i bought hay with thorns in it?

Question

i got it from a man i didnt know. im afraid my horses will hurt their mouth. 40.00 a bale. the thorns are small. what do i do.my husband says he will pay for it in time.i want to call the man but im not a mean person and maybe the man really didnt know. what to do?

Answer 1

At $40.00 a bale, I would call and tell him to come pick them up and return your money to you. He sold you cow hay for horses. And if he's selling hay as a yearly thing, he knows that he sold you cow hay for horses and at horse hay prices. I pay $30.00/roll for horse hay where I'm at. It sounds like you're getting ripped.

Answer 2

I guess it depends on your area, and how many thorns are in the hay. In my area this year, if you called the guy and told him the hay wasn't good enough and that you were bringing it back, most of the guys around here would say fine....give you your $$$ back, and have 10 people lined up to take it home. And you wouldn't have any hay. I do believe you should call him and explain the situation. He shouldn't take offense. If it's just a few thorns here and there, it's probably not that big of a deal. I bought a round from a guy that I've bought hay from for years, and it had quite a few blackberry vines in it. I noticed it when several days later there was still a round circle of hay, with a hole through the middle. Went out to look, and sure enough....lots of brambles. My guy told me that he'd discount the next bale I get to make it right. No problem. Sometimes things happen. As for the horses hurting their mouths, so long as they're not hungry to the point that they'll eat things that normally aren't palatable to them, you'd be suprised how nimble their lips are. I've got a couple that go out and pick blackberries every summer when the fruit is ripe. They just nibble the berries right off the branches.

Answer 3

You know, if they are paying attention, yes...horses will try to eat around a lot of things that are not their favorite food, but they don't see or feel all of them and if I found thorns in any hay that I bought, I would already be on the phone to the man who sold it to me. You don't seem like a mean person here, nor will you probably sound mean to him on the phone..just tell him what you have and how much and WHEN not IF, he thinks that he can pick it up and/or replace it with hay that would be safe for your horse to eat...that you surely wouldn't want a big vet bill caused by the hay. Pin him down about the time that he can come TODAY, ask him if you should have more help available and if so, you will need a little notice. Now, look back and see what I wrote and you will see nicely placed veiled threats (if you want to call them that) but you haven't gotten confrontationl about any of it. You obviously assume that he didn't know about the thorns or you are certain that he wouldn't have sold you the hay, what does he suggest as a good substitute and when can he get it to your place. Ask him if he would rather replace the hay with something that your horse can eat or just pick it up and refund the money so that you can go and purchase some elsewhere...there, again...a win, win question for you...there are all sorts of ways you can pin him down without getting confrontational...try that first.

Answer 4

Most horses won't eat the thorns. They also don't bother the horses as much as they bother you, but if it is a real problem for you here is what you do.

I would call tell him your problem and see if what your hay guy is willing to do. He may pick up the hay and bring you a new load for no charge. He may say he will give you the next load at a discounted price.He may say sorry, too bad--> in which case you find a new hay guy.

P.S.
You are not being mean by bringing a problem to his attention. If you really think this is a problem, since I have not seen the hay I cannot give you a perfect answer. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Depending on the size of the hay bale and what part of the country you might be in $40.00 a round bale might be a steal. Although he should have told you there would be thorns in it. You have every right to call and ask if he will make it right for you.

Answer 6

I bought hay that had goathead thorns in it. I worried about the same thing you are worried about. I fed it, and was riddled with goatheads in my hands.

The mules were fine, they ate the hay fine and no problem.

You can call the guy and ask for a refund, any hay guy I buy from stands behind his products. The only reason I didn't want to return this hay, it was 850 lb bales and had to return 200 miles. Too much work.

It never adversely affected the mules and they were fine.

Answer 7

I had a group of hay one time with thorns in it and I had no other choice but to take it if I wanted my horses to eat that winter. I worried about it the whole time...about them scratching their throats or the thorns tearing up their mouths but they acted like it didnt bother them...they were just fine with it.

Answer 8

Can you identify the thorns. If they are prickly thistles they will be fine, in fact thistles are very good for horses. If they are brambles that's OK too. If however it is blackthorn/sloe thorns then it may well cause damage to the soft tissue in the mouth. Blackthorn can puncture a horses foot if they tred on it in a field so identify, first then call the suppler.

Answer 9

Call the man, even if he didn't know do you really want to compromise your horses health? just think of the damage thorns could do to him. you can still be nice to the man, but as he's a stranger, it's more important to be kind to your horse! if needs be look elsewhere for hay.

Answer 10

Depend on what you mean by thorns.
I bought hay with thistles in and got thistle splinters in my hands doling it out but the horses were fine with it ( and I knew the farmer so I knew there was nothing else in it - he just hadn't sprayed the headland for thistles that year.) I would buy from him again if I needed to. But I was paying like£2 a square bale delivered.