How long can I force hay on picky eaters?

[PsyPsy]

I have two horses currently in a 24/7 pasture set-up (they have in/out access to the barn if they want), with unlimited access to hay and Bahia grass pasture. In the last 1-2 months, I’ve been struggling with so much wasted hay! They are fed straight Timothy bales out of a huge net/feeder and have been eating around all of the stemmy pieces. Or, they’ll pull the stemmy pieces out and throw it on the ground. I switched hay providers, tried 2-string vs. 3-string bales, and still the same results! I’m getting so tired of collecting the wasted hay, but also worried because the horses seem very hungry in the AM/PM for their grain/meds. I don’t think I have a mold or general quality issue with the hay, as I’ve been swapping bales almost weekly. Also, I CANNOT swap hay type at the moment - too many details to go into, but Timothy was directed from the vet.

My real question is: how much of a “tough guy” should I be with this rejected hay still left in the net? Should I make them tough it out and eat it? I feel like a mom with children who are refusing to eat their vegetables, and I don’t want them to leave the table yet! :winkgrin:
It’s been almost 2 days with the hay level not changing, so they definitely aren’t touching it, they’re just out in the field grazing (which they also aren’t thrilled about). I’m concerned about impacts on their overall condition/weight/potential for colic, etc. but I have about $400 worth of potentially wasted hay burning a hole in my pocket. My husband says “Leave it, they’ll eat it when they get hungry enough.” What’s the right answer here?!

[SusanO]

I would put less out at a time if that is possible. This way they are eating all the choice bits and by the time they get to the stems they are not that hungry. Put a smaller amount out and when they eat MOST of it put out some more. Mine can get real picky when I give them too much at a time. I try to time it so they eat MOST of what I feed them ( depending on the quality). That way they are not so hungry to eat a bad part of a bale that I missed but hungry enough not waste. And clean up the “bones” between feedings.

My horses are pigs. They are always starving in the AM for their handful of ration balancer. In fact they are near death. Big Mama eats grass all night long and she is the hungriest. :lol::lol:

[candyappy]

I don’t think they are hungry at all which is the problem. If they have good pasture they really don’t need 24/7 access to unlimited hay because they aren’t really hungry enough to appreciate it and will spend their time picking out the pieces they want and trashing the rest. I would just offer a flake or 2 at AM/ PM feeding and see if they clean it up.

My horses are always hungry for grain even when they roll in from all day grazing. If they are eating grass there is no more colic risk that I can see unless it is more weeds than grass, or it is all dried up from no rain , or grazed down to nothing etc…

[Another_Poster]

My horses are fed only on round rolls. I don’t put out a fresh roll until they have cleaned it ALL up. They stand at the gate and complain for the last 2-3 days but I can’t afford for them to waste it.

[Equkelly]

I think this totally depends on their teeth too… are they seniors? Sometimes people think their horses are just being picky but they really can’t eat the stems. Do you have other horses on your property or goats that could clean up the stems so they don’t go to waste?

If they’re young horses and their teeth are fine, I’d just feed less hay but more frequently until they clean up the stemmy stuff. Sometimes if you feed too much hay at a time you give them the luxury of getting to be picky. If you don’t feed as much at a time, they’ll it. But like I said, only if they have good teeth. If the teeth are bad, it doesn’t matter how hungry they are. If they can’t eat the stems, they can’t eat them.

[Simkie]

For me, this depends on condition. Fatties that can stand to miss some meals get a whole different set of allowances than the hard keepers that seem to drop 100#s over night if they skip dinner.

As long as you’re not seeing condition loss, just wait em out!

[SonnysMom]

I see you are in Florida. I am in PA I have fed plenty of timothy over the years and have never had timothy that would be described as stemmy. I get the feeling that getting decent hay in FL is tough but I would look at a different supplier. Maybe the timothy we get in PA is very different that what is available in FL.

Thinking outside the box I know some people on COTH have taken regular hay and chopped it for horses that have problems eating hay. I wonder if it is worth trying to chop your timothy with a wood chipper or some people have used a weed eater in a metal barrel. This way the stemmy stuff is chopped finer and mixed with the good stuff.

[walktrot]

My horse and I have known the BO for more than 20 years so I couldn’t avoid learning about hay. She hays a 30+ acre field, plus a few neighbors, but doesn’t put a dent in what she needs to buy for 40-50 horses. Timothy mix is grass hay and is what is grown and fed here in Maine. The environment doesn’t support growing alfalfa, which is a legume. It can be trucked in or you can get it chopped or cubed in bags. It’s expensive.

First cut timothy has a stem that is thin and soft and easy to eat. However, it keeps growing until it is cut so the stem gets thicker and stiffer. You can’t make them eat it no matter how long it sits. They might chew on it because that’s a natural instinct, but it isn’t ground up enough to swallow. If you regularly leave them more than 4-6 hours or so without hay the stomach acid still splashes around and ulcers can develop. And they can lose weight.

You need a string of sunny, dry days to cut, ted, dry, rake and bale. It should be cut in the morning because the sugar content increases during the day. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, first cut gets stemmy. If there is too much rain after it is cut it won’t dry enough to bale for horses and can get moldy. This year’s weather was really great, sunny, lower humidity, and no rain so there is plenty of nice first cut available. The BO feeds mostly first cut. She considers second cut, which is leafier and richer, like serving dessert.

[trubandloki]

@PsyPsy

but also worried because the horses seem very hungry in the AM/PM for their grain/meds.

Most horses (I have met one that did not) act hungry at grain time. Even if they are busy chewing on a mouthful of hay, they are starving when it comes to their grain meal.

It is kind of like you being too full to eat another bite and then they bring out the yummy dessert.

I would not use them wanting their grain meal as a base line for their starving level.

[Marla_100]

Central Florida here- I’m on the horse’s team. I tried all last year off and on to get decent straight Timothy and mine ended up
scattering it like bedding. No joke, they had the deepest, most expensive bedded shelters you ever saw.

Bahia pasture is typically deficient in so many vit/mins that I still supplement w/ good hay even with large grassy pastures.

I’d suggest you keep looking for a better supplier if it must be timothy. Otherwise go to Orchard or an O/A mix. I’ve been buying straight alfalfa simply because it all gets eaten, not really my first choice though.

[SusanO]

Or see if you can get a timothy / brome mix or brome hay. Brome has pretty much the same properties as timothy but it typically has a finer leaf and stem. It is grown pretty much in the same areas as timothy - so not grown in the southeast. I got some really nice brome from the suppliers I have been buying from in Tennessee. It comes from somewhere in the western states. My horses clean it up. They would prefer the higher sugar orchard grass but i think this is better for them. Surely suppliers in Florida have access to brome.