I just purchased enough hay to last my one horse through to the summer. There is a rumoured hay shortage and I need to get my stuff tested - so I bought enough to last. A friend kindly let me use space in an unused hay loft on his property. Less than a month later it is already going moldy. It is not the quality of the hay as I have a ton where I board my horse and it’s perfectly fine. It’s also from a supplier I have used for years and the same hay I usually get - orchard grass.
The loft itself is completely dry and has ventilation from all sides. The bales are on pallets and there is enough of a gap between bales to allow airflow. The hayloft is alongside a creek so the air does get damp - I live in British Columbia (pacific northwest) the air is damp here anyway. I did some research before stocking up on all this hay and followed the recommendation to throw salt on the hay. Rock salt apparently is supposed to absorb moisture and prevent mold. It seems to have done the opposite…it’s attracted moisture all right - right onto my hay. The only place that was wet was were the salt was. As damage control I spread bedding pellets all over my hay and on the floor around it. It absorbed a lot of the moisture but the mold hasn’t stopped. At this point the mold is only on the end outside bales (black spots and white fluffy stuff) and only very little of it. I pulled chunks of hay out to try and stop it but not sure it’s working.
I need to get control of this before I lose the entire load. Does anyone have any suggestions.
I should also mention that I really have no where else to move this hay. I have a double garage at home that I could put it in but am concerned about it being a fire hazard.
