Hay.........................?

T

Toby_Zaphod

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It may be just me thinking this…….….but why are some people so anal about some things?

With the subject hay, the availability, the price, how many cuts etc being a hot topic at the moment you still find some who want to question the energy value/sugar content etc & have it analyzed. I can understand that if you have a laminitic then this can be very important but OMG the way some go on about it. I actually wonder are they posting this just for something to post on the forum or do they actually get every lot they buy analyzed?

I ‘analyze’ the hay I buy as follows……I look at it (no sign of weathering or dampness etc, bales a uniform size), feel it (soft, plenty of leaf, not too much stalk, mine like soft meadow hay), smell it (fresh, sweet, clean). Chat to the producer regarding the hay, If the price is reasonable….buy it! The ultimate analyzing comes later, do the horses like it & eat it….if they do then yes its good hay.

Am I odd or do most do their ‘analyzing’ the same way I do? :)
 
never had a bale analyzed in me life lol, i know exactly where mine comes from cos it's the same farm where i livery my horses! if the horses don't eat it then the farmer takes it back to give to the cattle and i get a new bale. But then i am one of those 'odd' people who are happy for their horses to lose a little weight over the winter as nature intended;) they soon put it back on in the spring:rolleyes:

farmer has just cut and baled 90 round bales of rye grass, told him i won't be wanting any of that for my lot lol, too bloody good for them:eek:
 
MrsM I just a mental image image of that woman from the food and drink program years ago - Julie someone? Sniffing a glass of wine and saying "I'm getting a hint of cherries with an undercurrent of strawberries..." I always used to yell at the screen it's just a glAss of wine FFS!

In answer to the original question no I don't get my hay/haylage analysed. If the horses eat it great, if they don't then I swap it for another bale.
 
I wonder how many people who have a bit analyzed for nutrients etc, actually also check and shake out part of each bale for unwanted weeds esp ragwort? Given that horses won't touch the stuff when it's still living, but it will eat it quite happily in hay, and I've found it in hay before, who actually bothers to check? Our farmer said that this year esp they had trouble spraying for weeds/ragwort as the plants were in drought mode and weren't taking up the chemical, so it could quite well end up in this year's hay if farmers aren't careful...
 
mystiandsunny said:
I wonder how many people who have a bit analyzed for nutrients etc, actually also check and shake out part of each bale for unwanted weeds esp ragwort? Given that horses won't touch the stuff when it's still living, but it will eat it quite happily in hay, and I've found it in hay before, who actually bothers to check? Our farmer said that this year esp they had trouble spraying for weeds/ragwort as the plants were in drought mode and weren't taking up the chemical, so it could quite well end up in this year's hay if farmers aren't careful...
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Surely everyone checks for ragwort, why would anyone, not much point finding out what minerals it has if it is full of poison.

I don't feed hay, but I would like to get my grazing analysed for minerals etc so I know if anything needs supplementing.
 
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