# Large Square Bales



## Simpleprestige (Apr 20, 2007)

Does anyone use the large square hay bales for horses. We are having a hay shortage and I think it would be most ecomomical to get the larger square bales and feed them through the winter instead of spending more on small squares. 

I am thinking that we could use the loader with pallet forks to move the bale and then put it on a trailer and haul it outside on the four wheeler.

Is this hay any different from the normal square bales, I am talking about 3' by 3' by 8', or 4' by 4' by 8'.


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Large square bales range in weight from about 750 lbs. on the small side and about 2,000 lbs. on the large side. More or less comparable in weight to round bales. In my opinion even the smallest bales would be too much weight for your 300x FEL to pick up with enough ballast weight. You may be able to pick up the bale but how high and how far you move it will be interesting. In my opinion, a 3 pt. hitch fork lift fork or hay spike would be a better choice and could handle the largest bales without stressing the tractor to its limits. The higher you lift the bale with the FEL, the less weight it can handle as well as the tractor can maneuver. Taxing the FEL to its limits is a good way to bend or break something not to mention have an accident or be injured. Just be aware of your and the tractor/FEL's limits and take things slow and easy.


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## Simpleprestige (Apr 20, 2007)

The bales that we are looking at are only in the 500# range, so we aren't that concerned about that. The tractor FEL weight load at breakout pivot point, which I am not sure of where that is, is 1700 lbs.

I would mainly use the tractor to stack the bales, which wouldn't be higher than 5 or 6 feet, or to lift them over the side of a trailer.

I have seen the local stable moving them with a skid steer, which seems like it has a lot more probability of taking a nose dive.


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## Morgan (Oct 26, 2006)

If you do use the larger bales make sure they havnt been in the weather and are molded because the mold will cause respatory problems for the horses. 
Horse quality hay is different than cow hay as you can get away with the mold and weeds with cows but horses must have clean hay. I know people that feed round bale hay but its not ideal for the horses. I also know people that feed all sweet feed which again can be done but is not ideal it causes collic.

I got this off of my vets website and its good information and yes I know who it came from and respect the guy alot.

Equine Nutrition 

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A horse's performance potential is basically determined by four factors: Genetics, Health Care, Nutrition, and Training. A horse's genetic potential is fixed at conception; however, optimal performance is reached by correctly manipulating the other three factors.

Rules of Thumb:

1. Feed the best quality feeds that you can afford. All feeds are not created equally. Increased cost usually reflects better ingredients and nutritional research. Better ingredients mean you feed less for the same nutritional value, and the cost in the long term will be cheaper than buying inexpensive feeds.

2. If you do not have a PhD in nutrition, don't formulate your own rations. The most expensive feed per pound of nutritional value is OATS. Just because John Wayne's horse got a double ration of oats in every western movie does not make it a quality food source. And yes, my granddaddy also mixed and fed rations to his livestock, but I now know better.

3. Any dietary change should be implemented as gradually as possible. Slowly introduce new feeds over a 2-3 week period to decrease the chance of indigestion, colic, and founder. This includes introduction to new pastures in the spring or fall.

4. Horse should be fed on the ground, or as close to the ground as possible. Grass grows on the ground, not in bunks or hay racks. Continuously feeding horses from elevated bins will cause serious dental problems. However, avoid putting feed directly on the ground in sandy soils. (In the MidSouth, sandy soil is usually restricted to specific ditches and pits; therefore, this should not be an issue).

Nutrients:

Water: This is the most important nutrient. Fresh, clean water should be available free choice at all times. Most mammals can live for 3 weeks without food, but will die within 3 days without water. Heating water tanks in the winter will increase water consumption and decrease chances of colic. 

Forage: Forage provides energy through digestible fiber, and is the bulk of a horse's diet. A minimum of 1lb of forage (Dry Matter) per 100 lbs body weight should be fed daily.

