Well, I'm glad for the horse's sake that they're likely to find good homes... I am not all that sympathetic to the owner who seems to be having no trouble finding his own meals while keeping 27 horses he can't afford to feed. Seems he should have sold horses before they were in dire straits.... There's a story in there somewhere on why he has that many to begin with, he doesn't look like a rider.
We've got a few posters from the TX area, I know there's been a drought, but I wonder if hay is really that hard to find.
LOL! I was thinking the same thing! Them poor scrawney little horses would fold right up if he got on any of them. I'll bet he's the equine equivalent of a puppymill.
Hay is really not all that hard to find, you've just got to be willing to pay feed store prices. I bought 10 square bales of coastal today at $10 a bale. Last spring when we were still getting rain I bought 240 bales from a private seller at $4.50 a bale.
I am just north of Dallas. I can find it, but it is expensive. All the decent coastal is gone. My feed store has been bringing in prairie hay and timothy from Colorado. I pay 7.95 for the prairie hay and 8.75 for the timothy. They are heavy bales. I am fortunate to be able to afford the prices but many around here cannot.
Many owners who have horses in a herd situation feed round bales. They are going for 75-100 right now. Normally, they are 25-30. My daughter bought enough to get her through the winter at 45 last fall or she would be having problems affording her herd of 8 (2 foals).
I was able to get some coastal that was at least a year old and yellow at Wells Bros. but normally I don't buy there and didn't go back for anymore. Due to the drought, we didn't get 2nd or 3rd cuttings last year.
I was going to ride this afternoon but I am not too disappointed because it is raining!
It's not that hard to find here in central Texas, it's just a little more expensive since there has not been alot of rain to grow a decent crop for the last cut of 2005. We lease our land for the specific purpose of growing coastal hay and managed to only get two round bales an acre for two cuttings last year. The third season was tilled under and not worth cutting. This man could have bought something for his horses had he really wanted to.
Yes, hay is hard to find. Our local farm-and-ranch store says they won't have coastal hay until May. They do have alfalfa.
Luckily I have enbough pasture (100 acres all told) so that my horse and donkey can find enough grazing, supplemented by oats.
I am going on a trail ride with my west Texas group tomorrow down in the brush country around Carrizo Springs and will see if there's any hay down there. I am not in need buit many are.