As a horse owner, you don’t need it specifically pointed out to you the hay you feed your horses must be freed from dust as much as possible. That’s a clear truth. But the very fact that hay is a natural product grown and baled in fields of mud, makes it terribly difficult to keep it totally free of dust. Hay is foliage that has grown in dirt. Dust is fundamentally dry mud. Dust issues get exaggerated if it had rained a few days before baling the hay. Hay can get mouldy if it gets exposed to water. I’m a mold and mildew expert, and can smell them at long distances. It doesn’t need such sensitiveness to make out the presence of mould and mildew nevertheless , because they telegraph themselves in many ways.
If some part of the hay from a bale feels heavier than the other parts, you know that you have a potential problem with mold. Sniff around, and if there’s mould, you’ll be capable of making it out. If it looks to be present, open up the bale and give it a close up analysis. You might be able to make out mould or mildew easily. Do not feed the hay to your horses if it shows the smallest signs of mold.
Prevention is always way better than cure. If the hay looks dusty, but does not smell dusty or mouldy, you can try to get rid of the dust by soaking it or hosing it down with water. It is usually possible to return the hay to the supplier.
If you’re handling light amounts of dust, shake the bale out and moisten it. Ideally, you’d never have dust in hay. We’re not living in an ideal world , however , because if we were you would be getting hay cut right after a good rain and cured in a bright dust-free environment before getting baled.
That kind of hay would remind you of green grass, odour-wise.
Horses are Heather
Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers, like all things about cheap horse rugs