Homestead mailing list

[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >From the newspaper this morning. An 800lb horse might eat less than a draft
> horse.
> Warren
> 

Interesting.  But first, an 800lb horse will not necessarily eat much less 
than a huge draft horse.  People who raise huge dogs like St. Bernards and 
Mastiffs will tell you that a 100lb dog will not eat four times the food that 
a 
25lb will eat.  Maybe 50% more, maybe even twice, but not proportional to 
size.

It's the same way with horses, a 2000 lb horse will not eat 2 1/2 times what 
an 800 lb horse will.  Most likely, scarcely any more unless he is working a 
lot.

Also my experience is that beginning with any animal husbandry project, it is 
a mistake to think that one breed or the other, and least of all an exotic 
breed, will make the difference between success and failure.  That is, if one 
found they could not keep a Jersey milk cow, getting the exotic Milking Devon 
won't suddenly transform it from a failure at dairying to a success.  Most 
often 
just the opposite.

Says I, to make use of the subtle difference of an exotic breed one must 
first understand and be grounded in the common stuff.  Don't start out with 
Top 
Bar Hives unless you have some experience with the more common Langstroth 
hives. 
 Don't try to raise Yaks for dairy animals unless you've done cows or goats 
for a while.

Like that, an experienced draft horse person might be able to make use of the 
differences between a common draft animal and the exotic horse in question, 
but it will not spell the difference between success and failure for those 
starting out.   </HTML>