Hay Advice. Horse Protesting?

[cnd8]

My horse has been on perennial peanut (very similar to alfalfa and grown in our region) and orchard hay for the last two years. He is 1400 lbs, 16 hands, and always empties his hay bag after every feeding. However, the boarding barn I am now at has requested that I cease feeding the peanut hay because it is messy and I have to order in bulk and there is not adequate storage space. No problem. So, once his peanut hay was gone, we upped the amount of orchard to provide him the percentage he needs to maintain his weight. This horse is on protest! He has not eaten very much of his hay at all for the last 8 days. In fact, sometimes when the girls go out to feed, they wonder if I have already fed him because his hay bag hangs untouched.

The hay supplier has provided me with 3 new bales in case something was “off” with the first bale when his strike began, but it has made little difference. The hay appears, smells, and should be just fine. He just wont hardly eat it!

I have tried feeding it loose, and he does eat a bit more this way, but it’s just strange because I have always bagged his hay.

I’m concerned because he’s losing a bit of weight already from the change, and his protest, and we have had our two coldest weeks during this. The barn owner texted me on a 32 degree morning (about as cold as we ever get down here in S. Ga.) and told me he was not touching his full haybag at all. How will he stay warm? He cleans his grain bowl and eats his soaked alfalfa cubes, but he needs to eat that orchard!

I’m worried sick. Any ideas! I find myself not even wanting to ride him right now because I dont want him to expend anymore calories with him not eating his hay.

[JB]

When you fed the mix, was it all mixed/put together in the hay bag?

8 days is a while. Is he a least starting to eat more of it?

is the OG from the same supply as when you were feeding the mix? I know you got “3 new bales”, so I’m not sure if the supply itself changed right around the same time.

Is it possible to get one last load of peanut hay, and then weeks before that runs out, start increasing the OG and decreasing the peanut in the mix?

[cnd8]

It wasn’t blended together, but yes, the peanut flakes and the orchard flakes were placed in the same hay bag.

He’s definitely eating more if I feed it loose. Not touching (very much) the hanging bag.

Same supply the whole time. We just pick up a handful of bales at a time.

No more possibility of peanut hay. The quantity I have to buy is too large for storage and would last months.

[anon81364900]

You could try to “flavor” the hay by splitting the flake a little bit and sprinkling some sweet feed inside. Or sugar or a drizzle of molasses-- something delicious that will get him interested in hunting through the hay to find more.

[Marla_100]

It’s probably the hay was sprayed with a curing preservative to prevent molding and your horse can smell/taste it even though it looks good to you.

My horses balk at what looks like perfectly good hay. But when my Miss Piggy refuses to touch it or picks at it and then spreads it around the stall for bedding, I know it’s BAD HAY, meaning sprayed w/ that crap.

Your only solution is to go back to what he does eat and apparently is free of the preservative.
Or maybe try some available alfalfa hay. It is frustrating. Every season I have to notify my feed store that they’re getting snookered by buying this stuff. The horses kNOW.

[candyappy]

Find a way to feed peanut hay that isn’t as messy for the workers? After 8 days I wouldn’t mess around if he is losing weight. I would feed what he likes and the barn can deal with it.

Can you rent a shed at a local storage site for the extra hay?

[cnd8]

Unfortunately, I don’t really have the option to go against the barn owner’s wishes to feed that type of hay and store it on her property against her wishes. A storage unit is not in the budget, nor is one located anywhere near the barn.

I think I’m going to pick up some straight alfalfa ($39/bale!) and mix it in with the orchard to get him back interested. Then maybe wean off.

[Red_Barn]

@Marla_100

It’s probably the hay was sprayed with a curing preservative to prevent molding and your horse can smell/taste it even though it looks good to you.

My horses won’t eat that stuff either. They’d truly rather starve.

Is there any way you could buy untreated local hay from some other source, OP? Perhaps a few bales at a time? Or maybe you could ask the other boarders how their horses react to the treated stuff? If they don’t like it either, you might be able to collaborate with others to get something else that’s more palatable.

[Marla_100]

If the Orchard Hay is tainted w/ the preservative, your horse will probably not be fooled and will just pick through it to get the alfalfa. How do I know this? Experience. Ditch the current Orchard and get clean, untreated hay that’s edible.

I used to purchase and carry a bale of hay in the trunk of my car cause I had no place to store it.
have you talked to other boarders? Surely your horse is not the only one protesting. Barn owner should work with you to find an acceptable solution. A couple bales of your hay should really not be that HUGE a problem at a boarding barn. Maybe slightly inconvenient but small
accomodations should be made for the horse.