God designed the horse to eat Grass (and only Grass). Ideally, horses should pasture graze 14-18 hours daily, and the sustained stocking ration for horses in the MidSouth is 1 horse per 4 acres pasture. Domestication of the horse usually makes this ideal scene impractical or impossible. If Quality Grass Pasture is not available, Quality Hay should be available free choice. A good rule of thumb is @1/2 square bale per horse per day. The choice of whether or not to graze or eat hay should be made by the horse! If your horse is developing a grass belly, ride him, but don't take away his grass/ hay. Studies have demonstrated that horses which are not allowed to graze can develop psychological and behavioral problems (e.g., cribbing). Horses can be fed round bales, but keep in mind that they should be stored out of the elements since 3 MidSouth rains will render them nutritionally worthless.

Note: The word "Quality" is purposely used. Weeds are not grass, and decaying round bales are a good source of Botulism, not nutrition. Hay is farm product, just like corn or cotton. Quality producers have a forage ****ysis performed on each cutting and are happy to provide a written copy. Also the cost of quality hay is usually the same as the cost of poor hay. I have seen horses fed to death with poor hay from "reputable producers" who did not need to have "their" hay ****yzed.

Grain: Energy Supplementation. Twice as much energy should be supplied from roughage sources as concentrates.

Feed only to maintain the body condition of Performance Horses and Horses on poor forage (winter pastures). Feed a supplement specifically designed for your specific horse. A foal should be fed a youth ration, a racehorse should be fed a race ration, and a broodmare should be fed to meet her nutritional requirements as well as those of her gestating fetus. General Cattle/ Horse Livestock Rations meet the nutritional needs of neither species and are marketed at animal owner who are more concerned about the cost of, rather than the quality of, the product. If you routinely feed a Livestock Ration, can you really afford your horse in the first place?

Quality feeds are labeled with recommend meal amounts. Split the daily concentrate ration into multiple small meals instead of one large meal to decrease the chance of founder and colic. When starting on grain supplementation, increase 1/2lb every 2-3 days.

As stated above, most horses do not need grain supplementation, except during the winter when pastures are dormant. If you must "treat" your horse with a supplement, feed a small amount of a complete ration such as Purina Horse Chow, Equine Junior, or Equine Senior.

The above are general guidelines for Healthy Horses. Owner's of Sick Horses, especially those with Nutritional or Metabolic Disease, should consult a veterinarian for specific counseling.

Dr. Galloway personally feeds and recommends Purina Horse Feeds and uses Purina
Feeds in the treatment of Nutritional Cases.


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## wass (Jan 3, 2007)

As stated above, mold is death to horses. Square bales of any size shouldn't see water. "dense" packed, round bales will shed most of the rain with the mold at a minimum and stays nice inside. The long grass fibers seem to keep things moving inside to combat colic and very few horses need any suplimental feed at all. Mine get free choice mixed hay from a round bale feeder year round with a relative food value of, hopefully, no greater than 110. In this case quantity seems more important than concentrations of neutrients, although overripe hay is no better than straw and weeds, well, garbage. Don't remember you asking for all this. Bales are bales. The condition it is in before balling and how it gets handled and stored makes the difference!


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## wass (Jan 3, 2007)

Guess I misstated the RFV I use. I try to feed no better than good to premium hay with an rfv of <150. I've herd stories of prices as high as $8 for small squares and 350 to 450 / ton for big bales locally and in northern IN, but those prices havent shown up on the USDA reports! The report from the Arthur Sale Barn shows higher prices, but nothing like the stories from IN and MI. For some reason we don't make the USDA map of hay prices or production. What have you herd?


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## Simpleprestige (Apr 20, 2007)

I heard that last winter hay prices were going about $11 for a small square in Florida. Here it is usually 2.50 for good alfalfa and 2.00 for grass. We use an extremely reputable hay guy who 's name is Joe Sief. His hay has been nothing but immaculate and he stores it in his barn. The thrower on his baler broke, so he told us we could get a discount by going out in the field and piking up the hay ourselves. He was surprised when we got all 135 bales. 

Last year he ran out of hay, and he had to start buying it from other farmers, that is when the quality started going down. We were forced to feed round bales in the pastures and we ripped them apart and fed them in the stalls. His round bales are just his grass hay that he has baled bigger, there is ot mold or unutritional value, it is just easier to keep them warm. 

Joe doesn't supply large square bales, so we are going to try this website called www.agrihayexchange.com


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