grass cuttings as hay replacer

hi all,

with the current dry spell and naff grass about i thought to share a tip, to help stretch the hay and grass a little bit more to tide us all over.

normal grass mowings can be fed to your horses if you take some care.

fed cold and fresh in small quantities they are ok -

(remember to check well for bits of rubbish or stones, 99 time in 100 the horse will spit this out but best to make sure).

OR better still spread them out to dry like hay, flip them a few times during the day and when completely dry (like hay) they can be added to feed as chop, if you keep them dry in a bin or bag they last for as long as any normal hay chop would.

NEVER feed any cuttings which are warm, they will ferment in the gut & colic here we go time, if they are warm but not smelly or vinegary then dry them as above instead.

my neighbours are all happy to tip their mowings out on my front yard for me, a few hours on a good day in the warm & i can have enough chop to pad out the bretons feed & give Saltie a tub of easy eat hay for a week or so.

like the advert says..... every little helps! bye [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Wouldn't it be safer, cut out the drying, and save on petrol for their mowers if you just put the horses on your neighbours' lawns? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Seriously though. I had read somewhere that grass clippings were bad, but when you think about it, hay is just well dried grass, so why not?

Mmmm, don't know about this, I know times are hard but I can't say I would risk it [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I've always believed that one should not feed grass clippings because the short stem, the heat produced from the cut and the continuing decomposition which begins as soon as the grass is cut will, once digested ferment in the horses stomach. It's all to do with the way the grass is cut and the bruising caused by the mower, maybe if one were to use a scythe??? I think I'd go along with bonjour and cut out the middle man [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] What does everyone else think ?
Pen [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I would rather strim the grass if I had to and turn it dry like hay , even then in small amounts , I don't like mown grass ( same reasons as Pen ) because alot of grasses and weeds for that matter would be mashed together where browsing horses wouldn't dream of touching them normally . and mowers tend to cut alot lower catching other stuff . [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

We don't use a mower, we use a sythe (is that spelt right?) or strimmer and then dry the grass out, or we have just put the horses on the lawn. It's not that we are short of grass (thankfully) just that having come from Portugal where there is no grass you're loathe to let any of it go to waste, and I can't think of anything worse than mowing the lawn and throwing it on the compost heap.