If you are a boarder you should care about this also. My BO has established relationships with a few hay farms for a year’s supply of square and round bales. She doesn’t have room to store all of it but when the supply is getting low the farmers make deliveries. She usually uses around 6,000 squares and several hundred round bales. That lasts into the beginning of the next year’s first cut. Hay does not go bad on the 366th day. Old hay is okay to feed as long as it isn’t moldy or rotten or otherwise inedible. The outside bales in a stack will fade to yellow. It won’t be as good nutritionally, but they will munch it down. Add a balancer if necessary.
Hay prices are built into your boarding fee. If prices increase it usually leads to an increase in board. The worst thing is a BO scratching around for hay when there is a shortage. Who knows what the weather will be next June. This year there was plenty of sun with low humidity and very little rain. They could cut, dry, and bale in a couple of days so the season went fast. Some years it takes weeks to bale everything because you can’t string enough dry days together. That can put a big dent in the second cut yield. Some farms will get a third cut this year because the weather has been great.
Cut hay that is drying is okay if a little sprinkle makes it damp as long as it dries completely before baling. If it really rains it may not dry enough to bale and shouldn’t be fed to horses. Years ago a local BO (with a sketchy reputation) purchased wrapped round bales (silage for cows) which are much cheaper. Her horses contracted botulism and 23 had to be put down. They were buried before the state vet could confirm the infection. They shouldn’t have been buried on the farm because all homes in the area have wells for water, no city supply.
