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 Expert
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| I picked up a nice forage blend hay that is a mix of oat, Barley, wheat, and a "Little Rye" I was told. I looked it up and there seems to be a lot information about Rye grass " Staggers" . Something about a spore that can be found that causes neurological problems. Most all of it is in reference to Rye PASTURE, not baled hay but I am totally clueless!! Help! Thanks!
Edited by FLITASTIC 2015-10-30 6:51 PM
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Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Ummm!!! Ergot... LSD comes from moldy Rye. (Not that I've been there more than 20 times) Good luck riding THAT horse!!! |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Oh Lordy! lol yea. Might not be the best idea. I am living through quality forage He$$. Lol |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
Location: West Texas | Strange mix. Personally I don't like any of those hays listed. I know people that feed rye, but I certainly wouldn't. A bigger question, is that beardless wheat or bearded? If it is bearded, then I would be much more concerned about that that rye toxicity from just a little in the mix. I can bet you the mix is pretty low protein stuff. All of those grains mature at different times. To make good hay of any, you have to cut at the right time. I would think impossible to do with a mix field. Finally, around here that would be last spring hay, so it would be older hay and would have needed to be stored well. Grain hays go bad fast in weather and humidity. In dry climates, they seem to get dryer quicker, to me.
If you were looking for a grain hay. Straight beardless wheat is the best, but only if it is fertilized well and cut and put up right. Farmer has to know what he is doing. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I agree that none of those make good horse hay. And there's a difference between ryegrass and cereal rye. |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Thanks all! I am going to return the hay today. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 700
Location: Driving, Grooming, or Saddling for a Kid! | So is rye grass pasture not good for horse either? |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | DunIt - 2015-11-02 9:09 AM So is rye grass pasture not good for horse either?
Depends on the horse. It's high in sugar, and you need to keep the seed heads mowed off in the spring. I do plant some ryegrass every year so they have cool season grass to supplement their hay in late fall and early spring (it's dormant through the coldest part of winter), but some horses have to be limited on turnout time. |
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 Off the Wall Wacky
Posts: 2981
Location: Louisiana | DunIt - 2015-11-02 9:09 AM
So is rye grass pasture not good for horse either?
I have heard that it is too high in sugars or something like that. I don't know. My husband has been turning his horses out on ryegrass year after year during the winter. He's never had any type of issues.
I'd like to learn more about it since I do have horses here now. Although mine will likely stay in their little hotwire pasture, I don't like them being out in the big field. His are used to 2 strands of loose barbed wire, mine have always been where they could trust a fence. |
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