# Horses won't eat



## covenanthay (Oct 2, 2009)

Due to all the heavy rain we had in Ohio this spring, our first cutting was 6-8 weeks late and therefore very mature. It is very course and stemmy and horses won't eat it. We have hauled a couple loads back home when the horses wouldn't eat it and had one load rejected. We don't have many cattle around here, so what are your suggestions? Sell it cheap enough so the owners make the horses eat it, sell it at the hay auction and buyer beware or what? Any ideas?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

If you price it somewhat cheaper....say about 25%...and tell your potential customers that the hay was harvested post-prime, you will sell it. Also, it will sell much easier and quicker in January than in September.

Regards, Mike


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

From my experience, however limited, unless there is something truly wrong with the hay (moldy, grown with sludge, has a preservative taste, etc) horses that aren't eating are just really not that hungry yet. When it is cold, the pickiness wanes. I seems to me that when hay gets overmature, it goes through a process where it is really stemmy for a couple of weeks, then the older stems start to break down and the undergrowth takes over and palatability goes back up. Timothy does not seem to work that way as much but seems to follow the same path if not cut. Like Mike says, in January, your hay gets more valuable, especially if slightly discounted,


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> From my experience, however limited, unless there is something truly wrong with the hay (moldy, grown with sludge, has a preservative taste, etc) horses that aren't eating are just really not that hungry yet.


I agree hay will sell much better in January than today. There's many bales of Coastal hay sold locally to horse owners that has had sludge applied to it. A local feed store has sold this type hay for years.


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## covenanthay (Oct 2, 2009)

It is not moldy, dusty, or weedy, just course. Perhaps you guys are right-wait till January to panic.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

You might want to look into grinding this stemmy alfalfa hay with whole corn for cattle feed. There is a certain ratio of alfalfa to whole corn, that when ground together, makes a great feed and this might be a way to sell your alfalfa. The alfalfa provides the protein and corn provides the energy. Armed with this knowledge and knowing the ratio, which I don't remember, you might convince a cattle owner to purchase your alfalfa if it doesn't sell in January.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Yes you have what is, HERE, called Grinding Hay. Worth about half what Good or Select is worth.

OI feel your pain. So far all my alfalfa is just that grinding hay. It has three maybe four growth stages all in one bale. Some is brown and has dry and mostly empty seed pods. Some of the hay in that bale is the seed stage and will when fed provide volunteer alfalfa seedlings, in little piles. Some is in mid bloom and a very little is really high quality, All in one Package. Actually not bad testing at 17% CP.

Actually works reasonably well if ground and mixed into a feed.

I probably lost 50% of the dry matter with that dry stems. Expected 100 or more small bales to the acre but only actually baled 40 bales per acre.

Anything you can do to add value will help.

This hay has sold to Goat operations. both for meat and milk. Some to beef animals & meat goat operations.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Do not worry if "horses" are not interested. They will be interested when all the low hanging fruit is gone.

What I do is give away two bales to prospective buyers. If they come back obviously their animals are ok with the hay. If they do not come back there will not be hard feelings, down the road. .

I have sold good quality bermudagrass hay and had to go back to swap fresh hay that did feed. Just took the reject to another customer and their animals ate it all. Go figure!


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## shortrow (Feb 21, 2012)

covenanthay said:


> It is not moldy, dusty, or weedy, just course. Perhaps you guys are right-wait till January to panic.


 I wouldn't panic, even then. It will move. Be patient.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

IMHO - once you start discounting the hay, I'd say it's cow or goat hay - but maybe horse hay. Buyer if you buy it, at cow/goat hay price, cut open a bale, inspect/feed it and if you're happy, then buy the mother load - but you did inspect it and it is sold discounted as cow/goat hay, so no refunds.

I'm not saying be stern or mean, but the above IMHO would be part of the hay description up front so they know what they're getting.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Is this grass, alfalfa, or mixed?

Trying a load at the auction never hurts.


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## Thorim (Jan 19, 2015)

I don't know who the BLM buys their hay from that they feed to the wild mustangs they have in long/short term holding but they had an adoption a few miles from my place a couple of years ago watched them feed hay and it was a grass hay that looked more stem then anything else. and the horses ate it like was manna from heaven. Might check out that avenue but it is probably more hassle then it might be worth


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