Hay problems - 🤞sorted

[Trewsers]

Jess has been doing great for the last 6 weeks or so, went back to the original hay, changed back to the way I used to store it to allow more air circulation, came up with a pallet sieve I shake it out onto before netting to get the worst of the little bits out and damp it down if it smells vaguely musty and we’ve been winning.
Supplier just told me 2 of the 4 bales left may have got damp on the bottom (useless to me then) but he should cut more in June and it will be £80 a bale from the new cut. So it looks like I’ve got hay for the next 8 weeks before I’m back to doing the soaking again, and that’s if I can find any alternative as everyone around here has run out or keeping what they have left for existing customers
It’s really getting me down, I’m sure buying decent quality hay didn’t used to be this hard. Might have to bring in by the truck load, but they can’t get to the farm with a lorry so would have to arrange to offload elsewhere and lug it in in small loads (there should be a tearing hair out emoji)

Are there any bagged hayledge types local to you that you would be okay to feed her on? Where we used to live there was a product called Craven Bale and I wondered if there was anything similar near you? They did two types, one rocket fuel and the other that was absolutely fine to give to lammi prone / weight watchers / bonkers if given anything juicy type horses. I feel your pain though on the hay, it's been hard getting a good lot up here lately. Got some great stuff last week, but up until then it was stressing me out. I was alternating between Horsehage and mixing in the dregs of the old lot. I've had a £160 weekly hayledge bill until Monday - I'm so glad now, it was eating me out of house and home!!

 

[Jessey]

Jeepers @Trewsers they are lucky to have you.

I’ve got a great supply of big bale haylage that they are all getting 1/3 of their daily forage ration, but on it 100% Jess put on 50kg in a flash, so I’m balancing it. It’s the same with small bagged stuff meant to be fine for fatties

It’s the added problem that she inhales it (as in she’s a pig) then gets mad at everyone else that there’s no food left. I stupidly put a single net of haylage out the other day, in addition to 2 big hay nets, and Dan quietly wandered over to see if he could share as she generally lets him and she nailed him, knocked him clean off his feet and was still going at him as he desperately tried to get up and away all I could do was yell from the shelter roof, luckily he’s fine but he didn’t deserve that, she’s such a witch at times

 

[Trewsers]

Jeepers @Trewsers they are lucky to have you.

I’ve got a great supply of big bale haylage that they are all getting 1/3 of their daily forage ration, but on it 100% Jess put on 50kg in a flash, so I’m balancing it. It’s the same with small bagged stuff meant to be fine for fatties

It’s the added problem that she inhales it (as in she’s a pig) then gets mad at everyone else that there’s no food left. I stupidly put a single net of haylage out the other day, in addition to 2 big hay nets, and Dan quietly wandered over to see if he could share as she generally lets him and she nailed him, knocked him clean off his feet and was still going at him as he desperately tried to get up and away all I could do was yell from the shelter roof, luckily he’s fine but he didn’t deserve that, she’s such a witch at times

I know what you mean about inhaling it! Storm is the same and it's fattening I agree. I've noticed Storm has gained weight which is just what I didn't want, I struggle with her as it is, because she doesn't do much walking at all - and with the bad leg and all.....

 

[carthorse]

I don't suppose you could get hold of some clean straw that you could mix in with the haylage. It would give bulk with far fewer calories, and by mixing it in it might slow her down as she picks through it. I've known people steam straw so soften it too, if that helps.

 

[Jessey]

I have looked for straw, but we have a biofuels incinerator near us so it is always in short supply and the cleanest I’ve found is a lovely bright golden but still a bit dusty so I didn’t dare try! It’s from the same place as my haylage and I’m going to get more in a week or two so will have another look/get a bale.
I have got antihistamines arriving today as the sudden onset and severity has vet and I thinking she’s having more of an allergic reaction to something, as the severe attacks she goes from nothing to coughing to on the floor in an hour, her first attack my neighbour who works at the vets mistook for choke. If they help it may make my hay options wider.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Oh, fingers crossed!

