High Hay Costs Push Up Cases of Horse Abandonment

[audgesmom]

WOW!!!!

I am just amazed by the prices I am seeing for hay per ton in this discussion....I am currently paying 240 per ton of "pony hay".... random grass mix, a bit stalky, just sort of busy workish type hay for my haffies, with 7 horses total I am now feeding 2 tons per month as pasture is gone here in the n.e. I have had several quotes from other suppliers and the lowest I have seen yet is 265 per ton of the equilivant type hay in my area..I will stay with my current supplier thank you...I do have boarders who gripe about the rise in board recently (for going from 1 ton a month when we have pasture to 2 tons when we don't...we are a co-op) but good grief!!!!!! One even did the "reasearch" and was able to "save" me 80 cents per bale if I DROVE TO THE SUPPLIER WITH MY TRIALER (SO SEVERAL TRIPS), LOADED IT UP, DROVE HOME, UNLOADED IT INTO MY LOFT MYSELF WITH NO ELEVATOR and no she was not able to help with the lifting ....not worth it when for .80 more I can get it delivered and put right into my loft!!!!!! If I were able to get hay for even 220 a ton I would be thanking the hay gods on my knees daily and lighting lots of incense!!!!!!!!!!! I have a friend with tbs not air fern ponies and she just payed 310 a ton for what her guys need..and she is a very savy and efficient horse keeper so I know that she did her research......Horses are expensive and I guess its times like these that separate the men from the boys so to speak....mind you I am prepared to eat top ramen to keep my horses fed to their current standard....I have not currently got the "depth of pocket" to bring in a trailer truck load from canada or upstate ny nor do I have the storage space for much more than 6 or 7 tons anyway.....I can't stand the whining from boarders when prices go up for me (the person who holds the lease on the property and the insurance and the liability).....am I really supposed to SUBSIDIZE the horse ownership of others IN A CO-OP???????????

[lawndart]

(snip)....I can't stand the whining from boarders when prices go up for me (the person who holds the lease on the property and the insurance and the liability).....am I really supposed to SUBSIDIZE the horse ownership of others IN A CO-OP???????????

Why yes Audgesmom, you ARE supposed to subsidze these other horse owners. After all, you 'have' more then they do. And I'll bet they are complaining while standing in their designer jeans/breeches/boots, next to their late model auto. Probably while holding a takeout coffee.

For some reason, people never seem to understand that just because you have taken the financial (and emotional) plunge to purchase/lease your own property it does not mean you have money!!! Quite the opposite really. They never count in all the hours spent improving the property, doing maintenance, repairs, etc. Just as people purchasing hay never count the hours/labor/equipment involved to make that horse quality hay. They just complain.

I am so thankful for my boarders. Every single one of them is a horse savvy owner, we work together to keep their horse in the best health they can be in. No complaints when I raise my board (once in the last 8 years), they all are very appreciative of any 'above and beyond daily care' effort I have to make for their horse. Of course, each one of them comes from an area where the board is at least 4 times what they are paying here. I'm glad to have each and every one here. If not, I'd get discouraged real quick, and go back to working in the real world.

I would guess the horse abandonment issue is a symptom of our times. After all, no one tries to fix anything, just throw it away, and get new. Or dump it on someone else, after all there is a sucker born every minute!! I feel so bad for the horses involved.....I wish I could take them all.

[Equilibrium]

My husband is always banging on about packing up the horses and moving back to America. And me, the American, is like we can't afford to keep horses at home. We are lucky because we usually have all year grass in Ireland. In the winter it's muddy and the grass isn't the best, but when I see what people have back home it's not that bad. I have 12 in and 8 in fields. Horses in have hay at all times. Horses in the fields get a bit of hay at night after feeding. We use 2 round bales a week which is 40 euro. Don't think that is too pricey for the amount of horses we have. At home, winter is winter. Here you get the odd snow and lots of wind and rain, but it is more mangeable from a living out prospective. Also, our vaccinations consist of one flu/t. The mares get Rhino vacs, but really couldn't afford all the other costs at home either.
Terri

[hb]

At home, winter is winter. Here you get the odd snow and lots of wind and rain, but it is more mangeable from a living out prospective.

