Drought another blow to strapped horse owners

[The Skipper]

This just makes me sad ! I really wish I could do a lot more than what I can  :'(

I'm sure this is the case all over the country.

Drought another blow to strapped horse owners

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/15319763-418/drought-another-blow-to-strapped-horse-owners.html

[LVGaryD]

Wild horse herds have been increasing for the past two years out west. People turn them loose in the desert. Very sad.

[Just Saying]

A former racehorse partner of mine lives near Mammoth Cave Natl Pk. He said they now have a horse trailer check-in station. If you check out with fewer horses in the trailer you are arrested and charged with a federal crime. Some folks from Kansas came to a cutting/roping horse competition at the IL State Fairgrounds. When they went to load out there were two horses in their trailer that someone had abandoned. They put them in the stalls they'd just vacated, and called the Humane Society.

Anti-slaughter laws are going to complicate matters even more.

[AmyHollar]

And of course the price of cubes has went up........which I consider bull, considering they come out of Canada....................but we are alternating between cubes and hay, trying to stretch it.  If I can find cubes cheaper to get a big load I may do away with it period.

[dinkadoo]

Amy what do you have to give for a bale of hay today compared to last year this time and how is the quality

[AmyHollar]

Our hay man is trying to keep his prices the same......$5.50 to $6, but the problem is, he is about out of small bales and we have to get these big ass 500lb ($95) things we have to tear apart and drag all over the barn...........I HATE them.    There is so much time spent cleaning up and frankly, several of our horses don't eat it.......nothing hacks me off worse than a horse peeing all over it's hay.  With the cubes, yes it takes me longer to get feed ready everyday but there is SO much less waste which equals stalls being MUCH easier on this broad. 

TSC has a few bales of mixed they are selling for $12.99.............the desperate riding horse folks are buying it.....not me.

[beans and weenies]

Tsc Standee cubes are now 14.99.  they have been 12.99 all summer and last winter.   They are on sale next week for 2 days @ 12.99 again.    I have never gotten a bad bag  ever from them  and I have fed them for several years.  The Colorado cubes can be brown and not consistent quality. The good  hay around here is outragious and not much of it.  they have lots of something that looks like skinny green straw that the horses just crap on. Early this summer, We have talked to some horsemen close to us and we considered getting a semi load of the Standee cubes but the price was going to be the same.  I'm going to check it out again.  It maybe worth getting a semi load now.