NO FEED! Please advise

[regalrendezvous]

I just found out today that in june / july (possibly august) there will be NO HAY or chaff at all.

It has not rained properly here in New South Wales (Australia) for months and the guy i buy my horses feed off warned me to be prepared and stock up. I am running around like a mad thing trying to find cheap but good quality hay and stock up. Hay in sydney is at $25.00 a bale (a small one at that!) I am so worried. If i stock up on hay and chaff i will be able to feed my two. But i don't think i could just watch other peoples horses starve.

What else would you suppliment your horse with as there is no grass? I know copra (coconut meal) is filling and fattening. But what is good for extra nutrients. I am very worried at the moment. It's not an exageration, where i keep my horses most of the paddocks are almost 100% sand. Just under 12 months ago they were all grassy.

How would you store a large amount of hay (approx 35 + bales) and chaff?

Also whilst you are wathcing the rain running down your windows wishing you were riding please wish it ur way!

 

[Elmere]

A balancer and chaff will give them a nice balanced diet, you'd better make sure no-one knows you've got hay otherwise they'll be pinching it lol, bet you could make a bit of profit off it if you got more than you needed

 

[Patches]

I think I need to buy a nice boat and set sail for Down Under with some hay to sell!

If there is going to be a widespread shortage, doesn't the country buy in hay from elsewhere? I assume hay, like all things, can be exported/imported in bulk?

 

[Dovorian]

Can you get high fibre nuts/cubes?

 

[regalrendezvous]

No chaff either...

I haven't heard of those cubes. But i will talk to the feed guy about them. There is talk of imports as once every three days a farmer kills himself. Livestock such as sheep is being shot as it's not worth turning them into meat. It's a very depressing situation.

 

[Elmere]

Just any feed with a high amount of fibre, look on the ingredients and it will tell you how much, do you have dengie, what feeds do you have?

 

[airedale]

definitely high fibre

bran from the milling process - as I cannot see australia having no bread

also you can get bran from Rice husks - sold over here as EquiJewel - form of pellet for keeping condition on

sugar beet

 

[regalrendezvous]

I feed my boys mitavite economix. It seems like you have a far greater variety than we do.