Horse people, Forage hay as bedding?

[DonaTello's-Mom]

I use timothy hay mixed with spag moss for DonaTello's bed in his hide. We ran out of it at my barn, so can I use forage hay instead? Being a horsey girl I know that when you say "hay" use mean straw hay. But "forage" hay is a mix of oat hay, barley hay and some straw hay. Would it make any difference witch I use?

 

[Yvonne G]

Any of the grass hays would be better, and these include oat, barley, orchard, bermuda, etc. The grass hays have soft stems (blades) instead of the sharp pointy stems of most straw and other hays.

 

[dielawn]

Also be careful using certain types of hay such as alfalfa are high in protein and you wouldn't want them eating too much of it. I believe the orchard hay is the way to go. I have horses as well and the orchard is your safest bet.

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Yeah I know alfalfa is a no-no. And yes the grass hays are much softer. Ok I'll get some orchard. But here in Calif it's really expensive. It's around $18 or more per bale. I was just hoping I could use what we have at the barn. A handful or 2. Nobody is feeding grass hays at the barn, just forage and alfalfa. What about pre-package bags from walmart or petco? Would the quality be any different?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Yeah I know alfalfa is a no-no. And yes the grass hays are much softer. Ok I'll get some orchard. But here in Calif it's really expensive. It's around $18 or more per bale. I was just hoping I could use what we have at the barn. A handful or 2. Nobody is feeding grass hays at the barn, just forage and alfalfa. What about pre-package bags from walmart or petco? Would the quality be any different?

I take a bag and go to my local feed store and they allow me to fill that bag with the loose hay. So it's a mixture of all the hay they sell. It's soft and smells sweet and Bob loves it. I imagine I scrape up a bale over the winter and I haven't seen any harm. I use it to make nests for some of my smaller torts. Queenie doesn't eat it but she moves it around and makes a nest that covers her completely yet it's open way in the center. She makes an awesome nest for herself. You might try what I do, and they don't charge me anything for what I take, but I buy other stuff there so I established a working relationship with them...

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Oh your so good maggie! Yeah our feed store is really nice to us so I'll try that. Thanks!