Propionic Acid In Your Horse's Hay - Good or Bad?

Hey - What's in your hay?

 

Organic Hay Supplies At Willowview Hill Farm

 

Today, the vast majority of large round and square hay bales are baled utilizing the convenience of adding the preservative propionic acid. And small squares similarly are regularly harvested using the 'spray' or as some horse owners refer to it, 'pickle juice'. In fact, farmers claim large masses of hay cannot be cured without mold occurring post harvest without pickling, particularly if hay is conjured up into large bale format.

Of course large bales also pose other risks for horses if preventative measures are not taken. As most horse owners are aware, many veterinarians advocate giving horses a vaccine against botulism if they are likely to be fed large bales, as the presence of dead vermin or other wildlife is associated with the larger-sized bales.

Many horse owners report issues with their equines' health that they believe stem from the animals' ingestion of forage produced using this increasingly popular preservative. Equine health issues with loose stools, hind gut acidosis, EGUS {equine gastric ulcer syndrome} and various skin conditions such as hives being the most common observed.

There are other preservatives too of course, including some worrying ones that are are based on bacterial microbes being added to the hay. But propionic acid is by far the most widely used at the present time. 

If you look at toxicity studies of the chemical compound in animals far less sensitive than the horse when it comes to digestive health processes, it reads rather ominously.

Extract - read full report here

One of many horses bred at Willowview Hill Farm

 

The reality is that horse owners have little choice when buying hay if they want to avoid these chemical additives in the forage supply. 

Market forces result in a decrease in the number of farmers who grow/harvest and produce small squares organically. This is for many reasons. Realize that the organic nature of farming precludes adding chemical fertilizers to increase yields which lessens overall yields; the labor costs/machine time expenses due to the length of time it takes Mother Nature to dry hay the old-fashioned way - sun and dry weather are higher for the farmer not using time-saving preservatives; higher crop losses are inevitable due to inclement weather rolling in unexpectedly. 

It's not even just the preservative factor that horse owners need to worry about, it's also the grass seed that is sown. Hay producers increasingly rely on Roundup ready seeds, particularly for alfalfa that is notoriously difficult to harvest in a timely manner without mold developing. Spraying with herbicides and pesticides is not uncommon.

The other question is whether small square bales themselves are becoming artisanal products. A topic we explored here.

The word artisanal is defined as,
“Creating a product in limited quantities by traditional methods.”

 

It's all a bit worrying really. When you consider how essential dry forage is to horses. Grazing is simply not available year around or when the horse is stabled.

To be fair, there have been studies conducted more recently that suggest the addition of propionic acid to a horse's diet is not a big thing. However, the issue is who conducted the study and its limitations. It is certainly a questionable study.

Sadly, it is rather transparently obvious that the ongoing pandemic in EGUS and other digestive and resulting health maladies our horses suffer is very much based on the changes in the formulations of both grain and forage that we are feeding our noble beasties.

One of many horses bred at Willowview Hill Farm

As many of our readers know, I am a solid believer in keeping our performance horses as healthy as possible from inception/birth through their vintage years and home-produce and sell organically grown hay and have done for more than 20 years. 

Back in the late 1990's, issues with respiratory and digestive conditions in horses were extensively reported across the pond with reports and research suggesting causative factors where indeed chemical and preservative based. Hence our decision to pick up sticks and move to a property large enough to home produce hay for our then budding performance horse breeding business and competition horse resource pool for ourselves and for sale to international level competitors.

Giving a horse a good start is so important, and keeping his gut health optimized is essential. When you consider the stressors today's equines are exposed to keeping them happy and well is harder than ever.

Look hard at what you are feeding your horses and know the provenance of it. Test your hay to ensure it doesn't include anything out of whack or nefarious. Be aware that you cannot smell or easily detect some of the elemental preservatives on the market yourself without some chemical analysis. 

If you are saddled with the only option being to purchase mold-free but heavily preserved hay, then consider adding a postbiotic product ( not a pre or pro), and learn about the digestive processes of your horse so you have a working knowledge of its needs and effects of it becoming sub-par and what you can do about it.

Shop artisanal if you can. It's the only way the labor of love diehard farmers who continue to produce organically grown and harvested hay will still be around. When you find an honest source, stick with it.

Willowview Hill Farm, Stamford, NY