Question on the hay

[RockinSMiniature]

Hi All,

I am wondering how many breeders or pet's owner feed the round bale of hay out the pasture to feed the miniatures. I always use square bale hay to feed our miniatures and in the barn when it is nice outside as sunshine and I put in the pasture on the ground. I would like to know to use don't or do use round bales.

My dad always worry about the round bale is not safe for big to little horses, because the as rain so much on the round hay and can get mold quickly.

Is it really safe to put round bale out there in the pasture even with crazy weather (as heavy rain)?

I seen some doesn't have shelter for the round bale hay as will get wet from the rain or snow.

I would like to see your options to see if round bale is safe or not in time of the year.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I actually have a pasture that I set out one round bale on and I let my boys (one 900 lb. riding horse & 3 miniatures) out on it during the day and my non-pregnant girls (3 minitures) on it at night - this way one hay bale lasts me about 2 weeks. We have rain but rarely have snow but the bale seems to do well out in the weather - we do not have ours in a shelter either it just sits in the middle of the pasture.

I don't concern myself really with mold as I've never had it mold on me.

We don't use square bales simply because I do not have the time in the morning and evenings to throw out due to having college classes so time is of the essence. Much easier to open a gate and let them graze on their own.

HOWEVER - We are planning on building a barn once we purchase our property and our horses will each have a 12x6 stall with a door on the outside leading to a private 6x30 paddock they can come in and out of as they choose so long as the weather is not bad. They will stay in these stalls 24/7 only to come out for pasture grazing at designated times. This way, at feeding time all I have to do is go by all the stalls will my portable grain tub and give everyone their designated amount and then can throw over however many flakes of hay each horse needs. The best thing is - it doesn't matter how quick/slow any of them eat because they are all seperated and can take their time.

Just a thought

 

[Minimor]

If the bale is sitting out, on end (which is how most people feed them), a rain will soak in very quickly. For that matter, even if the bale is laying down on it's side, if it's open & partly used, it will soak up a lot of rain--the water runs down the sides & into the bottom portion of the bale.

A round bale would last one of my pasture groups (9 horses) about a week if I set it out for them--I don't, because I don't have any bale feeders and don't feel like having the horses trample half the bale into the dirt, so when I feed round bales I just fork it out & feed them what they would normally get for one feed.

The thing about round bales, it can be hard to find good quality hay that has baled in good shape. At least that is an issue here--over the years I've tried round bales from a variety of suppliers, and there are very few of them that actually have good quality horse hay in big round bales. Hay that will keep in small square bales may very well be just that little bit too tough to be baled into solid core round bale. The hay may not be outright moldy, but it will be musty, which isn't at all good for horses. Last year I bought a few round bales of grass hay from a guy who has horses and runs a boarding stable. I thought he knew what good horse hay is. Some of my bales were spoiled--not white with mold, but they were very very dusty, and it was a musty dust, the kind that billows out in big smoke clouds when you pull the hay apart. I did get one replacement bale, but when I went to pick it up I watched the guy feeding his own horses with this same hay--he was forking the hay off the bale into the pens, totally oblivious to the clouds of dust billowing out of the hay as he forked it. I know many people who say they get good hay in round bales, but around here I have become very skeptical. Some of them are feeding the same hay that I have rejected, so I know that I'm not just finding all the bad hay while everyone else is finding good hay....it's just that many people are not as particular as I am, and some just don't pay any attention. If you throw the round bale into the feeder & pull the strings off & walk away, you really won't know if the hay is good or not.

Not saying don't buy round bales, but if you're concerned about having good quality horse hay, check those round bales carefully!

 

[Slagle]

We fork out grass hay to our mare what they will get cleaned up in a day. A large round bale of grass hay (1650 lbs) will last me 1 month with 10 mini mares and 2 shetland mares. I also fork out hay to my stallions/geldings and yearlings. The yearling and 2 older stallions get 12% pellet and alfalfa pellets 2x/day. Sometime my hay will be alfalfa bales and I feed it the same so it is all cleaned up. I do NOT set the bale out to them because of waste and with them sticking their heads into the hay bales you can have trouble with a cough if hay is dusty and also can poke a eye. By forking it out you shake out alot of the dust into the open.

If I have one that is a little under weight I will get it into the barn and push feed to it with small square bales of alfalfa and my show animals I only fed alfalfa pellets to them along with their other grains.

Tracey

 

[Willow Tree Miniatures]

I OPTED TO DELETE THE POST BECAUSE ANOTHER MEMBER FELT OFFENED... SORRY.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Deleted for respect for another member.

Thank you,

katie

 

[Willow Tree Miniatures]

KATIE, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT YOU ARE JUST 20 YEARS OLD WITH ALL OF THESE HEALTH PROBLEMS, I AM SO SORRY. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SENSITIVE. I HAD A SECOND TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT IN DECEMBER OF 2007. I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU WERE IN POOR HEALTH. I AM SO SORRY. PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGY. SOUNDS LIKE WE KEEP THE SAME HOURS. I'LL DELETE MY POST SO YOU WILL NOT FEEL LIKE YOU ARE GETTING PICKED ON. YOU MUST HAVE A SPECIAL BOND WITH YOUR VET TO BE GETTING ADVICE SINCE YOU WERE 10 YEARS OLD, HOW NEAT. I LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA SO I AM AWARE OF WHAT YOUR WEATHER IS LIKE, YOU ARE LIKE MY NEIGHBOR.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

We also use round bales with no problems. One in the mare/llama field and one each in the gelding/pony fields. The main reason we use round bales is because NO ONE around here will bale our field in squares! We do buy square bales, and it varies between excellent and awful.