Actually the climate there sound just like here in the PNW. This week's been freezing but that's rare and the week before thanksgiving it was warm enough for the grass to be growing.

[JumpingPaints]

The horse is the biggest load of bullshyte when it comes to the issue of slaughter.

AAEP = one of the key lobbyist groups pushing to keep slaughter the "humane answer" to anyone with an unwanted horse

The Horse = the mouthpiece of AAEP

I am so ticked off by their slanted articles.... it's fine if they're a political magazine but their image is a "horse health" periodical. Keep your political agenda out of a science magazine, AAEP.

P.S. Notice how the most recent issue has to very blatant anti-slaughterban editorial letters and zero defending the ban or at least taking a balanced middle ground. I know for a fact they recieved editorial letters clarifying the slaughter ban and/or slaughter issues. Where are these letters, The Horse?

P.P.S Notice me sending in my subscription cancellation notice with a note explaining politely I'd rather not pay money to read a special-interest group's spin on things. Makes me wonder what else the magazine is slanting? If they spin stories this much for the AAEP, it makes me wonder what other fact they're quietly omitting for their sponsors and 'friends' ?

Edited to say: my point is that The Horse keeps pushing stories about how horses are starving and so many are unwanted, as if this is a new disaster looming in the next few monts. Then they use it to add "sure is a good thing slaughter is legal to help out all these poor bankrupt horse owners who can not longer afford hay".

You hit the nail on the head here MayS. I too am tired of their biased editorials full of misleading and blatantly inaccurate information designed to promote horse slaughter in the US and Canada. This article deliberately used an inflammatory title to conjure up images of people abandoning horses right and left because hay prices in some areas have increased (as they always do at this time of year, and after a substandard yield). The article offered no proof that the one causes the other or even that abandonment has increased! Really poor journalism.

[eurofoal]

This topic has always been a concern of mine. If developers buy up farmland and, well, develop...then what happens to the availability of the crops that were produced? I mean, how many people are getting *into* hay farming? It seems like the availability will just continue to decrease. I tend to be a "worst case scenario" thinker and this is something that I worry about very frequently. Unfortunately, I can only store 2 tons in my barn; I have no other area to store hay. IIRC, it is about $250/ton because I have to buy it at the feed store. I wish I had a huge hay storage building, then I would buy a year's worth and hoard it...mine, all mine...muahaaahaaaahhaaaa!

We're in California too, and have just sold our hay ranch.

The demand for the water (alfalfa is a water intensive crop) is directed to cities. Each little fee increase for production costs (namely fuel and water), has a huge impact on the bottom line. The farm land is literally drying up, and not just for horse hay.... almonds, lettuce, oranges, vineyards... the "highest and best" use for land is still to plunk a million dollar house on an acre or so.

Just today I was reading in our AG ALERT magazine that the Klamath river farmers, who consume only 3 percent of the water that makes its way to the ocean, are being cut again on behalf of the Coho salmon. 3percent seems like such a tiny amount... you'd think they'd ask the cities to cut back on lawns, car washing, etc, instead of just ruling against food production all the time. Why is it that California's just don't want to cut down on personal gardens at all? We're in the desert, for pete's sake!

[eurofoal]

Months ago I posted on here that hay prices would be rising because of the increase in the price of diesel fuel, and fertilizer. I got a 'yeah so what' response Horse people have to start thinking farther ahead. Between development, and the aging of the farm population, its not going to get any better. If farmers know there is a demand for good quality hay ahead of time they will meet that need, if at all possible. It takes a couple of years to get a really good field of Timothy producing unless weather conditions are optimal. Talk to your local farmers, farm bureau members, feed store, etc. You have to get your need for hay out there for them to act upon.

DH and I make our own hay for my horses and my boarders, plus a few cows to eat the bales not good enough. Our kids have always helped, we put away between 3000 to 5000 bales in 6 week time window. Now, oldest son, who was the biggest help, is in the Navy. Daughter is in college, hopefully she will be home enough to help this summer. Youngest son is going to have to work harder than ever. How we are going to do this once they are all gone, well, we talk about it all the time. No one wants to do this type of work anymore. And the liability of having untrained people around moving farm machinery... I won't do round bales, I'm not a fan of them for many reasons.