[cnd8]

My horse has had GI issues with locally grown hay (coastal and bermuda varieties) in the past, so he can only have Orchard, Timothy (he hates it), Perennial Peanut, or Alfalfa. That’s it. We have one supplier for the orchard hay (it is shipped in from out west). All other horses at the barn eat Timothy, except for my horse. There are only 2 other boarders. This isn’t a commercial type of facility. Nobody else is having an issue because nobody else feeds the orchard, and I cant feed the timothy, so I’m limited to either orchard and/or alfalfa now. The storage room for hay holds just a couple of bales per horse (everyone buys their own hay at this place so it is stacked separately). Trust me, y’all, I’m trying to think outside the box. This is a multimillion dollar barn and I’m lucky to have been offered to board here. If they request I do not feed peanut hay, I will do that because the pastures are incredible (when not in winter, anyway), shelters in every pasture, impeccable facilities. I can’t make too much of a fuss, I just need to figure how to compromise between getting my horse to eat better and not feeding the peanut. He’s eating the orchard better when fed loose, so I’m hoping he will get over his little tantrum.

[Red_Barn]

Wow! You really are in a tough spot.

How about some kind of bagged commercial forage? It’s expensive, for sure, but if your horse is on pasture part of the time it might be doable.

[cnd8]

I know it! I really have 2 hay suppliers in area (that my horse can eat) 1–Standlee that provides timothy (horse wont eat), orchard, alfalfa, or 2) peanut (that I cant feed anymore). My horse has digestion issues with all locally grown hay.

I’m feeding the orchard now ($38/bale) and can add in alfalfa (I believe it is about same cost). I’ll try that for now. This horse!

Edited to add: thank you guys for your help. I hate it when someone asks for advice and then gives reasons why all the suggestions wont work. Now I seem like that person. LOL

[Red_Barn]

No, I totally get it.

But with all those issues, I wonder if it might be more productive to try and treat your horse’s digestive issues. Have you talked to a nutritionist?

[swmorse]

My horses will not eat orchard. I don’t know why. REading these responses, perhaps it’s sprayed with something. In the '80’s I used to get some with a friend and the horses would eat it up, it was a great treat.

I see it now and it certainly looks beautiful, but as I said, they WILL NOT eat it. (these are different horses than in the '80’s). Even an alfalfa/orchard mix. They pick out the alf. and say thanks for this nice extra bedding.

Luckily i keep them at home and they get alfalfa and have a coastal roll for snacking (and keeping warm). Wish your barn would allow you to get the peanut. Good luck

[cnd8]

Oh, I’ve spent several thousand in diagnostics. It was finally determined/decided that he has maldigestion of coastal hay. They prescribed Assure Guard Gold and hay change as lifelong treatment. Without doing an exploratory surgery, they believe he may have a stricture that formed somewhere in his GI tract that does not allow the coastal hays to pass at certain points, causing colic. That’s the specialists’ (two of them working together at a prominent hospital) best guess. (This horse used to colic on a weekly basis before the hay change and AGG). No colic issues in 2 years on different hay.

[Red_Barn]

Holy cow, OP! What conundrum!

I wish you the absolute best, but I think I’m at the end of my knowledge when it comes to suggestions.

I imagine you’ve tried chopping and/or soaking the hay?

[cnd8]

I have not! I can try to wet it, for sure! Will do that tonight! Thank you!

[JB]

I’m curious why several think proprionic acid is the issue here, when 1) she said it’s the same supply of hay, and 2) OG isn’t usually sprayed with that, that’s usually an alfalfa thing

Mixing alf sounds like a good start. And the fact that he’s eating better when it’s not netted sounds like he may be on his way. I would maayyybe see if he’ll continue to increase that consumption before adding alf, in case he decides alf is all he wants

[trubandloki]

Another thought - Have you looked at his mouth?

You say he historically has eaten fine out of his hay bag and now he is refusing to touch it but is eating some of the hay off the ground OK (just not enough).

Could something in his mouth be hurting so pulling hay he only sort of likes out of the hay bag is just not worth it and eating the same hay on the ground is doable, until he gets to the point he decides it is not worth it for the day.

[cnd8]

I wondered that. I have put some grain crumbs on my palm so he would lick me and his tongue doesnt appear injured. I have looked inside his lips and don’t see anything. The vet is coming next Wednesday for vaccinations, so I was going to ask her to have a look in mouth to be sure. He had his teeth done a few months ago, so he shouldnt have an issue with those, but I wonder if he got a thorn or something in his mouth that started all this. Who the heck knows. I will have her take a look. The bag thing throws me off as well. It has always 90% of the time been bagged.