Is there a problem with clover mix?
 

I have found a wonderful, honest hay dealer whom I love very much...and Cinny loves his hay. He is well respected in this area and now the racehorse farms have found him and buy out much of his hay as well. I usually buy either his brome or his prairie mix. This year he said he noticed that his prairie mix seems more like clover mix. I didn't see an issue with it at the time and as grass mixes are Cinny's preference I bought it up.

Well, Cinny LOVES it. In fact he now eats his hay before his grain ha ha. How often does THAT happen with a horse? Anyway, someone asked me what was in his hay so I told him that this last batch has some bales that the grower says have a good amount of clover mixed in and she wrinkled her nose and said I should NEVER feed clover. What????? I have NEVER heard of this before. So what's the big deal about clover?

Some horses are sensitive to white clover. They slobber excessively and might even have a bit of a gag reflex. Once you remove the clover, they're fine. If your horse has eaten it with no problems than it's a non issue.

If it is red/pink clover it's fine. In most years I have the odd small patch of it here and there but this year it's everywhere. The horses love it.

Thanks so much. I thought there was something really wrong like it would heat him up or not be as nutritious or something. He loves it, he doesn't gag or slobber, and constantly looks for more lol....and he's picky

Clover is very high in protien, it is a legume, same as alfalfa. Some species can cause the sliver issue and some can cause photosensitivity in horses and cattle.

What is the "sliver issue?"

Sorry auto type on my I pad. Silver should be slobber.

Well, Cinny likes it, doesn't seem to have a slobber issue, or anything else going on so should I worry?

If Cinny starts getting too fat you might have to find a hay that is lacking in the yummies.....

I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I should make sure to pinpoint the bales with high clover (not all of them do) and set them back for fall/winter then :)