I get it now!
Youâre unlikely to find any locally grown peanut hay, as it really needs a warmer climate, like a line through the middle of GA on south and across the Gulf. A lot of people down there do use peanut because it is way cheaper to buy âlocallyâ than having alfalfa (which doesnât grow down there) shipped in
You should be able to find nice Orchardgrass though.
Thank you! that makes sense why I hadnât heard much about peanut hay.
I have seen lots of orchardgrass and mixes of it listed for reasonable prices even if trucked in form up north so I think that will be fairly easy to source and affordable.
With the peanut hay, one has to differentiate between perennial peanut hay and âregular peanut hayâ.
Regular peanut hay is the leftover vines after commercial peanut harvest. Not good horse hay.
Perennial peanut hay is different.
Though I donât think it grows quite that far north. Itâs taking off big time down here though. People are planting perennial peanut in strips into Bermuda fields. It fixes nitrogen like other legumes do. The resulting Bermuda/PP hay is supposedly quite good similar to O/A.
When youâre looking for hay, I encourage you to try to buy the hay directly from a farmer rather than through a dealer. Then spend some time building a good relationship with the farmer - bring them the occasional treat, stick around to chat, help out if you can, etc. If you can build a trusting relationship with the farmer, they are more likely to help you out when hay is scarce. Iâve been with the same hay guy for 10 years and Iâve never had to worry about not getting hay during droughts - he always saves enough for me. I also havenât had a price increase in a few years while many of his other customers have.
Thank you for the information, I would not have distinguished between the two.
That is my goal, buy direct and build a relationship. I want to have a reliable consistent source year after year. The cost is also much lower when buying direct. I try to be loyal to anyone I source things from locally, it always helps when you are in a bind and you get to know them well. I also want to source my cool season hay directly from the farmer if I can, that is a little tricky but not impossible.
I have 3 horses but will speak about the arab and OTTB because the stock pony has a cast iron constitution lol
My arab will be 12. I have raised her from a weanling. She had always had issues with watery stools but not fecal water syndrome. I had tried just about everything. The least effective for her was Outlast.
My TB came to me right off the track at 3.5 and was massaged and chiroâd along with GG. Once he finally started consistent training i changed my entire feeding program.
None of my horses get grain anymore. The TB gets wetted beet pulp as fiber to convert to calories. The other 2 dont get nearly as much because they are air ferns and only get a bit to disguise the other things. They all get HorseGard Trifecta for vitamins and minerals. The arab and TB get jeremiahs ulcer repulser to handle both fore and hind gut. TB gets camelina oil for extra fat for calories. They have good grass hay or pasture available all the time.
The vet was thrilled with all of them at their recent checkups 
It is hard to become an important client to a new hay supplier when you are buying for only a few horses. Certainly a local farmer is best if you can find one whose hay is not already spoken for. We lost our long time hay supplier a few years ago when he became ill then passed away. Trying to find a consistent source of good hay after that was a constant struggle. A new client with 2 horses is last on the list. You are last in line after the bigger barns and the long time customers. So the sooner you start the better! And yes, always give him a plate of cookies!
I do realize I am low on the list. I will be buying for 4 horses as it seems the BO is not going to be back to work by fall/winter at this rate. Still 4 is FAR fewer than the 12+ for some of the barns around me. I am starting my search now and will ramp it up even more. I have also talked to another barn for getting a group together to get a large order of T/O shipped in from the NE. For whatever other hay I decide to purchase I will be small fries but not much I can do about that other than turn up the southern charm and pile on the cookies.
A buying group is a great idea!
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