If anyone has ever made hay, they would not complain about the rising cost of it. We have been lucky for many, many years to have such affordable hay, considering the time, labor, and hope put into a ton of hay.

You HOPE that your new seedings will not get frozen out or wither away in drought conditions

You HOPE that fertilizer will not go up in costs, again. Same for seed cost. Same for cost of twine.

You HOPE that your baler that is over 30 years old will make it another year. Ditto for tractor/rake/tedder/hay elevator.

You HOPE that no one essential to making the hay (in my case DH) gets ill or hurt in haying season.

You HOPE that no one schedules an important event, like weddings, graduations, family reunions in the middle of haying season, cause its not likely you will get to go. I also HOPE my daughter doesn't have a rodeo that weekend. IF she does, we stay home to make hay. Screws up her points, but the horses gotta eat.

You HOPE AND PRAY that the weather will co-operate. Not only do you have to time the cutting of hay correctly (before it goes into heads) you have to depend on an accurate weather forecast. Where I live, it takes three days from cutting to harvesting, unless we have exceptional drying weather. We have had 20 acres of beautiful hay laying, HOURS away from harvesting, and been 'blessed' with an unpredicted rainfall. Its enough to make you weep.

Then, when you are able to bale it, you work a 14 to 18 hour day, because you still have a real job (hay won't support you and your family), and horses of your own to feed. Sometimes I'm so tired after a day running from sun to well after sunset, I fall asleep the second I sit down. DH has his own business that has nothing to do with farming, so he is even more stressed. Despite being filthy with hay dirt/grease from the baler/elevator/pto, taking a shower almost seems like too much work.

I just can't have a lot of sympathy for people bitching about paying $5 a bale for excellent quality hay. Heck, around here people don't want to pay $2 a bale for great hay. So what is my incentive to make any to sell to anyone else? Just so I can have people call to come for hay, then not show up? Want to come on a Sunday because its a good time for them, but not caring that its not a good time for us? So I can have them complain that they have to load their own truck? Or DEMAND two bales in exchange for the one bale they ended up with that was NQR? Screw that, we no longer sell to the public. And I know plenty of others that feel the same way. Farmers are all eventually going to sell thru auctions/feed stores/or sell entire crop in one go. Then where will the horse owner go? Why to the feed store to pay $10 a bale for medium quality hay. And it will be no ones fault but their own.

Whew! I feel better now!

I know someone will have to either tell me I'm totally wrong, or flame me for this post. If you do, you had better have made a lot of hay in the past, or at least have a clue of the effort/time/ and expense involved.

This is a great post if you know anything at all about farming. I'm just amazed when people complain that they haven't had a weekend away or a weekday off or something along those lines. A farmer WORKS, and works till the job is done, with no whining or complaining. My husband routinely works 15-20 hour days during hay season, including Saturday and Sunday. HIs idea of time off is an afternoon, not a day or two. There's no way that we'd even consider a major event in the summer (our babies were planned for autumn births,).

In fact, have any of you ever seen the "Farmer takes a Wife" essay. It's a riot... hit's pretty close to home. I'll see if I can find it on line.

[county]

I totally agree with you JP but I see it as all those things from anti slaughter people and articles not pro slaughter.

[mairzeadoats]

That is the most absurd statement I've ever read.

Then you haven't read very much, have you. Our current "strong" economy is benefitting fewer and fewer. A smaller and smaller percentage of people are sucking up more and more of the wealth. And the former middle class who were dumped are struggling.

Unemployment may be down, but when tens of thousands of hard working, educated people who formerly earned 6 figures after 20 year careers were dumped at what should have been their peak earning years find themselves making $10/hour or worse, while corporate profits skyrocket and CEOs take home record-breaking incomes...something is seriously wrong.

My guess is that is why horse abandonments are on the rise. The same thing happened back in the mid-late 80s too. Rescues overflowing, horses abandoned, truckloads of well-bred horses shipped to slaughter.

[philosoraptor]

My guess is that is why horse abandonments are on the rise. The same thing happened back in the mid-late 80s too. Rescues overflowing, horses abandoned, truckloads of well-bred horses shipped to slaughter.

