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  Discussion on Purchased Moldy Hay
Author Message
Member:
Lisabeth

Posted on Monday, Dec 9, 2002 - 12:40 pm:

I have a rather odd question. I recently purchased about 250 bales of grass hay. I was told over the phone that it was good quality mixed grass, no rain. I paid almost twice for this hay compared to others this year, so relatively speaking it was costly. Our state has had a hay shortage, so I was just happy to find some to stock my barn with. It appeared to be okay when we picked it up and stored it. However, upon opening select bales, I am coming across some moldy ones. I am of course pulling and burning these bales (especially because my horses include broodmares). My question is this, do I have any recourse on this? Should I contact the seller and demand a refund? Is this even done? My husband and I grow our own hay, but just needed to supplement this year because of the low yield. We would never bother to store (or sell) hay that was questionable, so I am unfamiliar with the protocol here! Thank you.
Member:
Beezle

Posted on Monday, Dec 9, 2002 - 1:22 pm:

Usually a reputable hay dealer will take it back.

Becky
Member:
Amara

Posted on Monday, Dec 9, 2002 - 6:50 pm:

my hay dealer will ALWAYS take back moldy/questionable hay and give me a full refund.. no questions asked..
however, since he is of the belief that there's no sense in making bad hay, it doesnt happen very often!..(he's usually pretty embarrassed when i give him moldy bales!)
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 10, 2002 - 6:44 am:

There certainly is nothing wrong with contacting him and discussing the situation and it is not unusual for a hay dealer to trade back out, a refund would be unusual. If he is not concerned about your future business or his reputation he may tell you they were sold "as is". You may have to load them up and return them however and there will be no consideration on the bales that have been burned.
DrO
Member:
Bonita

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 10, 2002 - 7:28 am:

That's true Lisa. While you probably won't get a refund, I've yet to come across a hay dealer or local farmer who won't take back the bad bales & exchange them for good.

If I come across a few, I tie them back up as best I can & just put them aside - or even outside under cover. I then bring them back to him or he picks them up. The key is returning the bad ones. In the case of my local dealer, he can only get a refund if he returns the bad bales to the shipper; in the case of the local farmer, believe it or not, he feeds it to his cattle.
Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Thursday, Apr 15, 2004 - 11:11 am:

A lot of people areound here feed moldy hay to cattle. I guess what is bad for horses is not so bad for bovines.
Member:
Leilani

Posted on Thursday, Apr 15, 2004 - 1:24 pm:

I believe that Dr. O wrote that moldy hay is not good for cows either.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Apr 16, 2004 - 6:25 am:

Yes, feeding cows moldy hay not only represents feeding a feedstuff that is probably deficient in nutrients but the mold adversely effects weight gain, feed efficiency, and final size.
DrO
New Member:
Terilynn

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 21, 2005 - 12:26 pm:

Can horses eat small amount of moldy hay (white dust and black mold mixed)every day with good hay?
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 21, 2005 - 2:06 pm:

NO!! Do not take the chance. Contact the folks you where you bought the hay and see if you can return it. You can pull out all the mold, but even then you can sometimes miss some of the mold spores, which can cause problems. If the hay is consistently damaged on the bottom of the bales, you could probably feed the top half of the bales until you can find a replacement.

It's a pain. But, I'd rather waste the hay than have a horse get really sick.
Member:
Eoeo

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 21, 2005 - 2:43 pm:

A pregnant mare can abort due to eating the black moldy stuff and it doesn't take but a bite or two to do it. Bite the bullet and chuck or return it. Under no circumstances feed it. EO
Member:
Ajudson1

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 21, 2005 - 6:53 pm:

As everyone above said, NO, NO, & NO DO NOT FEED MOLDY hay!!! Believe or not, I smell most of my hay before feeding. Even though I trust my suppliers, sometimes a few bales start to smell "off" just from being stored. Dusty, I can shake out. Musty, = mold in my opinion. Or sour. The last thing I want is any health problem that could of been prevented by feeding quality hay.

As was discussed above, a decent supplier will take it back usually. Some do feed it to cows, others will just haul it away for us to help us get rid of it. They usually replace it if they can, or give us some kind of a deal the next yr.

When buying hay, open some bales to see how they look. Shake them out a little. Lots of dust flying? Is the hay stuck together, or does is flake easily? When thrown outa the barn, or off the wagon, do the bales bounce a little, or just land with a thud? Good green color, nice fresh smell? Is there alfalfa in it? If so, there should be small leaves, and nice stems. I am sure Dr.O. has this info on this site under feed/nutrition.

I have some hay this yr that is about half dead, half good. These are not moldy as we had an extremely dry summer, but not much food value. I will use this for "filler" during the coldest part of the yr, and for soaking up wet areas!!! Meaning like bedding. And I will shake the hay out no matter is it's bedding or feed.

At any rate, get rid of that hay!! About all it's good for is mulch, and even that is debateable with the description you gave!
Member:
Suzeb

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 21, 2005 - 7:08 pm:

I will add to the resounding NO.

What money that may have been saved on the hay purchase, will surely be spent up in the vet bills due to colic or heaves. Or alternatively, expensive horse supplements to fill in a lot of nutritional gaps.

Hope this helps,
Susan B.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 21, 2005 - 7:10 pm:

Angie, I imagine your husband, like mine, wishes you took as much care with his food as you do with the horses!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Sep 22, 2005 - 6:50 am:

Absolutely not Teri, the article associated with this forum explains why in greater detail. Go to the navigation bar at the top of this page, and go back one to Moldy Hay, Heaves, and Horses. The article explains about why moldy hay is so bad for horses.
DrO
Member:
Ajudson1

Posted on Thursday, Sep 22, 2005 - 8:24 am:

Sara,

Shame on you, don't you check over your husbands food?

I actually do take as good of care with my families food as I do my horses food! As someone who has suffered from bouts of Chronic Fatigue for 20+ yrs, I am always concerned about nutrition and food safety. But my horses are much healthier than I am, so maybe I should be eating hay and Omelene?

I sure hope Teri has found some new hay by now. I can't believe horses would even eat black moldy hay. Mine are turning up their fussy noses at some I've been putting out that is more grass hay than usual. Picky little buggers, they shove it all out onto the ground, looking for the good stuff.
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Thursday, Sep 22, 2005 - 12:55 pm:

Molding hay can also start on fire and burn your barn down due to the heat building up inside the bales.
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