How old does hay have to be before you can feed it to a horse?
I always thought it should be no less that 6 months old. We had a new delivery of hay and it looked very green so i asked the farmer how old it was. He said six weeks, but that it was ok to feed.
Now one of my horses is in hospital after suffering from a severe attack of colic. He had to have a 3 hour operation to save his life. The only thing that had changed in his diet was the hay.
Could i have saved my horse a lot of distress and pain by following my instincts.
I had been mixing the new hay with the old stuff, gradually using more new, and less old. I had been feeding this hay for three days before he got colic
Sabina, I like the way you think.. Your one bright lady! Follow your gut. Most people don't know what they hell they are talking about!
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January 9th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Sabina, I like the way you think.. Your one bright lady! Follow your gut. Most people don't know what they hell they are talking about!
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January 9th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Feeding your horse once with possibly bad hay isn't very likely to have caused the problem. Do you feed your horse on the ground? That can cause problems. In your age are you refering to when it was planted or when it was cut? Regardless instincts are usually the way to go no matter what.
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January 9th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
should wait until hay changes darker colour dont feed when green
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January 9th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
It is ok to feed you horse green hay but you should ease them into it .. mix it with some older hay .. It is just like letting your horse out into pasture in the spring you have to ease them into it …
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January 9th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
No there is nothing wrong with young hay. I buy it right off the Field for my horses. Most likely the reason your horse coliced was because it was not dried all the way. Also if its to green and you feed alot of it that can also cause colic. Talk to other horse owners and see if they have a good hay farmer they like. Not all farmers hay is equal and not harvested right, well u saw the result.
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January 9th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Green hay is alright if they are used to it all changes need to be gradual for any feed. It also may have been more alfalfa than he was used to this causes problems as well. Especially if they had been getting older hay. but no I've never heard that it has to be any specific minimum age. It was just a drastic change. I hope everything ends well for you good luck. and in the future trust instincts thats why we're born with them
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