Where do you get your horses hey?

Question

Is there a company you reccomend? Do you pick it up or have it delivered? How can you tell if hey is really good or not very, and what makes the hey really good?

Answer 1

Hay is usually available locally, depending on where you live and the climate that you live in or with. I live in Delaware, and we get our hay from a dealer who buys it somewhere in upstate New York. The hay is a mix of grass and timothy, which is really good for horses. Our hay is always delivered to us, usually about 3 or 4 times a year. My grandparents used to grow alfalfa on their farm as a cover crop in alternate years, and they lived in NH. I would sometimes visit at harvest time, and as a result, I learned what good hay is supposed to look and smell like. The big issue with hay is that it must be allowed to dry and cure properly in the field BEFORE it is baled. Hay that has not cured properly will generate heat in the bale, and if it gets hot enough, the result will be spontaneous combustion and a barn fire. Good hay will always have a pleasant smell and a nice green color. It should smell like the barn or farm of your childhood. If it has a sour, moldy or beery smell, DON'T buy it and don't feed it !!! Moldy hay can make horses sick- and in some cases, certain kinds of mold can be fatal. Another point to remember when buying hay is that it should NOT be what is called mow burnt. Mow burning is another side effect of baling hay too early after cutting it. In this case it develops a mold that makes hay look as though it has been burned. Mow burnt hay smells good, and horses love the taste, but it can make them deathly sick. Other things to watch for are hay beetles, which can be toxic if ingested by a horse, and hay that has excessive amounts of red clover, which will give horses the slobbers. Hay should always be fed in a rack or manger if possible- NOT on the ground, where horses can pick up internal parasites from eating it. Finally, remember that if you store your hay outside, it must be kept covered or the rain will destroy it. ( A tarp works well if you don't have a shelter for it.) Hope this helps you.

Answer 2

Hey! lol It depends where you are. There isn't really a co. It is only farmers or tack stores that you can order hay from. Ask them if they use anything to help the hay grow b/c sometimes they put pestisides in to make the bugs go away. Good hay should be a dark green. Imagine that if you poured pop into a glass with ice, if the ice melts it is going to have less taste and it wont be as good. But if you drink it before the ice melts, it is good and nice and refreshing. That is like with horses hay like dark is better and light colored isn't as good. They hold the same amount of nutrients, but the horses like a little flavor in what they eat =) For delivering, you can have it delivered but I like to pick it up. Then you can see what their fields look like and what they do. I went to one place that was spraying pestisides and grow hormones (BAD!!!) onto their fields right as I pulled in.

Answer 3

There's a local farm that my barn buys hay from, and the farmers deliver. Good hay will be a nice yellowy-green color, will smell good and won't smell like mold. There shouldn't be any visible mold anywhere on it. The farmer should be able to tell you what kind of hay it is and what other plants are mixed in with it. Good hay with be mostly just that - hay, not weeds, stalks, or straw. Some clover or other grasses mixed in is fine but branches or burrs are not.

Answer 4

I live in Illinois and I use a local guy, but he isn't taking on any new clinets currently. Alot of feed stores carry hay. I like a mix of grass and alphla hay, zebra alphla is basically the same. Good hay is usually fairly green. Bad hay tends to be more dried out and more brown. When it starts to be white that is mold, and needs to be thown away. Hope that helps some.

Answer 5

I don't know where you are, but I get my hay from a local farm and they are GREAT! I pay $3- a bale and it's a blend of orchard grass and alfalfa. It's very green and my horses love it. I run a small stable and every person that comes by always comments on how good my hay looks. The Proeschel (pro-shell) family runs the farm and they do deliver out of state, they deliver semitruck loads to farms all over the US. The guys name is Johnathan and his number is 937-533-0180. If you decide to use them please tell him his friend Traci gave you their name!

Answer 6

I buy my hay off a company called TSC. But sometimes if you look in the paper in the Classifieds in misc. or Classifieds in horses/or farm supplies.

The hay, to tell if it is good. pull a flake of hay in half and smell it, it will kinda smell like fresh cut grass. If it smells like fresh cut grass and has a wierd tingly smell it is moldy. Put it FAR away from the barn. Moldy hay can blow up and cause a barn fire!



If it is like just no real smell and VERY dusty, then it is old.

Answer 7

No particular company. Hay is usually grown locally. We have it delivered in big 4x5 rolls, but it also comes in small 55 lb or so bales. If it is good, it should be greenish in color and smell really sweet, like fresh mown grass smells almost. Different varieties of grass yield different qualities of hay, just depends on your area.

Answer 8

Hay field

Answer 9

well you can get hays from any stores such as farm shops , or at a ware house places where they also sell all animals foods products , petsmart also sell everything for horses as foods ,treats. other things that you need to get for a horse. plus if you have green grasses yards with drieds , new plants are also good for horses to chew on too.

Answer 10

Well, most people grow their own hay and sell it for money. Others buy hay.

Answer 11

I pick it up its $10.00 a bale about 105 lbs.I get it in Mira Loma,Ca.I look for color if its real green its to rich also i get the med.stem so its easier for them to chew & they wont pick threw it getting the leaves & leaving the stems.

Answer 12

we grow it and bale it the best hay for horses is timothy

Answer 13

Um..that would be HAY..."Hey" is a form of greeting...

HAY is what horses eat...