That's a fix you're in, to be sure. I don't have any solutions. The only thing I thought of was, would it be worthwhile to get a large bale and rent a Bobcat or something like it for a weekend to help break it down into smaller chunks? Even as I type that, it sounds iffy at best, though. Might be cheaper than owning a Bobcat but still not cheap.
I suppose in a few weeks, we'll hear on the radio about the hay shortage and high prices. Business news hasn't quite picked up on it yet.
Here's hoping things work out much sooner than later.
It's been a bad year for hay here, yes. Too much rain, not enough sun, and higher prices for fertilizer and fuel are contributors to increasing prices. I knew I'd have to pay more, and I am resigned to that. What aggravates me is people not returning calls even if all they have to say is "Sorry, we don't have any." Heck, if they don't have any to sell, why not change their message to say so. And why not cancel the ads?
Is it possible to consider alternate foods? Something like silage for a while?
Up here there are bales along the highway from the mowed medians. It's probably a mix of wild grasses and random farm plants that spread out of the fields.
The sheep could maybe eat it, but I'm not set up to produce it here, and no one ships that around. It's sloppy.
Wild grass and weeds makes good horse hay, actually. Alfalfa isn't desirable, where the cow and sheep folks prefer to have the alfalfa included. The problem with hay from highway right of ways is often the amount of pollution and trash that gets included in it.
We'll find an answer, it's just aggravating that people aren't more forthright.
Huh. We've "always" fed silage (or haylage) to our horses, as did my horse's previous owners, and the only horse that ever had a problem was an Icelandic Pony that was stabled here for a while which couldn't handle the high protein content in that particular batch and thus had stomach upsets. All I ever heard of its suitability (excepting case-by-case consideration; some horses can't eat hardly anything, while my horse does nothing worse than put on weight if he eats stupid shit) was to make sure the horses are up to date on their botulism shots.
May be regional differences in content and preparation, though.
I wish I was more surprised at farmers forgetting about the smaller-scale customers, though. We've had to scramble for winter food or bedding a few times because our neighbors (using the term loosely here) forgot that they'd promised us this or that and didn't have any left when we reminded them.
You'd think that, but in the US it has become more and more a standard mode of operation. Deliveries? Oops, didn't get as far as your address. Plumbers or electricians? Oops, another job took too long, didn't get there. Can we come next Tuesday? Since everyone acts the same way, it doesn't matter any more.
That downright stinks. Are all the hay suppliers independent out there? The riding stable here's supplier is actually a sort of consolidator or reseller. They get hay from a number of suppliers and distribute it. Of course, they tend to cater to large consumption customers.
We get hay delivered in semi trailers (usually ones that used to belong to moving companies) that they drop onsite until we call to have another delivered. You can usually tell when hay from more than one source is on a trailer as the bale size, hay quality/color, and even the twine used will change slightly.
I do hope you can find a source to keep you going through the winter.
Everything here is that independent. Trying to get well service or roofing or anything of that sort is just as difficult. That's why we were so glad to have a reliable supplier until now. I had no idea he was holding his price so far below the market for us, though.
If I could get a semi delivery, I'd take it. We'd unload into our own storage and they could pick the trailer back up. The trouble is, our drive is steep and narrow, and lined with trees. The only possible turnaround would be to pull into one end of the arena and out the other, and it's tight. A good driver could do it, I'm pretty sure, but the last time someone tried that with a smaller truck (years ago) he got stuck in the mud coming out the north door...
We'll find a solution, I'm sure, and if it means getting rid of the sheep, I can live with that. The horses are what matters to me.
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I suppose in a few weeks, we'll hear on the radio about the hay shortage and high prices. Business news hasn't quite picked up on it yet.
Here's hoping things work out much sooner than later.
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Up here there are bales along the highway from the mowed medians. It's probably a mix of wild grasses and random farm plants that spread out of the fields.
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The sheep could maybe eat it, but I'm not set up to produce it here, and no one ships that around. It's sloppy.
Wild grass and weeds makes good horse hay, actually. Alfalfa isn't desirable, where the cow and sheep folks prefer to have the alfalfa included. The problem with hay from highway right of ways is often the amount of pollution and trash that gets included in it.
We'll find an answer, it's just aggravating that people aren't more forthright.
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May be regional differences in content and preparation, though.
I wish I was more surprised at farmers forgetting about the smaller-scale customers, though. We've had to scramble for winter food or bedding a few times because our neighbors (using the term loosely here) forgot that they'd promised us this or that and didn't have any left when we reminded them.
-Alexandra
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We get hay delivered in semi trailers (usually ones that used to belong to moving companies) that they drop onsite until we call to have another delivered. You can usually tell when hay from more than one source is on a trailer as the bale size, hay quality/color, and even the twine used will change slightly.
I do hope you can find a source to keep you going through the winter.
Reply
If I could get a semi delivery, I'd take it. We'd unload into our own storage and they could pick the trailer back up. The trouble is, our drive is steep and narrow, and lined with trees. The only possible turnaround would be to pull into one end of the arena and out the other, and it's tight. A good driver could do it, I'm pretty sure, but the last time someone tried that with a smaller truck (years ago) he got stuck in the mud coming out the north door...
We'll find a solution, I'm sure, and if it means getting rid of the sheep, I can live with that. The horses are what matters to me.
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*hugs*
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