Hey, Marizedoats... I'm making an effort to understand this point of view. Can you direct me to resources that document a big spike in abandonments, overflowing rescues, etc (excluding The Horse)?

I know our rescue org here has been doing better than expected in placing horses into homes. Our group will never turn away a horse because he's less than perfect. It's great to see caring people looking to adopt who don't mind a horse who isn't young or ____ (insert desirable traits here). Just placed a formerly meatbound quarterhorse last week, and we've got a really good prospect for this warmblood pony-horse that only arrived a few weeks ago. If I had a few more sound riding horses, I could place them easily. However, I can't speak for all regions of the country or all rescue organizations.

I am not convinced surplus horses or poor economy results in a spike in slaughter. Slaughter plants kill to meet the demand for meat in europe, correct? They don't kill horses for any other reason (eg. they're not a kill shelter trying to solve a population problem).

[clanter]

The price of hay for the rest of the country is just going to continue to increase as the drought in north Texas continues. Prices have stabilized somewhat at around $320 a ton for coastal or alfalfa .

Most of us that have horses here have contracted with suppliers on the west coast and are having the hay trucked in which is ending up with $320 retail ton price.

Most hay in the adjoining states is being bought up and transferred into Texas which then causes other states to import hay from states that adjoin them

[sidepasser]

no...this summer it cost the same amount of diesel fuel to run a tractor over a field of "cow" hay as it did "horse" hay or "dairy" hay or "alpaca" hay....and with farm diesel jumping almost 40cents over nite and still not have come down....well the cost for even the yuckiest stuff must go up...

it has nothing to do with horse people buying it and being charged more because they were "horse" people...it is about a $30 a ton increase in fuel per ton of production from seed to harvest....lots of farmers decided not to fertilize this year as well....saving both fertilizer and farm tractor costs....

the results are neighboring/local fields I have not seen in a decade even bushhogged have been cut for hay....and then on the regrowth the fields left farrow are now are now being stockpiled with feeder cattle since the bottom dropped out last month.....cut the crap off and bale it and let feeders eat the good stuff underneath....

Tamara in TN

That may be true Tamara about rising diesel costs, and costs of production, but where I live, horse hay costs more than cow hay. Cow hay - which is normally not as good quality as horse hay grown specifically for horses, sells for 2 to 3.00 per bale less. Of course cow people can buy horse hay, but their costs increase to produce the beef. I buy horse quality hay which is tested by the AG. department for nutritional content. It's limed, fertilized and kept weed free so a bale has no briars, stickers, weeds, etc. in it. I pay more for the hay because I don't have waste. Most cow folks around here won't buy that kind of hay for their cows because they have to keep production costs down. Horse folks - well it's a luxury really to own a horse, but they will pay more for a bale of good quality hay that their horse will eat. So producers around here have started growing hay specifically for that market, hence the price increases.

I won't feed fescue/crab grass/what have you hay to my horses, they would just waste half a bale, so I pay more. Even so, the prices to produce horse quality hay have increased as well. I protected myself somewhat by buying on contract at a set price that was set in 2005 for 2006. I still saw a mid year increase due to lack of production which was not the hay farmer's fault, just a fact of no rain - no hay. But it was a minor increase over the contract. Those without a contract, didn't get the hay they were trying to buy as there was no extra to be had. I can sleep at night because I know sitting in a barn, I have hay to last for the next 7 months until cutting begins again.

I am fortunate that I found a grower who produces top quality hay for a reasonable price and I didn't throw a fit when he had to increase it to cover his production costs and make a profit. I throw a fit when my feed store owner wants to buy hay from me and then double the price to sell to someone less fortunate. (so I didnt' sell any of mine to the store). That in my mind, is price gouging because I know what the hay cost to begin with and even marking it up a dollar or two is fine, but don't tell me that buying hay at 5.00 a bale and marking it up to 10.00 is necessary to make a profit! (sorry small rant and not directed at you Tamara!).

I live on a road that used to be primarily farms - now it is primarily subdivisions. I have the second largest tract of land on this road at 32 acres, the largest is 400 acres. This is a five mile road and there used to be nothing but tracts of land of 30 to 500 acres..all of that has gone in the last 20 years. Nothing but houses as far as one can see and more being built everyday. The latest subdivision is 165 houses on a 240 acre tract that sold last year.

