Horses being picky about hay?

[cheerio280]

I have two horses at home. I used to buy my hay 20 bales at a time from the local feed store. It was expensive, and quality was variable, but I had no storage so my options were limited. This summer, we cleared out some storage and I started dealing directly with farmers. My first load was 60 bales of a first cutting grass mix. Out of the 60 bales, there were maybe 3 or 4 that my horses just wouldn’t touch. I wasn’t impressed overall, so I looked elsewhere for my next load. My second load was 100 bales of second cutting orchard grass. It looked green, soft, and wonderful. But, I’ve gone through maybe 70 bales so far and have had about 5 that my horses won’t touch.

This has happened with several bales from both loads, coming from different sellers from different areas. The horses sniff and walk away- they won’t touch it all day long. I’ve checked closely and I can’t see or smell any difference with these bales. It’s only a couple of bales- the rest they eat fine. I store all of my hay in the same part of the barn and the “bad” ones seem to crop up randomly- it’s not like they’re all coming from a certain spot. My horses can be picky about the stemmy stuff- but none of these have been stemmy. And they’re not picking around parts, they’re just not touching it at all. I can’t remember having this issue at all in the past. I’m just stumped.

Any ideas? I’m going to need another load in the next month or so, so if there’s an issue with my storage or if I need to find a new seller, now’s the time.

[Mosey_2003]

You’re sure they’re not moldy at all? That is odd…

[caper]

Could be an animal deficated on it. Maybe in the baling process. Maybe it isn’t the quality of the hay but the type of hay.

I feed a timothy mix. Most horses enjoy this type of hay.

[cheerio280]

[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;8023499]
You’re sure they’re not moldy at all? That is odd…[/QUOTE]
I’ve peeled each bale apart flake by flake and put my nose in each one… I’ve got nothing

@caper;8023556

Could be an animal deficated on it. Maybe in the baling process. Maybe it isn’t the quality of the hay but the type of hay.

If it was during the baling process, I’m just surprised that it happened from two different loads from different people. I guess it could potentially be a critter though… I haven’t seen anything, but we did have a raccoon a couple of years ago. I’ll see if I can poke around and find anything.

As for the type of hay, they’ve always been on some variation of timothy/ orchard/ mix and been fine with it- plus they’ve eaten 65 out of 70 bales from this load with no issues.

[kcmel]

All of my horses have done that. I thought it was a tb thing but apparently not. Some bales they just won’t touch.

[NoSuchPerson]

I occasionally have a similar experience. (Picture me, standing in front of mule, shaking a fist full of hay that is green, leafy, and fresh-smelling, crying “Why? Why won’t you eat this? There is nothing wrong with this! It looks perfect! Why?” )

[China_Doll]

My friend had hay that her 7 minis wouldn’t eat. It smelled sour. She couldn’t smell it but I could. The rest of the hay which they would eat smelled fine.
Just because you can’t smell something doesn’t mean they can’t.

[Hpilot]

I am going through the same issue now. The hay is orchard, timothy mix. Second cutting they eat fine, but first cutting they won’t touch. I mean, even if they were starving they wouldn’t touch it. They will eat “some” of the first cutting, but that has some clover mix in it. It is so bizarre. I have been dealing with the same hay dealer for several years, but this year it’s been bad. Hay is green, soft and doesn’t have any odor at all, which I find strange.

[Abbie.S]

Farmers sometimes treat hay for a variety of reasons. Usually the reason I hear is there weren’t enough consecutive days of sun to dry the cut hay, so they have to salt it to prevent molding. Plenty of horses will turn their noses up at the hay because of the smell or taste. You (the human) may very well not be able to smell anything, but they can.

Perhaps something like this is the case.

[ayrabz]

I’m going thru the same as well! What miffs me even more is when they walk thru ‘one’ type…so I get another…and if I wait a week or so? suddenly they like the first type again. It reminds me of going on weekend camp trail rides, or even to a 3 day horse show, and no matter WHAT my horse wanted what his roomie got, no matter how beautiful the hay I bought!

Now in re: orig. post: I am experiencing having cats? I believe come in and ‘mark’…in the hay storage area. I’m putting flattened cardboard boxes around the hay bales in this area about knee high…I intend to ‘screen’ in the front of this open sided building to prevent them access!

[2BayPonies]

I’ve been having issues with my two not eating random bales. I’ve stopped using their hay nets & am shaking the flakes apart. Seems they will eat some of it, leaving a bit from each pile. Maybe whatever they are smelling hasn’t gotten to the inside, and by doing this, they smell the “good” interior hay & eat it.

I feel your frustration!

[cheerio280]

Well, I’m glad to know it’s not just me, anyway!

Thanks all

[HealingHeart]

Perhaps when they baled those, something was mixed in with that grass, a dead something or something. I know I have found dead remains of a snake in mind 1 time. Also, I have seen were lots of sand or dirt is within a bad bale., just dusty and dirt just falling out after you cut open…

[goodhors]

[QUOTE=Abbie.S;8024578]
Farmers sometimes treat hay for a variety of reasons. Usually the reason I hear is there weren’t enough consecutive days of sun to dry the cut hay, so they have to salt it to prevent molding. Plenty of horses will turn their noses up at the hay because of the smell or taste. You (the human) may very well not be able to smell anything, but they can.

Perhaps something like this is the case.[/QUOTE]

Our horses have LOVED the hay with the drying agent used on it! Those bales have a definite smell, rather like pickles since the agent has a vinegar base. The hay seems to never lose any of the calories, we needed to feed much less, to keep them well fed in the cold. Horses never left a morsel of that hay on the ground, inhaled every leaf and stem. Horses of various ages, it was a grassy mix, some were part TB, not picky at all on that hay.

