Cut Grass
 

I know grass clippings are bad for horses...but what if the horse lives on a dirt field with no grass.... Then someone cuts the grass and gives the left overs to the horses? Its not a everyday thing.. Is that still okay?

Thanks.

If the horse is fed hay, whats the point. Give a carrot or apple for a treat.

I think the main problem with cut grass is it can have traces of oil and grease, petrol, bits of metal/wood etc in it that are NOT good for horses.

I would never feed clipping to my horse.

Do not feed grass clippings to horses. Grass clippings begin to decompose almost instantly. Think of the heat of the lawnmower, plus the heat of laying out in the sun, etc. Not to mention the trip through the lawnmower, and all the other junk they are covered in.

I repeat. DO NOT. DO-NOT. Feed grass clippings to ANY animal. It's begging for a very high vet bill, and possibly a dead horse.

If you want to feed grass, either put the horse in a pasture or fresh pick it. Grass is good, but clippings can kill.

I agree with twogeldings

Do NOT give grass cuttings to your horse - it is one of the fastest ways to colic a horse that I know , and it can be fatal

Have to chime in on this one too. Very, very bad juju to feed grass clippings.

Dumb question but isn't alfafa and bermuda mowed and dried in the sun, Raked and turned over then eventually baled, I understand they are using different types of mowers than the usual lawn type but the heat is still there and the equipment still needs to be lubricated doesn't it, so wouldn't it be the same sort of speak, except the clippings would just be shorter, mulch type length, not trying to be derogatory here but just a dumb question maybe. Please explain

Agreed 100% with twogeldings.
Grass starts to decompose very very quickly, almost as quickly as you can cut it - not the same as with hay; hay has a different composition than grass. A horse grazing on grass is fine, because they're eating it and starting to digest it as soon as it's plucked.
If you cut the grass, then bag it and wait to go out to feed the horses with it, what you're doing is essentially feeding them rotten food.
The conventional lawnmower is not the same as a combine either, the grass can get much much dirtier with your average lawnmower.

Thank you dressage, I know it was a dumb question but somebody had to ask. I have bermuda pastures and along the fence lines the bermuda gets fairly tall and I use a old push mower not a conventional lawn mower to get under and around the fence posts but I always leave it lay and the horses generally will eat it up, It's not being bagged and lays in the sun which here in Arizona if you know this time of year is dangit hot, But I have been doing it for years and have never had a problem, I just had to ask the question, I can understand that the dirt and debris from a conventional lawn mower would be a problem along with the catchers that are attached to them being bags would actually give a heated rotting affect to the clippings though, Thanks again

Actually I had exactly the same question. Lots of farms around do big bales from just usual grass pastures (nothing specific like timothy or orchard). Of course dirt from lawnmower is different then combine, but other then that, what is the other difference?

I mean why the grass cut by combine will decompost slower then the one by mower?