Help! Timothy Hay Supplier?

[ThatBayHorse]

So long story short, my OTTB is allergic to everything and can only eat timothy hay. For the past year, I have been feeding the bagged compressed bales from Tractor Supply. However, the last batch (8 bales bought in November) are completely inedible, they are basically like straw and she won’t touch them. Tractor Supply did say they will refund me, but I will have to haul 6 bales back 30 minutes to TSC this weekend (what a pain in the butt). Also, because they are bagged, you can’t tell the quality until you open them. I have also had a few moldy bales over the past year, if they get even a little bit wet.

So I am on the hunt for another supply of timothy hay, maybe where I can order bulk online. I do supplement with pellets on the days I go to the barn, but due to how the barn is set up, pellets only is not really an option. Side question, can the little pellets be fed dry? I wouldn’t trust the barn staff to wet them correctly.

Hoping someone here has a genius or unknown connection I am missing. Unfortunately, I live in Louisiana so there is no timothy grown locally and she can’t eat mixed grass hay or she will cough/get heave-y.

[lenapesadie]

You might check with race horse people? I heard through the grapevine that some of them are feeding Timothy.

I’m over by Pensacola FL. Our local horse FB pages are jumping with people shipping hay in. I’d expect similar in your area?

[wsmoak]

If the compressed bales have generally been working for you I would probably make a complaint to (I assume) Standlee with the batch number from the bad bales and then keep trying those. As long as TSC will take them back then that’s probably your most consistent supply.

The racetrack lead is a good one if you can find someone shipping it in.

[Djones]

I am in AL so Timothy is shipped here as well/doesn’t grow here. I have a large mid-state farm supply store that’s about an hour away. I make a trip every 2 months or so to stock up for my one horse that needs Timothy.

[punchy]

What @lenapesadie said is what I do. I’m not in the south, but I get Timothy from one of the the hay suppliers at the track.

[Bristol_Bay]

I have a TB sensitive to alfalfa, so he mostly eats timothy hay. I’m on the west coast so very common here. But when I want to supplement, I give him the pellets dry.

[StormyDay]

Your local feed supplier that isn’t TSC should carry the compressed bales too (or at least be able to order them for you).
I’ve always had bad luck with the hay at TSC. It’s usually 50% dust.