HAY Buyer’s Guide
SHOP SMART WITH FOUR QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE PURCHASING THIS YEAR’S HAY.
Picture this: It’s hay season in your area—almost time for the first cutting. The grass is already knee-high, the days are long and dry, and farmers are prepping their machines for the work ahead. All of this is good news for you, because it means that your horses will have a fine supply of hay to get them through next winter.
But if you’re like many horse owners, you might have only a couple of acres, which your small herd of horses use for grazing. With all of your available cleared land used for pasture, you’re in the same boat as many small-scale horse owners: you need to purchase hay and haul it in from another location.
To do that, you’ll need to be a smart hay shopper, so we’ve gathered some
tips to help you out. We’ll assume for the steps here that you’re purchasing small square bales.
1. What should i look for?
The exact type of hay you purchase will vary from region to region—you’ll find hardy Timothy in many colder regions, but this cool-season grass doesn’t fare as well in warmer or drier climates, where alfalfa, orchard grass, and other types might be more common. Luckily, the basics of hay shopping are pretty straightforward, because all quality hay—no matter what specific variety of grass or legumes it contains—shares some of the same attributes.
First, you’ll want to find hay that was stored properly and kept dry after it was cut, but you should also make sure the hay was not rained on in the field during
the drying process (despite best efforts, this commonly happens). This can lead to brown, unappealing hay at best and moldy hay at worst.
Good hay retains its best nutritional value if it’s cut at the right point of maturity and not left growing in the field too long, getting over-mature and stemmy. When this happens, the protein levels in the hay drop, while the plant’s indigestible structural fiber (lignin) content increases.
Overdrying can also be a problem. Hay that was overdried may not mold, but it can get dusty, since the fine, leafy materials will be more likely to shatter if they’re too dry.
Ideally, good hay should retain an overall light green color, and the dust content should be low. Finally, quality hay will simply smell nice.
2. Where do i get it?
If you’re lucky enough to live in or close to “hay country”—hooray for you! It makes the job of finding and transporting hay that much simpler, and you may find yourself paying less because of it.
This could be the case if you live in the Midwest, where horse hay is often available within a reasonable distance. If you do live in hay country, here’s one tip to keep in mind: Many hay farmers prefer to sell hay straight off the field. If you can manage to take a delivery of hay shortly after it’s cut (or even help pick it up off the fields yourself), it saves the hay farmer a lot of effort in loading and unloading hay in and out of the barn. You might even be able to negotiate a per-bale discount this way, since your flexibility is saving the farmer time and therefore money. The downside is that you may have to handle and store uncured hay.
In other areas—California or Florida, for example, both of which often import hay from other states—you may have no choice but to purchase hay long-distance or from a supplier.
Remember, the hay growing season in your state may differ somewhat from the supplier’s state, so do some research well ahead of time to understand when your hay will be made. Splitting a load with another horse owner or two can help keep costs down, since you’ll be able to buy in bulk but only take home and store the reasonable amount that you require.
3. hoW Will i move it?
If your hay source will deliver the hay to you for a reasonable cost, then consider this option. Hay is heavy, and the equipment required to move large amounts (300+ bales) is expensive and requires experience to drive.
But if you’re planning to haul small amounts of hay (perhaps 50 bales or less), then you have quite a few options. Small trailers designed for hauling machines (like ATVs or riding lawnmowers) are often handy for hay transport, provided you don’t load them past their safe weight rating.
Your (clean) horse trailer can also haul hay in a pinch—the advantage here is that you can utilize a rig you already own. Even the bed of a pickup truck might be sufficient to move 10 or 15 bales if they’re strapped down; this might work if you don’t have far to travel.
4. Where Will i store it?
In addition to locating a hay source, many horse owners then have to solve the puzzle of where to put it. Ideally, you won’t store your hay in the same