Heck I may have to move to get back in the country.

[shakeytails]

If anyone has ever made hay, they would not complain about the rising cost of it. We have been lucky for many, many years to have such affordable hay, considering the time, labor, and hope put into a ton of hay.

You HOPE that your new seedings will not get frozen out or wither away in drought conditions

You HOPE that fertilizer will not go up in costs, again. Same for seed cost. Same for cost of twine.

You HOPE that your baler that is over 30 years old will make it another year. Ditto for tractor/rake/tedder/hay elevator.

You HOPE that no one essential to making the hay (in my case DH) gets ill or hurt in haying season.

You HOPE that no one schedules an important event, like weddings, graduations, family reunions in the middle of haying season, cause its not likely you will get to go. I also HOPE my daughter doesn't have a rodeo that weekend. IF she does, we stay home to make hay. Screws up her points, but the horses gotta eat.

You HOPE AND PRAY that the weather will co-operate. Not only do you have to time the cutting of hay correctly (before it goes into heads) you have to depend on an accurate weather forecast. Where I live, it takes three days from cutting to harvesting, unless we have exceptional drying weather. We have had 20 acres of beautiful hay laying, HOURS away from harvesting, and been 'blessed' with an unpredicted rainfall. Its enough to make you weep.

Then, when you are able to bale it, you work a 14 to 18 hour day, because you still have a real job (hay won't support you and your family), and horses of your own to feed. Sometimes I'm so tired after a day running from sun to well after sunset, I fall asleep the second I sit down. DH has his own business that has nothing to do with farming, so he is even more stressed. Despite being filthy with hay dirt/grease from the baler/elevator/pto, taking a shower almost seems like too much work.

Boy do I know about all that, and we mainly worry about getting up enough hay for our own, with a little extra to sell. The last cutting of this year I absolutely had to go to work early (7pm) and DH was sick as a dog. It was definitely going to rain that night and nobody was available to help- so we had to leave probably about 75 bales worth in the field. Not a lot really, but when I think that those 75 bales would have fed the inside horses for almost a month it's kinda disheartening. We've also lost fields of hay to unexpected rain or equipment breakdown right before rain, but I really can't justify spending 12,000+ on a brand-new baler for a few thousand bales of hay a year.

We sell under 1000 bales/yr, and this year I've had requests for more hay than I feel safe parting with. Part of the reason is the work involved. Very, very few people put up square bales anymore because it's a whole lot easier to round bale. Heck, that's one of the reasons we started baling our own hay to begin with! I think prices on hay are going to keep going up, it's just the whole supply and demand cycle.

[gwenrowdy]

A rescuer in Colorado, Ahimsa Ranch Animal Rescue, recently had their entire hay supply worth $1000.00 stolen on the auction grounds where it was purchased. Please be vigilant. I'm afraid we may be hearing about more and more of these incidents.

[War Admiral]

Then you haven't read very much, have you. Our current "strong" economy is benefitting fewer and fewer. A smaller and smaller percentage of people are sucking up more and more of the wealth. And the former middle class who were dumped are struggling.

Unemployment may be down, but when tens of thousands of hard working, educated people who formerly earned 6 figures after 20 year careers were dumped at what should have been their peak earning years find themselves making $10/hour or worse, while corporate profits skyrocket and CEOs take home record-breaking incomes...something is seriously wrong.

My guess is that is why horse abandonments are on the rise. The same thing happened back in the mid-late 80s too. Rescues overflowing, horses abandoned, truckloads of well-bred horses shipped to slaughter.

THANK YOU. Could not have put it better myself. That's exactly what's happening in my neck of the woods, exactly.

I discovered an interesting thing last week when we had a barn get-together. Out of a total of 20 boarders in attendance, not ONE of us has health insurance. NOT. EVEN. ONE. Nor do the BO and the BM. To me, that's the kind of stat that speaks volumes. None of us are willing to ditch our horses, some of us are even willing to starve to try to keep them (hey, I've lost 30 pounds, and trust me that is a GOOD thing in my case! ), and we're all trying to help each other out as best we can just to stay alive.

Thriving economy? Blow me.

[summerhorse]

I don't care what any government figures say. The economy SUCKS. And horses are expensive. And dumping them is illegal no matter what hay prices are.

