Amidst the rolling green farm country of the Hudson River Valley, a high-end performance horse training and breeding facility near Aden Brook’s headquarters had faced an overwhelming challenge for years: finding consistent, high-quality Western hay for their horses with effective and reliable delivery.
They would be stuck feeding local hay that had a lower nutritional value than the premium irrigated Western alfalfa they needed to fuel their show horses, forced to pay high retail prices from feed stores, or end up with labor-intensive 2-string bales rather than their preferred 3x3s or 3x4s. Having inconsistent hay can have a huge impact on a facility like this—adjusting horses’ feed programs with each new load of hay creates added stress and increases risk of colic and ulcers, and dealing with different sized bales adds hours to farm workers’ chores and puts pressure on otherwise efficient schedules. Dealing with this issue also puts a strain on the owners’ and trainers’ valuable time when they have to allocate time to sourcing hay for their performance horses, broodmares, and foals.
Eventually, their search for hay led them to Aden Brook. They matched up with one of our experienced agricultural sales brokers working out of our Montgomery office. His extensive background in the horse industry made him the ideal guide to understand their needs, help them find the hay they were looking for, and arrange delivery in appropriate time frames to ensure they never ran out. Using Aden Brook’s market knowledge and wide network of farmers has allowed that facility to simplify their feeding program and reallocate their time and resources back to the most important piece of their business: their horses.
If you find yourself having to take time away from your horses or your program to search for consistent hay, straw, or shavings, consider giving Aden Brook a call.