 

[Jessey]

The piss poor hay problems have continued, I get one or two good bales then they start bringing me shit again but I’m dancing a little jig today I went to get haylage from our fabulous supplier and, not that I’d seen any in his yard, figured I’d ask him about hay. Yes he says, come have a look, it’s just Timothy. I about hugged him there and then because he shows me a beautiful clean bale of mature low sugar hay
Needless to say we stuck one (200kg mini hesston) on the load
Turns out he makes a couple of thousand bales a year and can supply me year round! The only downside is the 90 minute round trip to get it, and another hour yakking because he’s very generous with his farming knowledge but as we’re going regularly for haylage anyway it’s no odds really

 

[Doodle92]

I am so pleased hay and straw included in livery and I don’t have to deal with these issues.

 

[Dori2021]

The piss poor hay problems have continued, I get one or two good bales then they start bringing me shit again but I’m dancing a little jig today I went to get haylage from our fabulous supplier and, not that I’d seen any in his yard, figured I’d ask him about hay. Yes he says, come have a look, it’s just Timothy. I about hugged him there and then because he shows me a beautiful clean bale of mature low sugar hay
Needless to say we stuck one (200kg mini hesston) on the load
Turns out he makes a couple of thousand bales a year and can supply me year round! The only downside is the 90 minute round trip to get it, and another hour yakking because he’s very generous with his farming knowledge but as we’re going regularly for haylage anyway it’s no odds really

Jessey, where are you located? I had similar problems in the past. This is a very serious issue. Can lead to heaves and be hard to reverse. Please do your best to get hay with no dust. Micotoxins in hay can severly hurt your horse. I have seen this cause heaves and the horse need to be on prednisone and dex injections. I will tell you I tried Smart Breathe pellets by SmartPak. They really helped my horse enough, so that I could take her off the steroids. (My former vets horse is so lame now from steroids it can barely move and started with the same problem). Smart Breathe helped my horse immediately. But what you really also need is to find a good hay supplier with clean hay. I had to look and look and look, a long time before I finally found one. Even now I get a bad bale here and there, that I have to toss but most of the hay is beautiful, sweet smelling and clean. I hope this helps a little

 

[chunky monkey]

@Dori2021 This is an older thread and i know jessey does source the best hay for her horses. If shes not happy she will look elsewhere for supplies. Its more a case of where shes located there isnt always suitable supllies. I know shes even travelled in the past to source the best. She does lots of research so you can be assured that she will have looked at many options.

 

[Jessey]

Jessey, where are you located? I had similar problems in the past. This is a very serious issue. Can lead to heaves and be hard to reverse. Please do your best to get hay with no dust. Micotoxins in hay can severly hurt your horse. I have seen this cause heaves and the horse need to be on prednisone and dex injections. I will tell you I tried Smart Breathe pellets by SmartPak. They really helped my horse enough, so that I could take her off the steroids. (My former vets horse is so lame now from steroids it can barely move and started with the same problem). Smart Breathe helped my horse immediately. But what you really also need is to find a good hay supplier with clean hay. I had to look and look and look, a long time before I finally found one. Even now I get a bad bale here and there, that I have to toss but most of the hay is beautiful, sweet smelling and clean. I hope this helps a little

I try very hard to get clean hay, but where I am in the east of England there is very little hay produced locally (we’re surrounded by a commercial forest of 58,000 acres and the soil here isn’t suitable for stock other than pigs and being so Sandy it kicks up as they cut hay and gets trapped in the bales so it’s an ongoing nightmare). I bring hay in from out of area as needed but even then I’ve struggled for quality as my mare can’t have rye either and can’t have systemic steroids so I really have to be careful. She is mostly on haylage now as the slightest hint of dust sets her off and at least that’s guaranteed even if it is a 3 hour round trip to go and get it.