Frankly considering we HAVE slaughter and people are abandoning horses it would indicate that economics are NOT at the root of their decision. They could just as easily drive that horse to animal control, a rescue, or an auction (or some people live close enough to a dealer or slaughter plant to drive them there directly) as out to the woods. People dump animals because they don't want to be responsible for them for whatever reasons (and a lot of animals are dumped by people who are NOT their owners or guardians). Even a run down skinny horse that is sound and broke is useful to someone but hey that would require a little work to actually advertise it or even if you give it away, check references. If they can't give that horse away then probably it means that it is not broke or not sound in some way. If it is cheap enough then kill buyers will come to your DOOR and pick it up. Anyone who is so concerned that the kill buyers don't get it is not going to abandon it somewhere to fend for itself.

Hay prices have ALWAYS fluctuated. There have ALWAYS been sucky economies, droughts, fires, endless rain, employment issues, etc. etc. etc. And there always will be. As was pointed out so well above:

HORSES ARE EXPENSIVE.

They always will be. And certain areas of the country more vulnerable to hay shortages and land shortages than others. You just have to plan ahead. And if someone can't afford to feed their horse HAY then they can't afford to keep a HORSE. They probably can't afford to buy it feed, shots, wormer, farrier visits and god help it if it gets sick or hurt. If you can't afford it and/or are not willing to sacrifice for it you don't need a pet of any kind. They aren't toys.

I am paying 6.25 a bale for average hay (its actually pretty good for NW Fl but then it is grown in GA!) and I'm HAPPY to pay that to A) have decent hay and B) Have ANY hay!! So I will have to adjust the budget somewhere else. Oh well.

[Sabina]

Hey, Marizedoats... I'm making an effort to understand this point of view. Can you direct me to resources that document a big spike in abandonments, overflowing rescues, etc (excluding The Horse)?

I know our rescue org here has been doing better than expected in placing horses into homes. Our group will never turn away a horse because he's less than perfect. It's great to see caring people looking to adopt who don't mind a horse who isn't young or ____ (insert desirable traits here). Just placed a formerly meatbound quarterhorse last week, and we've got a really good prospect for this warmblood pony-horse that only arrived a few weeks ago. If I had a few more sound riding horses, I could place them easily. However, I can't speak for all regions of the country or all rescue organizations.

I am not convinced surplus horses or poor economy results in a spike in slaughter. Slaughter plants kill to meet the demand for meat in europe, correct? They don't kill horses for any other reason (eg. they're not a kill shelter trying to solve a population problem).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess you had to be a sentient human being during the Reagan years to notice what happened.
Your last paragraph is a cruel fantasy if ever I heard one.
My God.
Start going to the auctions and the pet shelters weekly for more than a year. Live in a rural state with a crappy economy and watch what happens. Stock your little farm with used equipment bought at dispersal auctions from people going broke. Watch people get laid off and wonder if your spouse will be next. Wonder how you'll make your mortgage payments if it happens to you. Heat with wood because you have to. Buy your first horse for under....$200. The first thing that people who cannot take care of themselves financially anymore, or are forced to move, do is ditch their luxuries, and pets (if you want to put horses in that category) ARE a luxury.
Horse auctions (not the higher end registered breed ones, but the regular ones) are the puppy/kitten equivalent of the animal shelter hold. Some make it out, and some don't.

[Luckydonkey]

