My_breadbagel
Well-Known Member
hi everyone, back in spring of 2021 my horse developed a cough (the first time ever) on my suppliers (dusty) hay. The hay had been excellent quality until then (best I’d seen) but I knew he was running low (as he only sells it to us as a favour!) and didn’t want to be a pain so I tossed the rest of the shipment, put them on grass early, popped my horse onto steroids from the vet and watched him rapidly improve. He was fine, and after a few weeks our hay was ready and of fab quality- we cut it at home, and store it in our barn. I stack it by myself to insure it is well ventilated.
sadly, we never get enough to keep us going all through winter. As expected, it lasted until the new year. So we got a new shipment from the supplier.
I don’t know why- the hay seemed fine- but my poor boy started coughing. Our unbroken seemed a little stuffy on it, so I began soaking, used the old steroids again, and switched onto a different suppliers very expensive hay. Horse seemed better, was riding beautifully and then had to come in one day & night after the unbroken trashed the fence.
We suspect he ate some of his straw as he was coughing like a chain smoker (so bad he’s stiffened a muscle in his back…) and he was put back onto grass, and I scrubbed his stabled top to bottom (mats and all) and cleaned out our hay store. All pallets removed, swept out, and new pallets put in as there was some fungus on a couple ?
Here’s the thing- He had coughed once or twice all winter until put onto the boughten hay, but ours stays in our barn until it is needed and taken a bale at a time. It wasn’t put around the back. But the old suppliers hay was, as was the straw that he ate and set himself off with! However, both were dusty…
Is it the dust or the hay store? The new hay is now kept in the barn, which I was trying to keep clear for other things…
I am also soaking all hay now and he’s on shavings when he will come in ( leaving him out as long as I can now!)
I’m currently waiting for him to feel better, and he’s riding okay on steroids but came off them last night so will have to wait and see. If he’s worse I’ll call out the vet.
sadly, we never get enough to keep us going all through winter. As expected, it lasted until the new year. So we got a new shipment from the supplier.
I don’t know why- the hay seemed fine- but my poor boy started coughing. Our unbroken seemed a little stuffy on it, so I began soaking, used the old steroids again, and switched onto a different suppliers very expensive hay. Horse seemed better, was riding beautifully and then had to come in one day & night after the unbroken trashed the fence.
We suspect he ate some of his straw as he was coughing like a chain smoker (so bad he’s stiffened a muscle in his back…) and he was put back onto grass, and I scrubbed his stabled top to bottom (mats and all) and cleaned out our hay store. All pallets removed, swept out, and new pallets put in as there was some fungus on a couple ?
Here’s the thing- He had coughed once or twice all winter until put onto the boughten hay, but ours stays in our barn until it is needed and taken a bale at a time. It wasn’t put around the back. But the old suppliers hay was, as was the straw that he ate and set himself off with! However, both were dusty…
Is it the dust or the hay store? The new hay is now kept in the barn, which I was trying to keep clear for other things…
I am also soaking all hay now and he’s on shavings when he will come in ( leaving him out as long as I can now!)
I’m currently waiting for him to feel better, and he’s riding okay on steroids but came off them last night so will have to wait and see. If he’s worse I’ll call out the vet.
