Not eating her hay

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UKa

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Hi, just wanted to get some ideas what to do. Since coming in at night last weekend my girl seems to hardly touch her hay at night. I am used to giving her loads and she eats loads over night so I am a bit concerned what is going on. Hard feeds are eaten fine. The hay seems really nice so not an obvious reason to be fussy over it. Guess it is also partly that she is at new yard and has been living out since we arrived in the summer and now being in is new and I think she spends a lot of time with her head over the door... but I am still worried. Should I try the haylage that is on offer instead and see if she prefers it but I chose to stay on hay as she is prone to tying up and I don't want to mess with what I know is kind or working for her. Or maybe soaking the hay would make it more palatable for her? Or does she just need more time to get used to coming in? What do you think? Thanks.
by the way, she is fed hay from a haybar as she was in old yard
 
Probably an obvious question but have you checked her teeth/mouth. I had a similar problem once and when I checked his mouth he had an ulcer due to rough hay I think and it was very sore. As soon as it was washed out and cleaned up he went back to eating hay happily. Teeth problems can also cause this as they need to chew and it could hurt.
Also a hay bar probably isn't a good idea as it means that she might have to stand at the back of the stable to eat and if she is curious or unsettled she could be better off with her hay on the floor in front of the door so that she can grab a mouthful and then look out

good luck
 
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Agree that the most obvious cause of not eating hay is some sort of dental problem, so definitely get teeth checked if you haven't done this already. Is the grazing a lot better than at her other yard - she could be full of grass when she comes in, so not much of an appetite for hay. Or she just could be unsettled, as you say, and will eat more when she is more relaxed.
 
Hello! Thanks for replies. Night before last she ate all her hay. This morning lots left again but put in a fair amount...getting used to feeding from small bales rathr than round bales.

Yes, had her teeth done only a few weeks ago with her annual jabs so assume she is ok now dentalwise...

The grazing is much better than at old yard, yes. She may be benefitting from that and from large dinners as she will leave her breakfast nearly untouched so give bulk at night so she gets her amount ...
 
UKa said:
Hello! Thanks for replies. Night before last she ate all her hay. This morning lots left again but put in a fair amount...getting used to feeding from small bales rathr than round bales.

Yes, had her teeth done only a few weeks ago with her annual jabs so assume she is ok now dentalwise...

The grazing is much better than at old yard, yes. She may be benefitting from that and from large dinners as she will leave her breakfast nearly untouched so give bulk at night so she gets her amount ...[/QUOTE]

I would say thats probably your answer. When ours go onto a new field with good grass on, they always leave a lot of their hay. Its like being offered dried/canned fruit yourself when there's lovely fresh stuff available! Also she's settling into her new yard and system. Don't worry too much unless she is losing condition. You could always hide afew carrots in her hay to tempt herif you're worried. I wouldn't change herback to haylage if you're using hay for health reasons.
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hi, just saw your thred whilst looking for ideas where to get my boy some new hay.

my boy is a gannet, he'll eat anything and i mean anything.... but this year all of a sudden hes got fussy with his hay..... after talking to a few people it seems that the farmers where we obtain our hay, sprayed the fields with nitrogen this year to improve the yield.... being they knew there would be a shortage i guess they are trying to minimise their loss. anyway apparently it leaves a bitter aftertaste in the horses mouths so alot of them either wont touch it at all or will just eat a bit! my boy and 4 others on our yard will literally not touch the hay we've bought with a 10ft barge pole... we asked the farmer and he agreed he'd sprayed those particular fields..... he did offer us some unsprayed stuff for £7 a bale (as opposed to £4.50 - which personally i think is already to much!).

anyway to cut a long story short, if you've changed yards and also changed your hay supplier chances are the hays been sprayed and your mares protesting! incidentally my boy is more inclined to eat it if i chuck it over the field fance during the day... not sure why!
 
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