Should I move barn again?
I have boared my mare at this new barn since the beginning of summer. I absolutely love it. It's only a 15 min bike ride to get there and they got more pasture and things like that compared to my old barn. Which is really good for my mare since she unfortunately has heaves.
She has improved a lot more over the summer and is out 24/7. Got square flakes and grass.
Now that winter is approaching, my BO (barn owner) has them on round bales. She is still on squares in her own separate paddock but she eventually will need to be moved into the herd as thats where the shelters are. (She is separating the mares and the geldings, and there is 2 shelters, one for each group). My mare will be with 3 other mares. I asked the BO if she could even maybe roll out the round bales or something so they at least eat off the ground instead of with that hay ring around it. She said the hay would get wasted then. Is that true? Because at my old barn, the horses would just eat, and lay in it but still eat it all.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I'm just nervous about her heaves. Everywhere it says rounds are an absolute no. But these are also great quality ones. Barely any dust at all ...
My other option is to maybe move her? I just am not sure where. Most places don't have as much pasture as this one or aren't as affordable or has indoor board. My friend lives down the road and I was thinking of even her place but she's got enough horses already. I also don't really know if it's a good idea to board at a friends place in case of future arguements or something that arises.
My barn also has a next door neighbor with horses. She is looking for someone to help out so I could even work off board for that if I moved there. She has GREAT squares, green and everything. Also as pasture. But she puts the horses in stalls at night.
There is another couple places I had in mind but they are farther out and not sure if they'll work out ..
Not sure on what to do!?
my BO also said she would be switching to squares after these few rounds (got like 7 of them). Not sure if she means that permanently though. I know she had troubles finding great bales this year but fortunately did.
The horses will eat off the ground most likely anyways. Ours proceed to tear their round bail to shreds first then eat it. As long as your horse isn't one of those that likes to eat out of the top she will be fine. You can ' t just roll out a round bail, do you have any idea how much hay that is? Also if you roll it out then all of the hay will be on the ground, which in winter can get really nasty quite fast. You would waste more then the horses would eat. There is nothing wrong with round bails (usually horses don't stretch their necks up to eat it, they eat what is in front of their face). You are going to have to make sacrifices somewhere, either let her eat out of a round bail, be stalled at night (isn't that somewhat better for her since winters in Canada can get very cold at night), or farther away stables. Personally I say stay where you are.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
With the heaves I don't understand why rounds are a no. Ours are no different than regular squares other than their size and shape. Also we have never had an issue with dust so I'm not quite sure where you are getting your info from. If it is really that much of an issue can't you offer to buy your own hay? Hay isn't expensive.
In my experience, there is always some hay that is wasted when you feed round bales.
I think you should keep her at the current barn and if something happens you can always move her to another barn.
At the place I board at, they roll out the round bales. The horses clean them up pretty well.
The only part they won't eat is the hay that was on the very outside of the roundbale.
I think you should sit the yard owner down and have a serouse chat. If you love it there why move?? Also you can ASK her to do somerthing about the bales. i am shore you can come to some sort of agreement. of not i guess you have no choice but to move because heaves can be i am only 12
There is no difference in dust in hay from round or square bales from the same place. They are just different shapes. If your horse's heaves are that bad, then she should be having soaked hay or haylage anyway. Any hay that's outside will get rained on at some point, so the dust will be damped down. If you are concerned, you can put vaseline (petroleum jelly) on her nostrils to trap most of the dust or ASK if you can spray the outside of the bale with water if it's not rainy where you are. Only do the outside layer though.
I'm sorry, but to me, this place sounds a little too great to move out of. But that's because I prioritise closeness to home and all that. The place seems really good, and can't you give it a try and see how it works out? I've never fed a horse from haynets/racks that haven't torn it all down to the ground before stepping around in it and ultimately eating some of it. Trust me, I'm in this maddening situation right now, unwillingly, and there's not much I can do about it!
