Just because he uses an older tractor & baler , puts on no commercial fertilizer or gets a soli test done doesn’t necessarily mean it is crappy hay. It may not be as nutrient dense but if he brush hogs it once a year then he is feeding it something.
My mare couldn’t safely eat anything free choice , even this.
Agreed. Growing up local grasses were just about the sweetest, highest calorie hay you could find. The idea of importing hay from out of state was absurd. Where I’m at now, Virginia, the local grass that grows out in my field makes pretty decent hay too.
In the Carolinas or Georgia, local hay was not very palatable at all and usually very low in sugar because of the amount of fiber they contained.
So my long winded point is local grasses vary considerably and aren’t always the best choice.
I mean–yes and no. I agree completely on the old tractor and baler (and I said it sort of as a joke as I also have an ancient tractor).
But to me, less nutritionally dense is what makes it “crappy” hay. Compared to the other hay I’ve gotten over the years–local grass mixed hay is significantly lower in calories and nutrients than the specifically planted hay fields. And it’s not even as nutrient dense as my pastures that are fertilized and brushed hogged a few times a year. Everyone’s mileage will vary based on where they are of course.
And I agree that even with lower quality hay, not every horse can eat free choice. Mine doesn’t either all year, but I am able to feed him more of the lower quality stuff than I would another kind. That’s all I was saying.
I know. I can feed more of our first cutting off the older, established hay fields we have compared to what we planted this year. We are of the -older equipment- variety as well !
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