Bunnylady
Well-Known Member
First, a little background. I work part-time at a boarding stable, where we have horses ranging in size from about 13 to 16 hands. On advice from a relative, my boss recently installed hayracks in some of the stalls. These racks are made from bent and welded rebar, and are mounted about 5 feet off the floor.
Now, I've always heard that hay in a hayrack is an unnecessary health hazard, for the following reasons:
1.Horses pulling the hay down get bits of hay in their noses and eyes, leading to irritation and putting them at risk for corneal ulcers and respiratory infections
2.The dust (I've never seen 100% dust-free hay) hangs in the air longer, and is more likely to be inhaled than if the hay were on the floor and the horse's nose above it. One of the major components of this dust is fungal spores, which is a potent allergen.
The trainer (hunter/jumper/dressage) dislikes the hayracks, because the horses have to reach up to eat from them (especially true for the ponies.) She feels that this develops the muscles on the underside of the neck, which makes getting the horse's head down that much harder.
The owner's relative believes that horses should be fed hay free choice, 24/7. He reasons that putting hay in the rack makes it easy to see if the horse has any, you can see it just walking past the stall. We feed Coastal bermuda, which falls freely from those racks. Some of these horses can empty a rack in 5 minutes, with most of the hay falling to the floor. (These horses are turned out in a pasture at least 12 hours each day.)
The owner feels like, she spent the money, we should use the racks. While I certainly feel that there are more important things to fight about, I have never liked "because I say so" as a reason to do anything. So far, her case seems a bit flimsy to me. So, what are your views? Should we use the racks, or has the owner spent her money poorly? Can you give me compelling reasons for/against using them?
Now, I've always heard that hay in a hayrack is an unnecessary health hazard, for the following reasons:
1.Horses pulling the hay down get bits of hay in their noses and eyes, leading to irritation and putting them at risk for corneal ulcers and respiratory infections
2.The dust (I've never seen 100% dust-free hay) hangs in the air longer, and is more likely to be inhaled than if the hay were on the floor and the horse's nose above it. One of the major components of this dust is fungal spores, which is a potent allergen.
The trainer (hunter/jumper/dressage) dislikes the hayracks, because the horses have to reach up to eat from them (especially true for the ponies.) She feels that this develops the muscles on the underside of the neck, which makes getting the horse's head down that much harder.
The owner's relative believes that horses should be fed hay free choice, 24/7. He reasons that putting hay in the rack makes it easy to see if the horse has any, you can see it just walking past the stall. We feed Coastal bermuda, which falls freely from those racks. Some of these horses can empty a rack in 5 minutes, with most of the hay falling to the floor. (These horses are turned out in a pasture at least 12 hours each day.)
The owner feels like, she spent the money, we should use the racks. While I certainly feel that there are more important things to fight about, I have never liked "because I say so" as a reason to do anything. So far, her case seems a bit flimsy to me. So, what are your views? Should we use the racks, or has the owner spent her money poorly? Can you give me compelling reasons for/against using them?