Timothy hay for horses okay to feed?

[a.skittle.a.day]

I recently purchased a bag of Kaytee timothy hay at my local pet store because they were out of the Oxbow brand in the smaller bag and only needed a small amount until I could find better quality hay (these guys were rescues who had no hay available previously so I was in a crunch to just get them some roughage). Very disappointed with both brands however in form of quality. Both were very "stalky" with very little actual blades of grass. At first these guys scarfed it down none the less just because they knew they needed it, but after a few days of better nutrition they've began picking through it and only eating the leafier parts, discarding the rest as bedding. I would like to get them some better quality stuff, but any other brand I would need to order online and I'm not a huge fan of ordering something with such variable quality without being able to put my hands on it prior to purchasing. However, my local feed store gets in some lovely Timothy bales, very nice and soft. Is there any reason why I shouldn't just feed them high quality horse hay instead of buying unknown quality "small animal" hay, sight unseen?

 

[Ash]

Horse hay is perfectly fine to use, provided it looks like hay should and doesn't smell wet or moldy.

 

[Essentia]

Bales of timothy hay are more than fine to use and are a whole heck of a lot cheaper than buying small bags from the pet store.

 

[RDZCRanch]

You'll find there's no difference between "horse" hay and "small animal" hay other than price and quality. Hay is hay. I use "horse" hay for my chins and always have. Feed stores are cheaper and the hay is much better in quality than anything I'd be able to find in a pet store.

 

[a.skittle.a.day]

Sounds great! I've spent years deciphering through batches of hay for my horses, finding one great bale for these little guys should be a breeze! Thanks!

 

[kogia]

Go for 3rd cut if possible, or 2nd- less stalky.

 

[AZChins]

Hay is hay.

I agree. Look it over really well, make sure that there aren't any weird weeds or moldy or otherwise bad parts to it. It's pretty much the same thing that they will put in smaller bags.

 

[wingittim]

Be sure to check the center of the bale in a couple places, for some unknown reson to me that is where most of the weeds and mold seem to be.

 

[3CsMommy]

Trick I learned last year: if you have a county fair, ask the people who take hay samples for prizes if you can buy a bale direct from them. That way you've got a sample right in front of you (and I looked like a fruit loop walking around sticking my face in piles of Timothy hay but it smelled SO GOOD!) and can talk to the grower direct instead of getting it picked over by a company/packing plant.

 

[a.skittle.a.day]

3CsMommy - That's a great idea! We don't have a county fair anymore, but I was planning on going to our state fair this fall. I'll plan on picking up another bale while I'm up there