Straw Bales - Plastic wrapped with some green stuff(!)

[Akarno]

A nearby farmer is selling plastic wrapped straw bales (barley). I took one lately as it's handy and needed last minute.

There are some green grasses / silverweed still in there (it's not pure straw). Horse is having a good rootle about in it can't quite see what she's picking up (it was dark tonight).

I'm not too confident about her eating from 'wrapped' bales of straw, if there's 'green' grass in there I assume it may start to ferment (sorry for the lack of science here).

Thoughts appreciated, particularly if you use wrapped straw with a bit of other stuff thrown in(!)

Many thanks in advance

 

[Dry Rot]

The grain crop may have been under sown with grass. That is often done to provide a nurse crop (i.e. protection) for the grass which also benefits from the extra fertliser the cereal crop gets. If your horse is burrowing through the straw 'to find something', I'm guessing there may still be some grain on the straw and not something to worry about.

What does it smell like? How many layers of plastic? There was an American study by a university that concluded grass can be preserved at any degree of dry mater provided the air is excluded. Discuss your worries with whoever sold you the straw? They will know better than anyone here who can only guess.

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

A family used to feed green straw, that was wrapped. It was volunteer barley that was then slightly dried and then wrapped. It was the boyfriend of one of the daughters that did it, and it wasn't a consistent option due to availability.

Their horses did okay on it to be fair.

 

[Akarno]

Thank you both. I do think she's rootling for stray grain which is fine but I've seen her chewing it down with some green grass from the bale also, which is where my concern was. She's more interested in her hay after she's had a scurry through the fresh stuff though.

Thanks Dry Rot re the American study that's interesting. It's been thoroughly wrapped in several layers of plastic. It has a very slight smell of haylage if I sniff really hard but I think it's mostly a kind of sweet straw smell (hard to tell it was blowing a hoolie today and I can't remember sniffing other straw up close lately!).

The old crofter I bought it from is more an old school traditional sheep and cow man and I suspect he'd just tell me the horses will do fine on it as I doubt he realises how a warmblood horse might differ (and why should he I guess!).

Ironically the Eriskay pony who I thought would scoff through the lot isn't rootling around for anything and only interested in her hay. Fussy warmblood has finds something exciting in there at first on the fresh stuff.

I'll monitor and ask the crofter next time I see him. Thanks again

 

[Equi]

....Does haylage ferment? Does it ferment in the same way as fruit? Are our horses drunk? lmao would explain so much though..