
Storing Horse Feed for Freshness

Resources and insights for happy, healthy horses
One of the many components of feeding horses properly is feeding fresh feed. This video will walk you through some simple steps to ensure that you are purchasing the right amount, storing it properly, and feeding it correctly to your horse, so that he always receives the freshest feed possible.
As we deal with heat and humidity, attention is often appropriately focused on the comfort of our animals. We sometimes neglect to think about the impact of heat and humidity on our tack and on our feed. Controlling humidity and temperature in areas where tack and feed are stored is also very important for the success of an equine operation.
Tack that is exposed to high humidity and warm temperatures can mold/mildew very quickly with resulting damage to leather. The following steps might be useful to consider:
Feed room ventilation is also important. Feed may absorb moisture from the air and mold even if it arrives at the farm at a suitable moisture level from the store or the feed plant. If possible, store feed out of direct sunlight as moisture migration can take place within feed bags, causing moisture to accumulate in one area of the bag. This is also a problem when feed is stored in bulk bins. The feed on the sunny side can heat up and cause moisture migration in the bin. The bin should be ventilated to allow moisture to escape but must be set up so moisture does not enter when it rains! Depending on material, bins can be painted with reflective color to help reduce heating.
During warm, humid weather, do not buy large quantities of feed at one time and make certain the feed is rotated properly so that bags are used up and bins are emptied and cleaned/inspected regularly. If bags are stacked, make certain that they are stacked on pallets or material that prevents moisture contact/accumulation at the bottom of the stack. Stacking bags directly on top of concrete or dirt floor makes the bottom bags very prone to getting damp and molding.
Pest control is also important for both tack and feed storage areas. Rodents can quickly damage tack and can contaminate feed. Keeping the areas clean and using commercial pest control may be one option to consider.
Keeping both tack and feed protected from excess heat and humidity is an important part of barn design and barn management!