eating old hay-stupid question

[2boys]

I just brought my horses back from being boarded out for three months. Before they left, there was some leftover hay in the paddock. It is frozen into the ground and I can't get it up. For some reason (other than him being a suicidal ottb), one of my boys would rather pick at it than eat brand new, fresh hay. I sprinkled pooh on it to deter him, but I am worried. I feel like I have always heard to be careful of old hay. I am concerned that he is going to give himself a tummy ache. Is there anyone that can dispute that concern by chance??:sadsmile:

[deltawave]

Yuck, what a weirdo! :lol: I wouldn't trust a horse for one minute to choose wisely when it came to eating stuff. Only animal I know that can commit suicide with food. :lol: If he's just picking a mouthful here and there I wouldn't worry, but I'd at least go look it over, make sure it's not disgustingly moldy or contaminated with filth. Can you stick a tarp over it until it thaws enough to scrape it up? Mine won't touch the stuff they trample into the ground, which is a good thing because it's GROSS.

"Old" hay that's been stored properly and is clean and dry is no problem. I have fed bales that were 2 years old, properly stored, and you couldn't tell those bales from the new ones. But "old" as in out in the winter for months? Yeccch.

[2boys]

I know, right?? I thought tbs were supposed to be picky eaters!! He isn't terribly interested in it, will grab a few strands and walk away. It doesn't look horrible--not moldy or dirty. But it has been under snow for a while... That is amazing about your old hay. Great! The manure definitely made him walk away from it earlier. He has dropped some weight during the past month, so I understand that he is hungry, but he WALKED AWAY from the good, dry stuff'. He never ceases to amaze me with his horrible decisions. Take his five foot LEAP off of the step up trailer today, for example.:no:

[BrookdaleBay]

I have no helpful tips, but today when I went to ride my boy, him and two other geldings were picking at the stomped and peed on left overs from the old round bale rather then eating at the gorgeous new one.

I guess TB's arn't as picky as we originally thought!

[ThoroughbredFancy]

Sometimes my TB will dig, dig and dig until he gets under the snow and will retrieve some crusty piece of hay and act like it's gold. They're odd creatures.

[BunithGrace]

My pony does this in the winter, sometimes she finds frozen hay that is sticking up and eats it, grabs it with her lip and pulls, like it's grass. I think she does it because she feels more like she is grazing and she misses grass. I wouldn't worry about it.

[mht]

It's really no different than my horses (all TBs), with two fresh round bales in front of them, going out in the pasture and digging through ice and snow to get some remnant of grass. LOL It won't do any harm.