corn silage and horses.

[TexasBred]

Nothin wrong with feeding your horses some corn silage. You can use it to replace half of the hay ration. The silage should be good quality and free of decay or mold and should be chopped fine. Slowly work it into the rations of mature idle horses, growing horses, brood mares and stallions. It is too bulky for hardworking animals and foals, is low in energy and requires feeding 3 lbs. of silage for every one pound of hay you normally would feed. Best Wishes.

 

[oscar p]

I think your going to end up with a foundered horse. I would be afraid,very afraid,to feed it.

 

[Bez+]

I now some people can be very picky in which they feed there horses, ive put out some pretty bad hay over the years and have had little problems with the horses eating it, sometimes it seems like they prefer it, anyway I was planning on planting corn sometime in the near future and chopping it for silage and i was wondering if anyone has ever feed corn silage to horses and what the outcome of that was. I usally keep the cows and horsed seperated in the winter but sometimes I'll keep a couple of them with the cows. We always had a horse when I was growing up and my dad only fed silage to the cows the horse must have ate it, nothing bad ever happened to it. Let me know what others have expirenced with it. thanks.

"TB" has some valid comments to think on. I suspect he has seen horses in cold weather.

Beware advice coming from folks that do not live in your part of the world if they think cold, you and I also think cold. To them when the bucket gets a skim of ice it is cold - to you and me when it is solid ice that just means you take inside to thaw it out.

Most of them folks from warm country cannot feed the same as someone from north Minnesota. It just will not work.

Energy in and energy out.

I have never fed corn silage - but I do feed our horses round bales of the same hay our cows get - plus in the winter when it gets down to below zero degrees F I give each of them about a gallon a day of corn - whole or ground - whatever we have on hand.

Horses in most warm parts of the world do not have to expend energy to survive - I bet yours live outside no matter what the temp and wind and snow conditions - as do mine.

I also bet your horses have seen minus 40 more than once in their lives - and trust me you feed them the same as a horse from Texas or Alabama you will have a very poorly horse on your hands.

I would feed it but watch - just like TB said - start slow and go from there - unless you have someone near by who already does this.

Good luck

Regards

Bez+

 

[msscamp]

I now some people can be very picky in which they feed there horses, ive put out some pretty bad hay over the years and have had little problems with the horses eating it, sometimes it seems like they prefer it, anyway I was planning on planting corn sometime in the near future and chopping it for silage and i was wondering if anyone has ever feed corn silage to horses and what the outcome of that was. I usally keep the cows and horsed seperated in the winter but sometimes I'll keep a couple of them with the cows. We always had a horse when I was growing up and my dad only fed silage to the cows the horse must have ate it, nothing bad ever happened to it. Let me know what others have expirenced with it. thanks.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index ... 182604.htm

 

[circlet]

i was always under the opinion that the way horses digestive system worked, high quality hay/alfalfa allowed them to stay warmer than any kind of grain - which would include silage i'd think. my gut feel is that you don't want to feed them too much silage, if any. if you can afford it, just keep a bale in with them all the time and i bet they get along just fine.

something i'm curious about though...your post was dated Sept. 15 and you said you were going to plant some corn "in the near future", i'm from iowa (the tall corn state) and while being from iowa doesn't automatically make me an expert on corn, i have planted more than my fair share - how do you expect to get sileage for this winter on corn that isn't planted yet? especially if you're in northern mn! maybe i misunderstood...?

 

[circlet]

got you...makes much more sense!

 

[codymccue]

i was always under the opinion that the way horses digestive system worked, high quality hay/alfalfa allowed them to stay warmer than any kind of grain - which would include silage i'd think. my gut feel is that you don't want to feed them too much silage, if any. if you can afford it, just keep a bale in with them all the time and i bet they get along just fine.

tho I don't know a thing bout corn silage,yer bang on with the hay/grain.
We get the odd cold winter day here in Saskatchewan,and as long as there's hay in front of em they keep fine.mares and their colts get their mornin oats but the geldings and stallions burn straight hay.


off topic side note~years ago I had a virgin 1/4 with prairie wool growin on it and didn't have to feed horses all winter if the snow didn't get too deep.Wish I could plant a few acres of that fine grass.