One round bale lasts the mares a week, and the other fields about three. But we also don't get the rain like many do. The insides are nice and fresh.

Lucy

 

[Ashley]

I have been feeding round bales for 2 years now. I have not had an issue finding good quality. I had two bad bales this year, but the guy gave me two others in place of them. I just fed them by hand, but used most of it as bedding.

I have 3 big guys, 2 minis and 1 pony. This last bale lasted a week, but normally they last two. Last year I was feeding more minis but sold a lot of them. The round bales have a bit of mold on the bottom they sit on but are good all the way through. I dont find people who feed rounds as lazy.

I am out there every day as I have a few that get pelleted food only, they cant eat hay. I do check the bale everyday. I put a cattle panel around it and tighten as needed. This works well for me.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

Willow Tree,

That is fine & I accept your apology as well as apologize if I sounded blunt/mean. I just took it very personal and felt like I was being "singled out of the herd" on this topic. In fact, I have a very special bond with my veterinarian as he has took the time to teach me as much as he could ever since my parents were nice enough to grace me with my first horse when I was 11. In order for me to get my first horse, I had to work every afternoon after school at my neighbors who live behind me - I had to clean stalls, feed & water daily for a YEAR, no matter what the weather was like because they wanted to see if I was dedicated to my new found love. Myself and my neighbors share the same vet so he's known me since I was 10.

We are ALL here on lilbeginnings to learn & enjoy each others support and company & I hope no one has any harsh feelings after this.

Thank you & I will delete my post as well.

Katie

 

[Charlotte]

we feed round bales in the winter. Either Bermuda or blue stem prairie hay. I prefer the net wrapped bales as they are tighter and shed water well. I lay them on their sides so that any rain runs off.

You will want to closely inspect any bales you plan to use just like you would square bales. Look for high quality hay and tight bales. In this area, with a little shopping around, you can find beautiful hay.

I haven't had a problem with them getting moldy and my mares usually eat them up in 2-3 months. If it looks like they aren't going to be eaten completely before the pasture starts greening up I start taking hay off of them to feed in the barn too. The pricing is way better than square baled hay of comparable quality.

Do keep a close watch on the netting or bailing string and cut off any that becomes loose. I inspect every morning when I turn out.

My mares are only turned out with the round bales during the day. I think if your round bales are high quality you might begin to have weight problems if minis are on them 24/7.

Charlotte

 

[cretahillsgal]

I feed round bales of bermuda grass hay and havent had any problems except for them wasting some of it. If it is baled correctly and set out on its side, not the ends, its shape makes most of the water run off. Yeah the outside inch may be wet, but the rest is always dry.

I have 9 mares in my pasture and they eat one round bale each week. It doesnt have time to mold.

Around here it is almost impossible to find good quality small square bales. In fact I found only 30 bales last summer. And it was $9/bale. The guy just DID NOT want to small square bale it. He said it was more expensive and ALOT more work to pick it up out of the field. I ended up coming and picking it up straight out of the field just to get him to bale it.

I paid $50 for each round bale of the exact same hay, same field and everything. It is just more cost effective for me to buy the large round bales. Even though the mares waste some of it.

 

[Ashley]

I too find it easier to find round bales then squares here.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I've also fed nice round bales in the past in the winter time (in Iowa). Only the very outside layer has had any of that white moldy dusty gunk, and what I've found is that my horses, when they have access to plenty of good food, pick through and stay away from anything that is bad for them. I'm just as selective with picking out round bales as I am squares, it's not that hard.

Round bales are much cheaper than small squares around here, and like many already mentioned, it's getting harder and harder to get small squares as they are a lot of work to "create".

I have seen on the forum people mentioning that minis have been injured or killed by round bales coming apart on them?? This really confuses me because the way my round bales fall apart, any of the hay that falls out couldn't trap me, let alone a strong mini. I'm not sure if the minis got trapped in netting? I always use a round bale feeder and cut the netting away as the bale goes down.

My issues with round bales - you need a tractor to move them around (which I don't have), I would NEVER put them out in temps that were regularly above freezing because of concerns with moisture/mold, and my minis did get very, very fat on free choice hay.

 

[Ashley]

I dont have a tractor, what I use is tie downs and a trail blazer to pull them out to the pasture. Before we got snow we just rolled them out by hand. Couldnt use my arms for a few days after but got the job done.

 

[triplethorsefarm]

I use both round and square bales of hay. My preferred choice is Bermuda and I have access to good quality square and round bales in my area. The round bales are more cost effective when feeding several minis at a time since I can get a round bale for $25 and the squares are $4.00 each. I use square bales in stalls and when small groups of minis are together. I also was concerned about the hay getting too wet and being trampled. To help prevent that I use cattle round bale feeders with a tarp on top. I have found that very little hay is wasted and the hey stays dry. I also use net wrapped roudn bales because many farmers do not keep all of their round bales covered and the net wrapping reduces the amount of spoiled hay on the outside. Tractor suppy has round bale feeders for as low as $130 and with the cost of the tarp, it is a relatively inexpensive shelter for the round bales.

 

[Filipowicz Farm]

We usually use square bales but have used round when not able to get square. We store the round bales in our barn by the house and take the stings off and the peal off the amount needed for the feeding, It is more time consuming but no waste that way.