That’s what 30 tons of feed looks like!

Over 300 hungry horses and donkeys scattered around 400 acres, each one needing at least six pounds of high quality feed each day, which means it’s time to get really creative.

Let me start out by saying that Habitat for Horses does not receive any special consideration from Purina. We buy the same feed as everyone else and pay the same price that’s available to others. Our feed expense is cut way down because we buy in bulk, and that’s the reason we installed a feed silo at the Miracle Ranch.

(But I will also say there are a number of reasons why we use Purina — consistent quality, formulated by experts, every ingredient tested and measured exactly. Plus, if we adopt a horse to someone living in a far away state, they can get the exact same feed at their feed store as we feed at the ranch.)

Every morning, our truck pulls the “trip hopper” under the silo, we open it up and dump the cubes into the hopper, then head off to the pastures. As we are slowly driving along, the hopper dumps six pounds every ten feet, with enough piles so even the least aggressive gets fed.

About two hours of work for two people (one to open and close the gates) to feed everyone but the special needs horses. Those are the horses that need their feed watered down, or special supplements added.

We’re always looking for ways to operate more efficiently and save money while we’re at it!