Hay hurts horse......

Armas

Armas

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Following on from this thread.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=568820

I am shocked at the number of dangerous items that seem to turn up in peoples hay.
Such as bits of metal, knives, barbed wire the list went on :mad:....

So my question is who is liable if your horse is hurt or worst still dies from eating hay that contains dangerous objects. After all if you eat contaminated food the manufacture could be liable.

Vets fees are not cheep just a thought.
 
I have found a whole squashed snake, a crow and various lumps of wood. The only guarantee I expect from any farmer is for the hay to be ragwort and dust free :)
 
As a farmer and a former agricultural contractor we have both on our own land and when working for others have found things in the bales. It is often impossible to see much in the grass. Most mowers work to the side of the tractor so you are not looking directly down onto the grass you are cutting, once cut and moved things are covered. Tines can break in the field and sometimes you will see them, more often not. Barbed wire can be cut by the mower into small pieces. As for bits of animals, well they're edible.
I would be surprised if a horse would choose to eat barbed wire or a bit of metal and it is more likely that you would notice it filling a haynet. Whilst I appreciate there is a very slight risk of injury, personally i would be more worried about ragwort or dust which could both cause irrepairable damage.
If you want to guarentee there is nothing odd in your hay, grow your own and do it all the old way, by hand.
We have had more damage caused to our machines by field owners poor maintenance, wire in the field wrapping around kit, stones breaking mower blades. Did once have a farmers spaniel which had gone after pheasants in a field of maize go up through the forage harvester, there was no way OH could have seen it :(
 
JRP - I'm interested in how hay can be certified ragwort free with the explosion of the horrible stuff all over the country. Is it still possible to make sure that a bit hasn't slipped in? I keep seeing hayfields round here where the crop itself looks to be ragwort free, but there is loads around the edges. It must be difficult to be totally sure that there aren't young plants in the hay surely?
 
Auslander said:
JRP - I'm interested in how hay can be certified ragwort free with the explosion of the horrible stuff all over the country. Is it still possible to make sure that a bit hasn't slipped in? I keep seeing hayfields round here where the crop itself looks to be ragwort free, but there is loads around the edges. It must be difficult to be totally sure that there aren't young plants in the hay surely?
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My sources of hay ALWAYS spray their fields at least annually against ragwort, dock, thistles, so they never get any.
Many horse owners with their own land or livery yard owners do not spray annually - hence the problem and as we saw this year an explosion of the stuff. I saw none in my local haymakers fields. But then there is always a difference in quality in hay and it's risky just buying it ad hoc from unknown sources.
 
YasandCrystal said:
My sources of hay ALWAYS spray their fields at least annually against ragwort, dock, thistles, so they never get any.
Many horse owners with their own land or livery yard owners do not spray annually - hence the problem and as we saw this year an explosion of the stuff. I saw none in my local haymakers fields. But then there is always a difference in quality in hay and it's risky just buying it ad hoc from unknown sources.
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Thats what I would expect from someone who sells their hay certified ragwort free - so it bothers me to see the yellow edges on local fields!
 
Auslander said:
Thats what I would expect from someone who sells their hay certified ragwort free - so it bothers me to see the yellow edges on local fields!
Click to expand...

I think one needs to accept that it was a terrible year for ragwort this year. We both sprayed and hand pulled loads of plants, although there is controversy regarding hand pulling, however by the time the contractor got to us to spray the plants were too well established to just die. Horses won't just eat ragwort when they have plentiful grass. It is in the baled dried form that it is indeed palatable.

I think the answer is to find a good reliable local hay supplier and stick with them.
 
YasandCrystal said:
I think one needs to accept that it was a terrible year for ragwort this year. We both sprayed and hand pulled loads of plants, although there is controversy regarding hand pulling, however by the time the contractor got to us to spray the plants were too well established to just die. Horses won't just eat ragwort when they have plentiful grass. It is in the baled dried form that it is indeed palatable.

I think the answer is to find a good reliable local hay supplier and stick with them.
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Agreed. To be fair, I go through the hay like a monkey hunting for fleas, and haven't found any. I'm just interested in how farmers manage to produce hay that is certified ragwort free, when everywhere I look, there are mature plants!.
 
Auslander said:
JRP - I'm interested in how hay can be certified ragwort free with the explosion of the horrible stuff all over the country. Is it still possible to make sure that a bit hasn't slipped in? I keep seeing hayfields round here where the crop itself looks to be ragwort free, but there is loads around the edges. It must be difficult to be totally sure that there aren't young plants in the hay surely?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you could actually 'certify' ragwort free if there are plants in the boundries. I suppose if the field has been sprayed in the spring when the plants are at rosette stage most of the plants would be dead and not high enough for the mower to cut them off. Also, by the time hay is ready to cut most ragwort would be pretty visible in the grass so could be pulled prior to mowing. We have always kept our fields ragwort free and do not sell hay anyway.
 
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