Horses stopped eating hay

[chelebeau]

My two have stopped eating hay. It’s been two weeks and I bought expensive hale-age to remedy this . Is it possible they now think all hay in nets is bad?. I’m so worried cos the bad hay splintered my hands and they’ve gone septic .
Need help.
All teeth and worming and vaccines up to date .

 

[meleeka]

Mine have been incredibly fussy this winter. They weren’t eating the hay I had (and telling me they were starving) so I ordered another bale which looks lovely to me and smells nice. Apparently this is worse and they are all of a sudden happy with the original bale! When they decide they don’t like it I tend to feed it loose and mix with something they do like. This enables them to sort through it better and actually the bits they leave isn’t much at all. If it’s in a haynet they refuse all of it.

I expect yours prefer the haylage so they are holding out for more of that. If the hay you have isn’t good quality I think you need to get some more and mix with haylage for a few days until they are eating it again.

 

[SEL]

My greedy mare is off hay - i think there is more grass in the field than usual for Jan

 

[Lintel]

For the past few years my highland has gone through this phase during winter. He chooses not to eat very much of his hay.
Initially when it started I got his teeth checked but all was well there. He also managed to eat haylage... carrots.. turnips... his feed- with no problem at all.
I thought it was due to him being in 24/7 at the previous yard but the last two winter he has been at home and out 24/7 and he has done the exact same.
I think he just gets really fed up with it- I bought haylage last year and he ballooned so I won't be doing that again.
He does lose a bit of weight during this spell but I have no issue with that- he puts it back on no problem!
I would suspect if they are eating the haylage there is no issue and they are just hopeful! - what is a world without hope!

 

[Cortez]

If the hay is good (and last years hay was very good), then they are just not hungry. The grass is growing here and mine are getting reduced amounts of hay accordingly.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

We have some beautiful hay for them this year but my horse isn't interested at all, just too much nice grass still growing, it has been an incredible winter for grass growth so far this year. I barely put any out and thats only because my donkeys actually prefer yummy hay to lush green grass, although when the little hay I give them is gone they do join her further down the land to graze.

Very curious OP about hay that actually splinters you! Or is it actually thistle spine tips that have been gathered with the hay? Nothing wrong with a nice bit of munchy thistle although I guess some people might react badly to them?

 

[Celtic Fringe]

My younger cob and his Shetland-cross field companion have ended up with about 40 bales of hay as their winter supply. None of the other horses on the yard will touch that load though it looks and smells lovely to us humans. The two little bog-trotters are not so fussy and are generally just grateful for whatever is offered! They are rotated into paddocks that have already been eaten down by the others, get their morning hay and then have to endure looking at the horses in the adjacent, lusher paddocks also working their way through big slices of forage through the day. Poor things

 

[chelebeau]

Mine have been incredibly fussy this winter. They weren’t eating the hay I had (and telling me they were starving) so I ordered another bale which looks lovely to me and smells nice. Apparently this is worse and they are all of a sudden happy with the original bale! When they decide they don’t like it I tend to feed it loose and mix with something they do like. This enables them to sort through it better and actually the bits they leave isn’t much at all. If it’s in a haynet they refuse all of it.

I expect yours prefer the haylage so they are holding out for more of that. If the hay you have isn’t good quality I think you need to get some more and mix with haylage for a few days until they are eating it again.

 

[chelebeau]

Thanks for your reply . I found out today that I was the last to know that the hay was bad . The livery yard girls who have stables all had bad hay. I have to winter out cus there’s no vacant stables . But I still think I should have been told. My poor horses had no hay for two weeks, I didn’t want to be a drama queen but the penny dropped when my hands splintered and I immediately ordered hale-age but they won’t eat from nets still. And I also put goodies in the hay-Lage. They’re eating now from a massive cube builders sack . There great at stuff most horses spook at. However the stress and weight drop has put me on high alert . I know the chances of all those terrible things that happen in winter , colic , choke etc from hungry or no hay. I’m so careful with the diet . My vet has always said keep their stress down and you’ll have healthy horses . I’m devastated I didn’t speak up for them sooner . They’ve dropped weight , they won’t even walk in hand with me up the track to explore the arena or school . One bolted and there’s no gates to stop them going into the road . I can tell I’m going to have to rein them in and I’m now so worn out I’m poorly . I moved them due to knee deep mud , but they were eating 10 bales a week between them and I knew somethings wrong when they stopped eating hay.
Add insult to injury I’ve had all my stuff stolen from my shed which I was waiting to dismantle and erect on new land . I’m so stressed myself I’ve broke my budget by paying for duff hay and hale-age. I reckon it’s bsd that refunds weren’t given . Or that I wasn’t told when mine have to winter out . Infact im thinking of moving them again because I was at the end of my tether watching them go downhill standing in all the mud at last place and I knew I had to move them . It’s been 4 weeks and I can’t get anything sensible done as I’ve not been shown wgere arena or anything is and I pay the same as the liveries . I’m desperate for something good to happen and it should’ve been plain sailing by now . This hay was that bad it splintered my hands and infection set in . They won’t touch hay nets nor go into the shekter where I put the duff hay down as bedding. They know it’s bad and the temps dropped to minus degrees so all in all I need to be more assertive and I’ve noticed that people use the fact that I don’t ask as an advantage to cut corners . I feel so low and I can’t get them to do anything with me . I train horses and I’m a veteran in horsemanship , but social skills are lacking and so it went on so long.
I’ve asked by text the stuff i need but no reply . So I’m hoping to find sinewhere else because I’m so poorly thru the worry , I’ve never known hay to be such a problem but I think there’s something in it thst my hands are so sore and splinters going septic . So I’m sending a Sample off to find out what’s going on .
One thing I know is the section D will eat all day if allowed and so nothing except hard feed for two weeks , is extreme .
I hate moving to new place . Maybe one day I’ll get lucky and actually get paid for what I do as I’m used to break , bring on school and send to forever homes from a sanctuary . It’s so hard to find stable and paddocks with an enclosure to train . So livery was the option I used . The hay being bad and my horses stress has set us back another 4 weeks . It was important to tell people as they should care as I do, I don’t wish to lose another to colic snd rupture , or a bullet in the brain because something attacked her in paddock . She was shot whilst I held the lead rein . He made a hash of it as well . I was brow beaten by a yard that was predominantly hunters and promoted to put my x race back into the food chain to feed the hounds . So I’m better off without the people , I do so well when I’m working alone even if I don’t profit it’s heart and passion that drive me .
I’m sorry I’ve gone on, I just have no one to talk to and I’m a loner . But this was a wake up call . So thank you for making me realise I do do things right and I’m to stop questioning myself and be assertive and pragmatic
Cheers my friend

 

[Auslander]

With respect, you sound like you're getting a bit hysterical. No-one should have to tell you hay is bad - it should be pretty obvious if your horses aren't eating what they're given. Two weeks is too long to keep feeding hay that they don't want to eat. Thistle spines in hay are pretty common, and don't mean that there's something wrong with the hay - just wear gloves. The arena should be pretty easy to find, without being shown, and if you are still waiting for the guided tour - go and ask someone! If your horses are being bad to handle, you need to spend a bit of time reinforcing acceptable behaviour.
Sometimes in life, if you feel like everything is going wrong - YOU need to make things happen, rather than getting upset because no-one is doing what you expect of them.