Feeding barley for a rescue horse?
Hi there, I just have bought my first horse from a horse rescue group. She is a little underweight and out of condition, understandably, and I have been told barley is excellent for inproving condition without getting them fizzed up.
So my question is, how much barley would i need to boil for a feed? I would be mixing it with the chaff and other feed as well… And how long do I boil it for? How much water? Does all this affect it, or does everyone else just dump it in a pot lol?
Thanks guys!
It depends upon the type of barley, wether you need to boil it or not. If it’s been rolled, then you really don’t have to make up a mash, but if NOT, then I’d steam it (boil) to loosen the grain from it’s husks before I fed it to my horses.
Here in the US I feed a mixture of rolled barley and corn. I feed it dry and the only time it really gets made into a mash is when I mix it with flakey red wheat bran, twice a week. I mix about a 3LB coffee can full of the barley corn mixture with 1/2 a 3LB coffee can of the bran, then a 1/2 Cup of Corn Oil and Apple Cider Vinegar.
I give the Barley Corn with the oil and ACV everyday, but the bran twice a week.
