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Brown hay water - Ew or ok?

9K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  Smilie 
#1 ·
My gelding has some resp. issues and the vet recommended thoroughly wetting his hay down before feeding. It's been helping (yay!) but something weird has started to happen. I've been drenching his meals in a bucket then lifting out, hanging (I do this and feed using a slow-feed haynet) and rinsing off any last bits of debris before giving it a minute to drip out the extra, then hanging it in his stall for him to munch. Usually the water in the bucket isn't noticeably a different color when I pull the hay out, but the last week or so the water has been turning a dark reddish/brown color. No new smells, the hay or the water, and BO says she's been buying from the same place as she always has. Obviously they could have a new field supplier, the company doesn't grow their own and (last I checked) haul hay over from the east over the pass and into western Washington. But my question ultimately is this: Should the water be brown? wtf! This has never happened. Should I be worried? Is this normal? If this IS normal, why hasn't this happened before? Is the hay richer now and I'm assuming the worst about nothing? Or should I talk to the supplier and see whats up?

EDIT: I have tried letting the water sit for 30 minutes, and no dirt settles to the bottom. That was my obvious first idea: that the hay was just dirty. But when nothing settled, it was clearly something else.

Photos of the water after hay was in the bucket maybe 5 or 10 minutes. (I'm not soaking to reduce WSC, just to thoroughly drench any dust/particles so as Dewey eats he's not disturbing and inhaling them)
 

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#5 ·
You're also soaking it (THEN rinsing! very thorough) as opposed to just rinsing/wetting so everything is coming out.

Agree that it's completely normal and nothing to be concerned about though I'm curious why you say it never happened before?

You could definitely just rinse/wet it if that's what the vet said to save yourself some time. Shrug.
 
#7 ·
Hi, may be tannins too, altho grass doesn't have much of those generally. IDK if the amount of tannin would change over time, if the hay has come from same farm & wasn't like this in past. But the sweeter the hay, the browner the water that comes off it(so if that's the reason, it's very sugary!), and sugar content can absolutely be different, even with hay cut on different days from same field, so...
 
#8 ·
Huh, tannin levels would make sense. I was just so puzzled as to why, out of nowhere, I'm getting "hay tea" as @waresbear said. Although, I imagine if the people the BO buys from changed their supplier, or the supplier changed something in the fields, this could easily pop out of nowhere. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't harmful or cause for concern. Thanks guys! :D
 
#10 ·
I usually washed hay with a hose rather than soak it in a bucket but one of the other owners said that the water from the bucket made a good horse tea. The one time I served it, the look on his face was priceless.
 
#11 ·
Agree with what has been said. I would not soak hay as long for a horse with just respiratory isuses then one that is laminitic,as there is the fact that prolonged soaking has not just the sugar but also other key nutrients removed
Does not take prolonged soaking to re move dust
 
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