I bought hay today. I live in Oregon in the mid willamette valley- I buy my hay during the winter from our local feed/seed mill. It is locally owned and operated by a family who has been in the area for ages- thye lease and own 1000's upon 1000's of acres, and raise grass seed, and produce fescue hay in both small bales and large 1000 pound squares. They also truck hay in from other places so they can sell year round- they supply a huge area- today it took me 3 hours to get loaded, there were so many people trying to get hay bought- Yesterday they got in 16 squeeze blocks of 100 # grass hay bales- today they sold out completely before noon. They were out of oats, they were out of orchard grass hay, and all they had left was eastern oregon orchard/ alfalfa mix- today it was $200 a ton. I know not as bad as many people have it- but for those of us who are used to paying a lot less, that was sticker shock. Our hay is getting trucked everywhere else- there is no grass hay available in the willamette valley this year- first year I have never seen adds for hay for sale locally- last year I bought all the grass I wanted for $80 a ton, and had no trouble getting it- the stuff they sold out of this morning was $150 a ton- they said they will not have grass hay for the rest of the season- and they think they will run out of their big fescue bales as well... we have had 2 bad hay years in a row- first year too dry, this year too wet- I see the effects- and it is scary. I feel lucky- I keep my horses at home, and we have 3 acres- and this is the first year I am able to keep my horses off our pasture completely as they now have a new barn with stalls and runs- I feed hay year round as it is, but look forward ot having some grass for them later on... I have a boarder as well- and she supplements my feed bill- and keeps me company- I don't expect to get rich off her, nor do i plan on raising my costs to meet the hay prices- although I definatly understand why boarding costs are on the rise... like everyone else is saying - horses are not cheap to feed- so we either get out of them or pay up,lol... Like I said- I bought hay today.....

[Tamara in TN]

a long bit about "cattle hay" and farmers

That may be true Tamara about rising diesel costs, and costs of production, but where I live, horse hay costs more than cow hay. Cow hay - which is normally not as good quality as horse hay grown specifically for horses, sells for 2 to 3.00 per bale less. Of course cow people can buy horse hay, but their costs increase to produce the beef. .

my husbands family is a long line of cattle folks both dairy and cow calf charolais...my pony prefix in fact is theirs registered long ago with the hereford and charolais associations he says it is it shameful what cattle are "forced to eat" so I know exactly the sort of hay you are talking about...


happily the days of the "on the cheap" cattle raisers are dying out....sure there will always be the ignorant backyarder but even those boys have start to figure out the nonsense in feeding weeds as weeds make costs rise in a loss of gain per day the only exception being in "dry" cattle....

beef "dry cattle" being them having been weaned of calf and not close in birth date of another or dairy cows waiting to refreshen....these alone are the only cattle who do well on "weeds" and even then not for long

anyway....feeding cattle weeds and then selling them will ALWAYS drop your money at the stockyard which is the general end point for most cattle if not in your personal freezer....

we kill and fatten our own hogs and cattle and sell the extra and when we have a year where we have had a loss of hay quality we will pin hook out 20 or so double ought bred cows and feed the hay to them...they calve in the spring looking yummy and slick from our not so good horse hay and we take the pairs back to the sale and all the moeny we may have lost on yucky hay we have made in gain per day increase on cow calf pairs !!!!

more than you wanted to know about "cow hay " ??? I am sure....but the days of under educated buyers of hay even in that world are slowly ending....the old farmers who thought baling the weeds each year was just peachy is ending because even that has no value other than land relclamation....and that hay has no value if the strings are so loose that it cannot be hauled to the oil or gas mines up in the mountains....


modern farmers are learning that there is NO REWARD in neglecting your fields like daddy done unless you are just waiting for a developer who will send in earth movers and put up a semi truck terminal....

but honestly horse people as a WHOLE need to come off a little less....hummmmm what is the word....obnoxious and undereducated when they deal with hay farmers....

this alone is the sole reason that many many farmers would rather sell to a feed store than 40 individual people....or they sell it to us....we have 20,000 bales of KY alf. purchased that the seller (60 yo third generation farmer) sold to us at half what he could (direct quote) "peddle out 100 bales at a time to those goofy harse women" the profit was not worth the hard feelings and aggravation....there are entire farm newsletter articles devoted to how to get along with horse hay buyers....that should not have to happen!!!!

if I can do anything on COTH BB it would be to spread that message to everyone....farmers are rarely horse people and horse people are rarely famers....take a translator if you have to but practice more tongue biting and try to see his world as well.....

Tamara in TN

[Tamara in TN]

not just people

[QUOTE=MayS;2035951] Slaughter plants kill to meet the demand for meat in europe, correct? QUOTE]


oh no! only about 10% of slaughtered horses make the EU standards for people food...one carcass bruise (from injection or poor handling or over crowding) renders the entire carcass unedible for people to eat...

there is in fact a whole industy with specialty packing houses devoted horse meat for feeding exotic big cats and wolves in both zoos and private collections....

Tamara in TN