Horse Owners--Need Hay Help Ideas!

[SunChick]

It is So Dry here in FL, and I recently purchased some Oat/Coastal blend hay. My mare hates it--won't touch it. She got a weensy spoiled with the T/A mix I was able to get my hands on a while ago, and she loves our regular coastal mix which is unavailable now. While we wait out the drought and wait for the coastal to come in I cannot keep affording to buy $15 bales of T/A (when I can get my hands on it, most of our stores are OUT!) or the gasp $20/bale of alfalfa. I have 3 bales of this stuff and I want to try and get her to eat it. Our grass is GONE, thanks to the drought. Any ideas on getting her to eat this?

 

[Varisha]

If you still had some of the original hay you used I would mix the two to get her to adjust.

 

[Weewanona]

Double check to make sure it doesn't have mold dust.

If it's clean - she's not hungry enough. When she is............she WILL eat it.

 

[Varisha]

There are those on a horse forum hitting the same issue here is what one posted

This is from the NOrth Carolina State Vetrinary College Nutrition Study:

Limited availability of traditional horse hays may necessitate feeding non-traditional forage sources. Horses can effectively graze kudzu, which is similar in protein and energy to immature graze hay. Overgrazing and destruction of the kudzu is encouraged. Other alternative forage sources that can be fed if properly harvested at an immature stage are:

DE(mcal/lb) CP% Ca% P%Oat Hay .79 8.6 .29 .23Wheat Hay .76 7.7 .13 .18Soybean Hay .79 9.9 1.12 .14Peanut Hay .85 14 1.10 .20
Access the fact sheet entitled "Selecting Feedstuffs for Horses" on this web site. Obtain a feed analysis before feeding alternative hays. When the nutrient content and feed quality is confirmed, alternative forage sources can be substituted pound-for-pound with traditional hay sources.

Do you have access to kudzu or know anyone who would give you access or know anyone who could cut and bale it? You can't kill the stuff and it's nutritious for horses.

Here is a link to that thread: http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/horse-forums/cant-get-hay-help-144989.html

Also could you buy alpha cubes and/or beat pulp. It would not provide the long stems they need but when added to the hay you could find it would make it last longer.​

 

[SunChick]

oh wow Kudzu! Don't have that here. The hay isn't moldy and smells sweet. She is really stubborn. She would rather eat my field down to roots than touch it, but I guess if she is hungry enough she will eat it. Maybe stalling her and keeping her off the field may help.

 

[Poison Ivy]

Tell me about it I can't find hardly any hay either. I pay 10.35 a bale for T&A at sparr. The grass is gone in both pens and she is waiting and pawing the ground when we go out to feed her. I was told Ga. hay farms should have coastal ready for shipping in about another month.

 

[xrayman]

holy cow is that 15-20 bucks for a square bale? I'd be going broke with 2 mare stalled up now.

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

Sunchik I know what you mean . We live in North Florida near Tallahassee we were having the same problem. The highest I paid was 12.00 a bale. Thankfully our friends that are moving to Colorado brought us back a biGGGGGGGGG bale of hay 1,100 lbs It much richer than the local hay but we miixed it half and half untiil the animals got used to it. The goats still prefer peanut hay but thats gone so they will have to do with this. I don't know what the other farms are doiing around here. Last week when we went to the feed store they had some hay but it was so brown I wouldn't have used iit for bedding. Good luck finding some . You may have to travel to get it. Micki

 

[Varisha]

I saw a new post for those with hay issues. The person that posted it says they can help set up semi-truck loads of hay.

http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/horse-forums/for-those-in-a-hay-shortage-145409.html