We have purchased the treated hay several times, horses loved it all. Farmer did warn us to store it so untreated hay could not touch it, or we would get moldy bales. We just put a large tarp between the two kinds, didn’t have any mold issues. The treated hay was just as good the second winter, no mold in ANY of those bale and we got a couple thousand in the couple years we used it. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Only down side was the bales that usually weighed 50-60 pounds would weigh in at 75-90 pounds which are a bit hard to throw for me. Who would think calories could weigh so much?? Ha Ha

I am kind of hard core, expect horses to eat hay provided. If I check it thoroughly, have husband with sensitive nose and grass allergy sniff to check, find nothing, then OBVIOUSLY I am feeding horses too well!! We feed the same hay in stalls, outside, and if they are cleaning up inside hay, they don’t need so much given them outside. Less quantity is offered the next day outside, if there is hay laying on the ground or in feeders. Seems to work, they quit being persnickety, eat what is offered, clean up around the feeders. Can’t afford to be wasting hay outside at the price of a bale. I haven’t had any starving horses yet.

[ayrabz]

goodhors–I’ve turned into the hay Nazi, myself! HAHAHAHA…NO HAY FOR YOU! … I use my slow feed nets, and my gelding eats every . single. sliver. I love those hay hoops and nets! Now, the mini? she revels in pulling it out, but leaves the pile. Okeydokey, missy…I simply go get my fork and sift it out and put it right back in.

Never had the treated hay before that I know of, however.

[SouthernYankee]

I must be one of the lucky ones as mine don’t waste any hay. Mine are fed in the sacrifice pasture and get 2 kinds of hay - alfalfa/orchard mix and just plain field grass. They will on occasion not completely clean up their plain not fancy grass hay but only if it’s been walked on or rained on. But if they waste that hay then they don’t get fed as much the next time.

My alfalfa/orchard is trucked in from dads farm in Illinois (550+ mile trip) so I try to stock up whenever I make the trip, the hay I’m currently feeding is first cutting from 2013. They clean it up.

[ThisTooShallPass]

I have randoms bales in straight alfalfa the horses refuse to touch. No clue why, as they look really good. But I trust their instinct to know best. The farm is really good about taking those bales back.

[Abbie.S]

[QUOTE=goodhors;8026006]
Our horses have LOVED the hay with the drying agent used on it! Those bales have a definite smell, rather like pickles since the agent has a vinegar base. The hay seems to never lose any of the calories, we needed to feed much less, to keep them well fed in the cold. Horses never left a morsel of that hay on the ground, inhaled every leaf and stem. Horses of various ages, it was a grassy mix, some were part TB, not picky at all on that hay.

We have purchased the treated hay several times, horses loved it all. Farmer did warn us to store it so untreated hay could not touch it, or we would get moldy bales. We just put a large tarp between the two kinds, didn’t have any mold issues. The treated hay was just as good the second winter, no mold in ANY of those bale and we got a couple thousand in the couple years we used it. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Only down side was the bales that usually weighed 50-60 pounds would weigh in at 75-90 pounds which are a bit hard to throw for me. Who would think calories could weigh so much?? Ha Ha

I am kind of hard core, expect horses to eat hay provided. If I check it thoroughly, have husband with sensitive nose and grass allergy sniff to check, find nothing, then OBVIOUSLY I am feeding horses too well!! We feed the same hay in stalls, outside, and if they are cleaning up inside hay, they don’t need so much given them outside. Less quantity is offered the next day outside, if there is hay laying on the ground or in feeders. Seems to work, they quit being persnickety, eat what is offered, clean up around the feeders. Can’t afford to be wasting hay outside at the price of a bale. I haven’t had any starving horses yet.[/QUOTE]

Just goes to show you horses can be as picky as their people, sometimes! We had a treated load a few years ago at the co-op barn I was at…no choice, the weather had sucked and it’d been rain for weeks. Horses wouldn’t touch it.

When they got desperate, they’d nibble at it, but there was always plenty of waste…

[cheerio280]

[QUOTE=goodhors;8026006]
I am kind of hard core, expect horses to eat hay provided. If I check it thoroughly, have husband with sensitive nose and grass allergy sniff to check, find nothing, then OBVIOUSLY I am feeding horses too well!! We feed the same hay in stalls, outside, and if they are cleaning up inside hay, they don’t need so much given them outside. Less quantity is offered the next day outside, if there is hay laying on the ground or in feeders. Seems to work, they quit being persnickety, eat what is offered, clean up around the feeders. Can’t afford to be wasting hay outside at the price of a bale. I haven’t had any starving horses yet.[/QUOTE]

My stalls open up directly into the pasture, so I only feed hay inside. Usually there is no waste, except for these “bad” bales. We’ve been having a pretty cold winter and I have one that has a full clip (blanketed, obviously, but still…) and my other is a hard keeper who has enough trouble keeping weight on in the winter. I try to feed extra hay when the temperature dips, so when it’s negative degrees at night and the hay is still in the racks in the morning, I worry When that happens, I use a separate bale for their next meal- but they’ve still been out in the cold all night with hay they won’t eat.

So here is my question to all of you: If you had 5-10 “bad” bales out of 100 and couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with them, would you use the same hay supplier for your next load or look elsewhere? It’s hard to find someone to deliver the smaller loads to my area and this guy was great to work with. I think he has some first-cutting left (last load from him was second cutting)- would you try it, or no?

[brody]

I would use the same supplier

That’s pretty awesome percentages honestly