2 acre to a dry lot to utilize the grass he doesn't eat and I have to now mow.

Let me share this -- I've done this in the past, again for the chicken pens, and find it very easy to use for horses -- hay bales that are from fields with a lot of seed head can be left tied, wet down and they will sprout like a huge chia pet. Last Jan I discovered 8 bales of such that I had forgotten I had placed in the horse trailer to store. Since they were older than I wanted to feed, I placed them out where I had planned to have a bale garden. My mom was hospitalized in early March and between then and early May, when she had to come live with me, I not only did not get to work on any garden I noticed that those bales were now a work of art.

I actually used large clippers and cut the foot tall grass and threw it to some of the horses who had limited grass at that time. You could actually move the entire bail to them if desired. The grass keeps growing, just like a lawn.

 

[Nancy]

That is very interesting, I wonder how many bales of host hay you would have to use, to supply the fodder needed by one horse,when used to the maximun amount of the fodder you could feed per day per horse?

 

[muffntuf]

I looked into the Farm Tek system - for my 26 head I would have to dedicate a 12X14 building to this - each shelf would feed one feeding a day, so you would need at least 7 shelfs (I think I figured I needed 28 actual shelfs). It is labor intensive to get started, but the research I did - if you are only feeding according to body weight - you would do well and the fresh stuff is wonderful for them. The one big drawback was the space - insulating it and setting up the wet system it needs - needs good drainage, etc. And you have to clean the blocks everyday so you don't have mold growing with the barley grass.

If I had all day to do just barn stuff - I would give it a go.

 

[disneyhorse]

It seems like you'd have to grow an awful lot to feed a horse!!! I've sprouted for parrots before, they don't eat as much, and it's a lot of work!!!

 

[Katiean]

There is a feed store here that is selling it. They have a small cargo trailer set up. I think it could be problematic in the winter here.

 

[Joanne]

There is a feed store in Grass Valley, CA set up and selling it as well.

It is an interesting concept especially with how high hay prices have gone in some parts of the country.

The idea is that the horses have something fresh to eat each day and the savings can reduce your feed bill by 2/3rds. The vast majority of breeders are using barley seed to sprout, but other seeds, such as flax, sunflower, and oats are also used.

Dry hay is still used, but at 1/3 the amount.

 

[susanne]

After reading this, I had to find more information. There are a number of YouTube videos on the topic. It seems that the initial investment would be high, but the overall savings considerable, and the health benefits very good. I did wonder if there would be any questions with such a diet for minis and small ponies -- if barley grass would be too rich? For someone who didn't work outside the home and had the room and budget for the setup, it seems like a great way to beat the costs/vagaries of buying forage. As always, though, you need to spend money to save money.

 

[Joanne]

You are not replacing 100% of dry hay, but 70%. You still need some dry to keep the horses busy eating as well as to minimize the chance of founder.

Additionally, as the sprouts contain so much more vitamins and minerals, you may be able to reduce or eliminate all those expensive supplements we often use.

I know of three companies selling systems. Please let me know if you know of any others.

Here are the links to the three I know of :

http://www.foddersolutions.org/

http://fodderfeeds.com/Overview.htm

http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft1_fodder_systems;pg111628.html

 

[susanne]

How much do the feed stores selling fodder from trailer systems charge? Just wondering if it is still a savings over other forage. I would assume that it would have a very short shelf life and would need to be eaten right away...but you know what they say about assume. The videos that I viewed (from the companies Joanne listed) emphasize the great nutritional content, as well as the savings.

It's such an Portland thing to do, I would imagine someone will do it around here, although I don't know that it would be practical for us.

 

[Joanne]

The feed stores that are selling it have clients that come in every day to buy it. Not practical for those will many minis, but a great way to try it out on your horses and see if they would even eat it.

One of the companies is based in Oregon and I would think they would know if there are feed stores in your area that are doing that.

 

[Katiean]

The feed store here charges Two something for a square. I don't know how much you would feed a mini. Buy, I think it costs as much as buying hay.