FEED ROOMS AND HOUSEKEEPING

FEED ROOMS AND HOUSEKEEPING This isn’t the article that I had planned to write this month. I was going to talk about nutrients and why they matter. After writing half a page on water (and not saying all that I wanted to) and another half page about protein (and barely scratching the surface), I realized that I need a better plan and a better framework first. Before we dive into nutrients, we’ll talk about bag tags and how to interpret them…but not this month. Today we’re going to talk about your feed room. By now, you have probably felt the urge to do some warm weather cleaning in the barn. Did you tackle your feed room? As we head into summer there are several things that you should consider. First, recycle or throw things away. Stop saving them. I’m talking about old supplements, the feed your horse won’t eat, cracked buckets, and nasty-looking containers. Here is the primary concern with supplements and feed: they have a shelf life. After a certain date, they deteriorate in quality, become rancid or moldy, attract insects, or are no longer effective. Most feeds have a shelf life of three to four months. Some are still considered good at six months, and some of the feeds imported from Europe and Australia claim to have a shelf life of up to a year. Note, however, that this is in ideal storage conditions, which most of us do not have. As the weather becomes warmer and more humid, your feed is affected, and the shelf life shortens. This is why it isn’t a good idea to have more than a few weeks’ supply on hand. You may think you’re saving money by stocking up when there is a sale on feed, or you have coupons about to expire, but you won’t see that savings if you have to throw out the feed. Feed bags have a date of manufacture. It may be printed on the bag tag, on the white tape, or directly on the bag. Note that it is the date of manufacture, not a “best by” date or an expiration date. It may be in conventional date form or in Julian form (the number of the day in the year.) It can be tricky to decipher, so ask your feed store for help if you aren’t sure. To make things even more complicated, different feed mills use different methods of dating their bags, so the bag of ABC Pony Pellets that is manufactured in the northeast may have a different format than one made out west. We’ll talk more about reading the date on bags in the future. For now, I just want you to be aware that your feed bag has a manufacture date and a shelf life. Supplements are similar. Not all of them have a date printed on them, but they do have a shelf life. If your supplement is off color, smells funny, no longer scoops like it should, or you can’t remember when you last used it, throw it out. Yes, I know you may have paid a lot of money for it but think of it this way: you already spent that money. If you throw it out, it’s true that you won’t get the value of it. But if you feed it to your horse and he refuses to eat it, then you’ll be throwing out that meal, fretting about his appetite, and tossing the supplement. And if there is mold in the supplement and your horse gets sick, then you may have a vet bill and you’re still going to throw out the supplement. If in doubt, throw it out. Now is a good time to ask yourself if those supplements are necessary. If you are feeding a quality feed and you are feeding the recommended amount for your horse’s size and activity level, you may not need to supplement. Remember that the ideal diet for a horse is forage based, and we add feed and supplements if the forage can’t meet his nutritional needs. Your horse may need some help to keep his hooves strong and to ease old joints but be very careful that you aren’t over-supplementing with certain minerals. More isn’t better. Of course, if your vet makes a recommendation, you should follow that. We’ll talk more about supplementing in the future. How can you maximize the value of your feed and supplements? Good storage is key. Your storage should keep the feed as dry and as cool as possible. Moisture and heat encourage the growth of bacteria, bugs, and other nasties, and shorten the shelf life of your feed. I like to use metal trash cans with tight-fitting lids. Old chest-type freezers work well too if you have room for them, and you have the plug for the drain hole. Don’t dump your feed into them though. Instead, place the whole bag inside. There are a couple reasons for this. First, it’s easier to keep the freezer clean. Sticky textured feeds leave a residue that eventually turns cement-like. It’s also easier to scoop out the last few ounces from a bag than it is from the floor of a freezer. And most importantly, if there is something wrong with the feed, you simply pull out the whole bag and return it to the feed store. Remember, the feed store will want the date and mill code on the bag so they can track down problems. I recommend the same practice with metal trash cans- place the whole bag inside the trash can. A large trash can will hold two 50-lb bags (unless one is beet pulp.) I don’t recommend plastic containers, given a choice, because some plastics are not food safe and may impart a smell and taste that your horse doesn’t like. Also, they are not mouse and rat proof. Whatever you choose, make sure that horses can’t get into them. Horses can learn to open freezers and lift lids, so