Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Making feed for horses and ponies
This article described how to harvest, cut, bundle and store barley, oats and maize crops to provide horses and ponies with feed.
The production of grain crops in South Africa is well known in that it applies to the sale of the end products, namely oats, barley and maize, as well as wheat. But three of these grains are also used extensively in feeding horses, so it is important to cover the harvesting of oats, barley and maize as applied to feeding our horses and ponies.
THE OLD METHOD
In the past, oats and barley always used to be cut by binder, which cut the crops and tied them into small bundles called sheaves. Because they were cut before the crop was fully ripe, these sheaves were put into stooks (small stacks of eight to 12 sheaves), which stood in the field until the crop was ready to be carried and stacked. Later on, it was put through a threshing machine. This method produced grain that was ideal for horse feed.
Although it is doubtful whether many binders remain in working order in South
Africa, this method can be adapted and used very successfully by smallholders who have only a small area to harvest. The crop can be cut by a small mower, the material bound by hand, and thereafter the sheaves can be left to ripen and then either threshed by hand, through a combine [harvester], or fed directly to the horses.
This is an effective way to ensure your horses get bulk and concentrates, and is still widely used overseas in the feeding of all classes of horses and cattle.
It’s ideal for the feeding of young horses and broodmares where the actual weighed amount of feed isn’t critical. One could check-weigh a few sheaves every so often. Sheaves usually weigh out at a ratio of 3kg of grain to 11kg of straw, and around 14kg of the material keeps young horses running on bare winter pastures in sleek and fit condition. Only the addition of essential minerals and vitamins is required.
EASY TO ADAPT
This system can easily be adapted by the small-scale farmer and can cut out a large part of the feeding bill. And there’s a bonus! If it is fed in the stables, you get bedding as well from the straw that isn’t cleared up. This, in turn, can be made into compost that is spread on the pastures.
Barley tends to be more fattening than oats, and if both are available, a mix is preferable; barley straw can cause eye irritations if the material is fed in high cribs.
REDUCING WASTAGE
There will be a certain amount of whole grains seen in the dung when the horses are fed this way, but not as much as when they are fed whole grain only. This is because the horse has to chew the straw as well as the grain. This also helps to prevent colic.
It’s a matter of balancing the costs of producing this feed against bought-in feed; home-grown will usually turn out the winner. The wastage problem can be solved by hens, roaming free around the stables!
The same method of harvesting can be used if the mature grain crop is cut by a conventional mower, then baled. It is easier to handle and store when done this way, and more practical for the farmer who already has haymaking equipment.
However, the grain is set when it is cut fully ripened, so it is more likely to be shattered out of the heads if it is handled too much or too harshly.
Storage of the collected crop is the same for a hay crop; whether inside or outside in stacks, the material must be completely weatherproofed.
HARVESTING AND STORAGE TODAY
The main method of harvesting today is by combine harvester, and oats, barley and maize are all cut by the combine when they are fully ripe.
The grain is bagged off and stored, and the straw of oats and barley can be baled up behind the combine for feed or bedding purposes. The stover from the maize is usually used in the field as cattle feed. Horses don’t often relish this material, though they will happily eat whole mealies.
Again, storage is important, but the grain must be dried before it is stored away. Cattle can eat fresh grain without problems, whereas horses usually develop colic if they are fed on immature grains.
With vulture numbers continually declining, collaborations and multifaceted approaches are becoming more important to safeguard existing populations of these birds. Breeding endangered species in captivity is a conservation tool to protect their genetics and boost dwindling wild populations.
Since 2007, VulPro, located in Hartbeespoort, has spearheaded vulture conservation across Africa and has worked throughout the globe on critical vulture research projects.
In 2011, VulPro’s Cape vulture breeding programme began with the intention of releasing all parentreared offspring back into the wild, and it has since grown to include four other African vulture species.
Detroit Zoo in Michigan, US, has long championed vulture conservation and education by maintaining African vultures in its collection. After years of planning, permitting and preparation, one lappet-faced vulture and four hooded vultures from the zoo joined the other captive birds at VulPro.
They had to endure ground transport, a transatlantic flight, and more than 60 days of quarantine before being welcomed at VulPro, where they are being integrated into the captive breeding population. They’ll have the opportunity to pair and breed, and their offspring will be released into the wild.
The four hooded vultures are the first of their species to be housed at VulPro, and will form the founding breeding population.
This partnership between VulPro and Detroit Zoo represents a monumental step in wildlife conservation. Notably, this is the first movement of critically endangered African vultures from the US back to their native continent. It was only possible because of VulPro’s specialised facility, and is a testament to the conservation ethics of Detroit Zoo. VulPro