My posts still aren’t clear though. Now I sound like she was my only horse but I meant to say she was the only one to be a chronic colicker (thank goodness). She did live to be in her 30s. Tough girl. I’ve had other horses before and after.
I live in the coastal southeast, so Coastal Bermuda is the only hay grown locally, and it is widely used in my area. Many horses live their whole lives on it and don’t have a problem - but many horses also end up with ileal impactions from eating Coastal. I have yet to meet a vet that likes Coastal, and all have cautioned that risk of colic is higher on that hay than on others. And, yes, if you call a vet with a colic the very first question they ask is what kind of hay you are feeding.
My regular vet has said that his life would be much easier if none of his clients fed Coastal hay.
Personally I don’t feed it. I just can’t get comfortable with it and feel it isn’t worth the risk. I wish there was a better local option. Nobody in my area sells Tifton or Teff. It’s either Coastal or Northern hay. Local hay is cheaper and has less impact on the environment (no long distance transport) but it doesn’t outweigh the risk of losing a horse to a colic that I could have possibly prevented.
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Sitting here on a pile of hard packed clay and chert rock, what I wouldn’t give for this mythical sandy soil.
Central Alabama, looking at you!
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It’s so unlikely that coastal is the only variety of Bermuda being grown. It is likely that folks call every variety of Bermuda coastal. I’m in Pensacola and I can get Alicia, Jiggs and Russel in addition to the Tifton hybrid cross and Coastal varieties. All grown within 50 miles.
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this drives me NUTS. Just because it’s grown on/near the coast does NOT make it “Coastal”.
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Every local Bermuda hay that I have inquired about is being sold as Coastal. This is from individuals and from dealers. Now, is it possible that someone out there is selling another variety and calling it Coastal? Possibly. I don’t know why anyone would do that when so many people absolutely will not feed Coastal but would be open to other varieties of local hay.
We also can not get perennial peanut hay here, either. I am near the Charleston area and our resources for horses are limited. Aiken, for example, has much more variety in everything horse related than we have.
Because people are familiar with the term. The average Joe recognizes that Coastal is distinct from Bahia etc. it’s like the term “angus” beef. Also it’s very hard to distinguish between varieties of Bermuda once it’s baled. Heck even growing it’s hard to see the difference. I can’t tell you how many times further digging has revealed that Coastal is in fact another variety. It’s incredibly common. I would be heartily surprised that as far North as you are that some of the more cold hardy varieties aren’t being grown.
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