Re: [IceHorses] Re: Hay Shortage

[Nancy Sturm]

Oat hay? As in, made from oats? I think we would call that straw over
here....

In the states, straw is what is baled after a combine goes through the oat 
field and harvests the grain heads.  What remains in mown down and baled for 
straw.  Oat hay is processed just like any other hay, with the grain heads 
intact.  I have heard it is a little tricky to cut and bale at the right 
stage of maturity because the grain will actually drop off the stalks if it 
is baled late and then you really are feeding straw.  We planted our hay 
field once in oats and peas.  I can't tell you how much our horses loved 
that hay.  It was a cover crop for the alfalfa that would grow underneath 
it, so it was a one-time only cutting.  Our farmer neighbor instructed us to 
feed it first because the oat heads would also fall from the bales if it was 
stored too long, again turning it into straw.

Nancy