My horse was at a facility that fed Timothy hay.
I asked for a couple of bales to be sent home with him to transition back to the barn’s coastal bermuda.
The T hay is brown throughout the bales.
One seems musty as if being stored bottom of a stack.
I’ve only seem Timothy hay that’s green and somewhat soft.
This hay is dark brown and rigid.
My horse will eat the non musty hay.
It seems fine other than the color and texture but so much different that T hay I’ve seen or fed before.
I’m hesitant to feed the bottom-of-stack bale.
Why would T hay be dark brown (not yellowish)?
TIA.
It sounds like a mature first cutting which is exactly the timothy that I buy – on purpose, haha. I have been testing the timothy hay that I buy for over ten years. First cutting is brown and stemmy. The horses eat it, but do not inhale it. That, along with the fact that it tests lower in sugars than second cuttings 100% of the time, is why I prefer it. I can keep it in front of them 24/7 with no worry of laminitis. It tests lower in protein than the greener, softer second cutting so I supplement with Nutramino or TriAmino. Just my experience.
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We probably need some pictures. But what Snowdenfarm said, I like Timothy that is brown and coarse. The beautiful green stuff is like candy.
And I have learned that if it’s not too far gone, the white mold that puffs off of older hay can be soaked/rinsed off. I used to panic and discard any hay that was not perfect, but a few bad hay years (and my checkbook) have convinced me that they will not die. (Apparently it is breathing it that is bad for them, so getting it wet fixes that.)
I put the not-great hay in a muck bucket, fill with water, then transfer to a laundry basket or flat feed tub with holes to drain. It’s a pain, but it works and they eat (most of) it.
If it’s just one bale and you have no problem replacing it then I would relegate it to the manure pile though!
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Timothy hay should be green. It can be a bit faded if it is older but that is all. We put up hay with plenty of Timothy and our first cutting is never brown or coarse. That sounds like hay that has been over cured or rained on or cut way too late.
If the flakes are hard and stuck together and you can’t easily break up( pull apart) the individual flakes once separated, then the hay is moldy. OR it is really, really old ( like years old).
Do not feed it. Take it back and have them give you something edible.
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Agreed.
I consider brown hay a sign of overheating during storage and usually a sign the hay is no longer usable/ possibly moldy. (I do live in the land of mold though) How does it smell OP? Anything other than hay smell and I would not feed it; hate to be a pessimist but it’s not unlikely your barn tried to unload a couple of waste bales on a leaving boarder. I think you should consider that if it really was bottom of the pile it may not be what your horse was eating anyway; I’d rather introduce new to him clean hay than a new to him moldy bale.
I’ve never seen dark brown Timothy, no matter how late it was cut, or how long it was stored. At worst - it fades or turns yellow.
One possibility is that what you’re seeing are weeds in the hay, not actually Timothy hay.
Can you take a photo?
Thanks all. I’m going to try to find out where the hay was purchased locally.
Hopefully test some of their better bales for sugar and starch.
I like the texture.
So different from scary coastal bermuda which
boarding barns around here feed. (Texas) .
I’ve read about “diluting” coastal bermuda with coarser hays. Some say that helps against impaction colic. Others say doesn’t help.
Edit to add: the hay was brown - not dark brown as I originally thought. I was shocked to see it when unloaded. I was tempted to say I didn’t want it -take it back.
There was some green-ish inside.
Brome hay often looks brown. So, maybe it’s a mixture? Horses like it anyway; it just dries that color.
