This is a question because I am curious. When an entire barn moves to Florida for the winter, or moves back up to a more temperate state in the summer, how is the inevitable change of diet, especially hay, managed?
Maybe its not an issue?
People “import” hay to FL everyday. Most any kind of hay can be purchased to keep the diet consistent.
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So tens of horses moving in convoy with wagons of hay behind, like a medieval royal procession?
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Hahaha!!! I don’t think much hay is grown in south Florida because of the heat and sandy soil. Maybe bahia and perennial peanut hay. Bahia hay has a very high lignin content and low protein ( maybe 5% ) and is mostly used as cow hay although some horses will eat it if it is cut before it gets very mature. I am not even sure if bermuda grows very well in south Florida. So hay growers in Canada and the northeast ship down semi’s with hay. It is very expensive due to shipping costs. But if you can afford to be in Wellington you can afford shipped in hay.
There are also hay growers in Tennessee and Kentucky shipping down hay too. I bought some timothy grown in in Tennessee and they had presold all their second cutting and most of their first to a buyer in Florida.
I live in a Canadian metro area. We grow some local hay but all the good commercially grown Timothy and Alfalfa is shipped in, some from the US. There are multiple hay dealers at least a dozen. They maintain big rigs and go get the hay in different climate belts and sell by the ton to barns. They also sell to feed stores who will sell by the bail at a huge markup.
There will be hay dealers serving any pocket of horses like this.
Obviously the hay costs more to the customer than the bulk price the dealer is paying at source. But interestingly its not that much more expensive than locally grown crap hay.
I assume anyone with a high end barn in Florida has a hay dealer on speed dial.
A good hay dealer who can source quality hay, has good relationships with his farmers, and keeps his delivery prices reasonable is a very valuable part of horse keeping!!
Lol. No import like hay gets trucked in. So folks buy whatever is species they are used to feeding and call it good.
I brought 40 bales of my hay down to Florida with me for my 2 horses. Would have brought more but I had to truck my horses down too! A few friends shipped their horses and drove down with a 4 horse full of hay.
You can get any type of hay down here, you’ll just pay for it for sure…
One of mine is very sensitive to hay changes and he’s been absolutely fine, at this point, by weight they get 2/3 straight alfalfa and 1/3 the orchard/alf I brought down.
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