HHFF on RFD-TV

Well we stayed up late and watched the segment on RFD. I must say it is somewhat anticlimactic and served to inspire us to do a better job next time.
We put allot of work into producing the film. But the thought that stuck with me after, filming, editing and watching it is that there is nothing like the real thing. Going into the woods with someone that is doing this work is far more fun that watching it on TV.

I hope it is enjoyable for those who may be seeing it for the first time.

We are confident that the next segment will be even better. The site will be better and there will be more emphasis on techniques of worst first single tree selection, safety gear, felling, and of course lots of extraction including a team of mules and yoke of oxen.

It will show again tonight at midnight and Monday morning at 5:00 am. Not the best times for such a piece to be on the air waves, but it is the best we could do at this point.

We are thankful for the support of Rural Heritage in making this media available to help serve the public good.

The primary purpose of HHFF is to be a model that others may use to develop there own approach in their communities.

Jennifer,

We didn’t stay up but one night to watch the segment either. I don’t have TIVO, and the remote broke about five minutes before it came on so we have to get another remote so we won’t have to use the little buttons on the receiver box. Does anyone else find all these buttons to small to see without glasses….?

The feeding concentrates issue is a matter of personal preference in response to the effort required of the working animals. There are a few things we do that are not the normal recommended or standard approach.

We do feed more grain when the horses are going to work long hours of hard work. For instance – a time when the skid distance is long and adverse or uphill and the logs are generally large, we will bump the grain ration up to the 1 pound per 1 hundred pounds of body weight. But usually we are not working the horses that hard and just simply don’t need to feed them that much. If we do we just make fat horses that sometimes have higher headed attitudes and express the old saying of “feeling their oats”.

We find that with gradual adjustment of the grains in accordance to what is going to happen the next day we can change the ration without digestive complications with the horses. We feed with the thought that what we feed now will provide energy twelve hours from now. So when we know we have a hard day tomorrow we bump the ration tonight.

But the main thing is good pasture, grazing or forage. That represents the majority of the volume they eat so it is very important and the portion of the cost that the ground level practitioner can control or access cheaply, sometimes free – if you don’t count the cost of building a temporary electric fence around it. There are many instances where open land is just not being used and just mowed and that is where we graze on most logging jobs in the community. That forage is the captured solar energy that powers animals. Meanwhile most landowners are thankful for the manure.

So some of the things we do that are a little different is that we fluctuate the grain according to expected demand for energy, instead of a routine buckets of feed no matter what. It simply saves money and isn’t necessary. I know – fat is the best color on any horse, but sweat is even a prettier color for us.
Another thing is the introduction of yogurt into the digestive tract of horses.
I am sure their are some that don’t believe these beneficial organisms will survive the gastric acids of the stomach, but we think they are beneficial and have been feeding yogurt in various forms for years before it became a supplement available commercially. We have to dose them with the liquid stuff, you know -plain Dannon in a cup. We use an old big plastic syringe to administer it. We also have been feeding pure vegetable oil for a long time. Since we buy it in bulk (gallons) from the cheapest source and add it on top of cheaper grain it adds energy without attitude. We have been doing this for years. It also lowers the overall cost of feeding performance horses and after becoming used to it they love it. We have had sponsorship by Pennfield Feeds for a yearly supply of 10/8 protein to fat ration in the past. It is great feed and the horses love it also. Most feed companies are making something like this for horses now. The main point is you don’t need as much of it to get good performance without attitude from the horses or their loosing weight.

But the mainstay is forage. This is the majority of what they eat and by that alone the most important as well as cheapest, locally available and natural feed possible.

So keep working on pasture renovation, that is a good investment into any landowner’s ability to be self sufficient in supporting their working animals.

Now when it comes to feeding dry forage or hay the same is true. If you have decent well cured hay it can provide most of the energy needed for moderate work. Decent meaning good mixture of grasses and some legumes. Curing it the most important thing about hay. Farmer’s grow grass, but weather makes hay.

We promise to make the next installment in the series on RH on RFD-TV even better. Maybe we will actually get an airing in normal hours when the average viewer will have a better chance of seeing it….

Thanks for the kind comments.

Thanks Iron Rose, feeding less is easy when you don’t have much money to buy feed.

The reviews or responses so far are positive. It is encouraging to hear and we are off to work on the next segment.