Hay dilemma

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Erehwemos

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I'm just looking to canvas a few opinions here! If the livery yard where you keep your horse offers hay that is not the best in quality (but that hay is incorporated in your livery fee as there is no space for individuals to store their own) - what do you do?

There are obviously several options - feeding something like Alfa Hi Fi (which can be fed as 100% of the horse's forage); using Horsehage; buying in a couple of tiny bales of haylage each week. What would you say is best?

The hay itself is variable in quality; some bales are fine, other bales (like today) are actually mouldy
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At the moment, I'm feeding some hay (the bits that are nice and green) and then filling a small trug with Alfa so that she can pick at that. Obviously it's costing me a fair bit more than normal though.

Just wondered what other people do in similar positions? I have no problems whatsoever with the yard - I love it to bits and we knew before even going there that the hay was all made by the YO, and that some may be good and some not so good - so this is not a rant by any means! I just want to know the best way to get around the days when the hay is not good enough to feed Ellie - bearing in mind she has had respiratory problems in the past!

Many thanks
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Is the whole batch mouldy?
Are you DIY? If so, then I would not use any mouldy stuff and put it to one side to show the YO. If it is all mouldy then tell YO and ask for some different stuff. You are, afterall, paying for it through your bill.
 
Oh, a lot of it needs binning! And to give him his due, YO throws a lot of it away (which must be pretty depressing for him!)

But it is still often not of a quality that makes me happy to feed it
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Last night I gave her only a little and she barely touched it - and now we've come the other side of her breathing problems, I certainly dont want to risk feeding her bad hay!
 
I steam my hay which neutralises the mould spores but retains all the nutrition.

The steamer manufacturers claim you can steam poorer quality hay and make it safe to feed. I still try to find the best quality hay I can.

I would be very wary of feeding hay with visible mould no matter what you do with it regarding steaming/soaking.
 
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MrMeldrew - yes, I am on DIY - but I must stress that we knew full well that the hay wasnt the best when we moved to the yard. It will do no good for me to go complaining to the YO when the other 29 liveries are all happily feeding the same hay, or simply finding another way round it!

Persephone - I totally agree, I'd never feed hay that is mouldy, steamed/soaked or otherwise! So one way or another I need to find a way round it - whether that be small bale haylage that I could store in a feedbin, HorseHage or simply feeding more Alfa Hi Fi as I am at the moment...
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My elderly mare wouldn't actually eat hay and I used to feed her a huge bucket of alfalfa/readigrass/chaff.....anything really with a couple of round scoops of fibre nuts sprinkled on top.

I had to change it around a lot as she was very fussy and bored of it easily.

The only problem of course being that the above and Horsehage is an extremely expensive way to feed forage
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Does the YO provide you with a bale at a time? Could you use Ellie's previous problems and ask if he can be a bit choosy about your bales?

Other than that I don't know
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I didn't say complain - just explain that you can't feed it like that as she won't eat it and ask for an alterative. You are paying for hay in your livery bill so its not up to you to pay for an alternative.
 
Persephone - we have big bale hay, although there are so many horses that we get through at least one a day! So really, there isnt much choice as all the liveries use the same bale.

MrMeldrew - I see your point, but it just seems out of order to moan when the YO is happy to feed the hay himself, and many of the other liveries obviously feel likewise. And again, we knew the hay wasnt great when we moved there, so I just feel like I'm being uber picky really. Some days it is fine - I just need to find a solution for the days (like today) when the quality is really poor
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There isnt any space for individual storage
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Haylage would be ok as we could buy a bale a week, but there isnt anywhere at the yard I could store lots of hay!
 
Ooh you are really stuck there then
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In that case I would be trying to buy square bale haylage or small bale Horsehage. Just use the yard hay when it's decent.

I am sure that would work out the cheapest.


I can't say that I would be very happy about it either tbh.
 
QR:
Surely the point here is that you ,OP, are paying for hay in your rent so if your horse won't eat the hay because it is poor quality (and YO knows this) then he should provide an alternative, not you. That, or ask to have your rent reduced and buy in. If you can store a bale of haylageor HiFi, then surely you can store a bale of hay.

eta: I keep hay in the boot of my car in a haybag
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Sparklers - point taken, but tbh it doesnt really look very good lugging two full haynets into the feedroom - whereas discreetly having a small bale of haylage by my bins is unlikely to draw much attention.

Jump-to-it - I do have a trailer, but it is quite a distance from the yard! Not really feasible to keep hay in it anyway as there would be nowhere to put it when we use the trailer. I had thought of that, but it just wouldnt work!
 
[ QUOTE ]
QR:
Surely the point here is that you ,OP, are paying for hay in your rent so if your horse won't eat the hay because it is poor quality (and YO knows this) then he should provide an alternative, not you. That, or ask to have your rent reduced and buy in. If you can store a bale of haylageor HiFi, then surely you can store a bale of hay.

eta: I keep hay in the boot of my car in a haybag
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Yes, I can store one bale of haylage (which is easy to buy, one at a time from the local saddlery) or a bale of Hi Fi (likewise.) But it is not possible to store 20 or 40 bales of hay - which is the amount I'd have to buy to be cost effective, and in order to ensure I have enough for her at all times! I dont have anywhere at home to keep lots of bales in order for me to just take one up at a time, so really, getting additional hay is out of the question.

I was simply asking whether a small bale of haylage, Horsehage or HiFi would be the best option for days when the hay is bad
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