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Horses die from Blister Beetle hay

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Hay hay hay

Well-known Member
If you crimp Alfalfa hay, you may want to read this.

From the Paulick Report 9-25-15

Two retail outlets in North Carolina are recalling a load of hay sold in recent weeks after six horses died from blister beetle toxicity. The hay was sold via Murphy Farm Hay and Feed Company in Louisburg, N.C. and from Jones Farm Hay and Feed in Middlesex, N.C.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture has determined that a single load of alfalfa hay shipped to the stores from Kansas is the likely source of the contamination, after a sample from the load tested positive for cantharidin. The toxic substance is released from the bodies of dead blister beetles, which are sometimes found on live alfalfa plants.

Experts say that crimped hay is at the greatest risk for containing the beetles, since they have no chance to escape before the material is processed. Normal processing, which allows hay to dry in the field a few days before bailing, can allow the beetles time to leave the plants, avoiding release of the toxin.

Officials warn that the toxin may be in hay, even if the beetles themselves are not visible.
 
"Normal processing, which allows hay to dry in the field a few days before bailing (Should be baling,but I cut and pasted the text as printed) can allow the beetles time to leave the plants, avoiding release of the toxin."

Somebody is going to have to explain to me what "normal processing" means. Just because it's crimped doesn't mean that it doesn't have to lay a few days before it's baled.

Something else that I don't understand at all,with all the things that'll supposedly kill a horse,why hasn't that entire species gone extinct?! They have to be the weakest,most pitifully designed mammal ever designed by God.
 
Blister beetles have been a problem for horses on Alfalfa every since Alfalfa was first brought to the US, anyone who feeds Alfalfa to horses should know the origin and whether the hay has been tested or not, a cow can eat an 18 wheeler load of infected hay and Beller
for more with no problems.
 
If the hay was processed by a Mowco of some sort, the crimping would include the beetles. This would kill the beetles and the toxins would be crushed into the stem juice. My impression of the reason. Jim
 
That was my take on it as well. Just mowing would not crush the beetles, thus not releasing the juice.
 
I don't agree, having worked with thoroughbreds for 25 years, it's the owners not the horse that's the problem. I lost a 35 year old mare in January, I still have 2 31 year olds. They get hay, grain, water and grass, trim there feet and float there teeth. There's horses have raced them became broodmares of quite a few foals. On other hand a lady up the street hasent had a horse live past 15, she baby's them gives them all kinds of nonsense supplements ect, and she has nothing but problems. I just looked it up in my vet manuals and it states blister beetle is toxic to all domestic animals, horses being the most severely affected. Even remains of dead blister beetles from previous years hay can kill a horse. It also states if the alfalfa was mowed with out crimping and allowed to cure in the field, the beetle will leave the hay. Blister beetles like warmer climates and are mostly found in centeral and southern states. You and I probably don't have them were we live?
 
Let these brainless horsey citiots buy their hay from somebody who farms 40 acres with a mule then. Oh wait! The animal rights Nazis would be all over that because......WHY? THEY'D BE FARMING WITH A MULE!
This garbage just get's SO old.
Now Suzy SUV won't buy hay that's been cut with anything but a hand scythe.

Sorry DaveH(Mi),you're out of the horse hay business.
 
Yup, some horse people are really idiots, on 2 breeding farms iv worked on over 25 years we never even fed almost 385 to over 500 horses alfalfa. They only were given grass hay, Timothy, trefoil orchard grass, broome red clover ect mix. I love giving my horses 2nd cut hay in the middle of winter, I had one lady tell me she would not buy and fed her horses second cutting. Alot of horse people are looney. Being a horse person myself and not looney I don't have a problem agreeing with you on that! Lol
 
I used to do that too, always reserved good 2nd cut hay for the winter, as much as I could. We used to bale alfalfa and alfalfa mix, fed it sparingly. Good orchard and timothy is really best, and its great to be able to pull off a nice second cut, last one I did was '09, really leafy grasses, one field had a lot of clover mixed in with the timothy and orchard in that later cut. They really like it, chaff included.

Sensible hay connoisseur here too, you do the best you can on hay, some/most years are great, others are not. Problem is, some never put up hay, those that own horses and they don't have any common sense about it at all. We did our own hay for many years, now its bought, without any of the stigma some exhibit as a hay buyer. Horses do fine on good hay and will get by on marginal hay just fine too, you'll just feed more of it and find more of it in the bedding.
 
I'm with you guys. 99% of the hay I feed my horses is grass, orchard/timothy, a little blue, and some fescue in every field, (like it or not). I rarely buy hay, and alfalfa from unknown sources is a no-no, makes me too nervous. Blister beetle hay is especially bad because you can't see it and don't know it, until it is too late. One of the big TB hay company operations here got into big problems years back because of some bad beetle hay from out of state.

Just thought I would point out to horse hay growers (and my fellow horse idiots) that running alfalfa through a crimper can be a bad deal if Blister beetles are present in your area.

PS: Got a beautiful second cutting of Orchard grass on a few acres last week. Perfect weather, now in the barn, nice and dry. Will save it for Jan-Feb. and they will eat it like candy.
 
Don't feed alfalfa hay to horses. Farmers knew that 100 years ago. What is the best horse hay? Timothy and quack. Plain and simple.
 
