Buying Feed on Volume Measurements

by Vaughn W. Henry, Henry & Associates

Breeding Farm Management Consulting

A practical quiz on your feed buying abilities. As you go into the local feed store or elevator and note that the price of oats posted at $2.20 per bushel and corn at $2.60 per bushel. You immediately decide that oats is the better buy, right?

Who'd a thought it? You get 75% more calories with corn for the same penny. Remember that energy (calorie) costs to support your horse typically run somewhere around 70-80% of your feed budget, so counting calories has more than one meaning in the business. There are three major grains used in horse feeds in the U.S.: oats, corn and barley. Corn has taken a lot of abuse as a horse feed because it is packed with calories, compared to the more fibrous oats, and horse owners typically insist on feeding by volume and not weight. Corn can be safely used and is a great horse feed, if and only if you substitute the calories supplied from oats or barley with corn, CALORIE for CALORIE. If you insist on feeding by scoop or coffee can (imprecise volumes at best), then you're going to dump significantly more energy, nearly twice the calories, into your horse's feed bucket. Colic, founder and excessive weight gains probably will result from this mistake. Make your feed transitions slowly to allow the horse's digestive system time to accommodate the change in your new feed source and there usually shouldn't be any problems. There are a lot of myths associated with grain feeding in horses, and corn has a big share of them. The same basic analysis should be performed on all of your feed sources, in order to get the most value for your dollar. Tougher economic times require the horse owner to look at all of the costs associated with keeping their animals. Don't be afraid to ask questions and examine the ways you've been budgeting your farm's feed expenses. Too often, we spend money by habit, rather than because there is a specific need. A good plan will allow you to reach your goals and still control your costs.