Posted 2008-06-23 11:05 AM (#86188 - in reply to #86183) Subject: RE: cattle-only hay?
Veteran
Posts: 174
Location: Missouri
Alfalfa is known to get blister beetles in it and maybe they were trying to cover themselves by not selling it to horse people or it may have gotten wet before they baled it and has some mold in it. Lots of hay is okay for cattle to eat but not for horses.
Posted 2008-06-23 3:10 PM (#86201 - in reply to #86183) Subject: RE: cattle-only hay?
Expert
Posts: 2828
Location: Southern New Mexico
If it says cattle only, I wouldn't even try it. I had 3 horses colic last month on hay (sold as "horse quality") and almost lost one. She ended up costing us $7200 for sugury. I took samples of the hay up to the extension office for testing and they couldn't find anything wrong except it was "mature" and shouldn't have been sold for horses. They said it was difficult for the horses to chew properly. The filly that had sugury was packed full of the hay, from stomach to rectum and her intestines were 3 times their normal size. Between the three of them it cost me almost $10,000. The moral, keep looking. That hay may cost a LOT more in the long run.