PurBee
Well-Known Member
It may well be the yard thats been feeding this hay, is just hay from the same supplier but not necessarily the same batch of hay youve just received. Multiple suppliers ive used in the past have several batches available, last years overflow, this years 1st cut, and 2nd cut, cut from various fields.Thank you so much for your detailed responses, I really appreciate it. I’m not going to feed any more of the hay it’s not worth the risk farmer has ignored my messages so I highly doubt he’s going to offer to take it back. It’s actually got plants in I don’t recognise and now I feel really stupid, people always say I’m too anxious and I know a yard has been feeding this hay for a few months with no issues, but now I wish I’d trusted my gut. I really hope the horses haven’t ingested anything harmful.
The batch i got that was teeming with cats ear weed was a hay supplier recommended by a nearby horse person. I happened to enquire just after 1st cut was sold, and got 2nd cut from a rough field. Im sure the person who recommended them wasnt feeding this hay as i saw their ponies and they were walking fine and ridden fine. There was so much cats ear weed it was literally bound up with any hay, and just 1 bale would deliver a toxic dose eliciting symptoms. I threw the whole lot away, and hunted for another supplier.
It’s actually written in agri laws that noxious toxic weeds are not to be baled in animal feed and sold. So strictly speaking under consumer good laws, if found, a farmer is liable to refund the buyer. But in practice most deny, ignore…unless youre a huge yard with a large order. But they get the ‘prime fields’ premium cuts anyway, and wont be sold the back-field full of weeds stuff.
There’s a lot of safe weeds in meadow hays, but theres a few we dont want to feed.
You might not need to give up on your hay if you can find any leaves with your flower bunches to fully i.d.