That was my point. As it's written,it's just another attack on "modern agriculture". If only that hay had been cut the "old fashioned way",and not cut and baled in the same pass,those poor horses would still be alive. Clearly the story was cut and pasted,so I don't blame the poster,but the author couldn't even spell baled,much less did they have any understanding of how hay is put up. Crimped doesn't even mean crushed anyway. The Hesstons that I had just kinked the stems every few inches,then didn't smash the stems of anything that went through with them.
 
God help anybody stupid enough to ever ask me for hay for their horses again. A guy drove in here one time,asked if I could please sell him a few round bales. I'd been by his place and knew his horses were so hungry that they had pretty much devoured an entire board fence. I had some bales outside,but I thought I'd be a nice guy and get him a couple of nice bales out of the barn. When I sat the second bale on his trailer,he said "Can I have a different one? That one's got dirt on it.". That was it,last time,never again. Every horse in the world could starve to death before I'd ever do anything for one of those people again.
 
Blister Beetles love blooming alfalfa and/or weeds.
When you cut these fields with a mower-conditioners you cut the hay and crimp it all in one process.
This crushes and kills the beetle. So when you bale the hay you bale the beetle into the bale.
The cantharidin in the bodies of living or dead blister beetles can be toxic to horses, sheep, and cattle.
It is just more toxic to horses in lower doses. While low doses will put a cow off feed it will kill a horse. The cantharidin is very stable and remains toxic in dead beetles for a long time so even if the hay is eaten months later it is still poisonous.

On the other hand if you cut the hay; avoid running over it with the tractor wheels; and let it lay for 24 hours before conditioning it the live beetles will find better places to forage. This is especially true if you leave a standing; uncut; row in the field or around the edge of the field.
 
When you crimp it you kill the beetle, this the dead beetle gets in the hay, if not crimped the beetle will leave the hay and not be baled up in the hay.
 
Cut with a scythe and stacked with a pitchfork; you have to go full Norman Rockwell and project a picturesque farm image.
Don't forget to wear overalls and chew on a piece of wheat straw!
 
a horse,why hasn't that entire species gone extinct?! They have to be the weakest,most pitifully designed mammal ever designed by God..??? Did you forget farming was done with horses, before your Oliver's ect?? As I said it's not the horses but the wierd owners.
 
We had 1 mare that would colic on a little dusty hay, this happened a few times years ago. Some how I can't remember how, I realized this horse could not tolerate dusty hay, ever since I started doing our hay again I never made dusty hay, or fed her any, the horse never had a problem again until she died at 35 this year. I also had reed canary grass, I had one mare that would eat the stuff, as I used it like straw for bedding, I also had one calf that would eat that stuff, made me laugh! Such bad hay but they liked it?
 
I have a question??? How about hay mowed with and impeller conditioning system??? Would the blister beetles be killed or knocked to the ground away from the hay???

I am glad I live where the good old hard freezes keep a lot of the bug issues, you southern fellows have, away. A good 4-5 foot of frozen ground seems to work on a lot of the buggy booos. LOL
 
(quoted from post at 02:30:41 09/27/15)


I am glad I live where the good old hard freezes keep a lot of the bug issues, you southern fellows have, away. A good 4-5 foot of frozen ground seems to work on a lot of the buggy booos. LOL
Click to expand...

One bug problem that "4-5 foot of frozen ground" doesn't help is skitters(mosquitoes) :wink:
 
Don't take it personal,I'm saying it tongue in cheek to some extent. It just seems like all we ever hear it that this will kill a horse,that will kill a horse,looking it straight in the eyes will even kill a horse. Either this crap is way overblown,or sneezing within a half mile of one will kill a horse.
 
I'm not going through every reply to find it,but somebody said to avoid driving on it. The only way to do that if you cut with a sickle mower or a disc mower without a conditioner would be to cut one round,let it dry,then bale it. Cut another round,let it dry,then bale it. Without a conditioner,you'll lay a full swath and have to drive on it the next round. Only a conditioner of some kind will lay it narrow enough to straddle it. Even if you tedded it you'd have to drive on it.
 
Years ago I got involved with this debate. I told the horse hay buyers that I would spray with either Baythroid II or Mustang Max, which we did. Their next excuse was the chemical used was toxic to their horses. I DON'T sell hay to horsey people, even though I am one!! There is NO WAY I would ever feed high quality alfalfa to horses!! Mine get what most cows won't eat.
 
Back in the late 90's,the wife and I made several trips to the Ozarks looking at farms and ranches with the intention of moving down there. We saw very little alfalfa being grown. One rancher told us that they only grew alfalfa for the horses. Said if a cow ever saw alfalfa they wouldn't know what it was. I was blown away. I'd never heard of feeding alfalfa to horses until then. It was always grass hay for horses up here.
 
(quoted from post at 20:01:07 09/26/15) don't understand this. crimped hay is left in the field to dry also. please explain.
Click to expand...

The beetles get crimped as well and that kills them and releases the toxin. If you just mow, rake and bale it the beetles are not killed and no toxin is released. Pretty simple.

Our horses never got hay other than alfalfa because we did not have time to fool with fancy types of grass or hay - we had alfalfa and that is what they ate. One lived to be 36 and the others were never missed a day of working cattle due to sick.
 
I can windrow with my disc mower, it has the top hats on three of the turtles, plus I have swath boards for the back! But it beats it up pretty bad, disc mower is out, the only way to make sure the bugs don't get harmed is a little brush in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other! Brush then snip, brush then snip! LOL Goofy buzzards!
 
My dad always said the alfalfa was hard on a horses kidneys. Don't know where he heard that, but maybe that's what farmers thought way back when.
 
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