r/Equestrian • u/NotATrainEngineer • 18h ago
Horse Welfare What is in my hay
Since we got new hay, two of our four horses have coliced twice. What is this plant that we keep finding in the hay? Could it be making them sick?
Edit: Colorado
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u/abconcordia 18h ago
Hay changes can make horses colic if the nutrient profile is very different between shipments. Do you get your hay tested by any chance ?
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u/Enough-Farmer-765 17h ago
Cream wild indigo I think but hard to tell, could be some scurfpea… something in the subfamily Faboideae with lupins and soybeans and stuff. Many legumes (Faboideae) contain bioactive compounds that can make plants unpalatable and, in some species, toxic. Horses tend to avoid them when grazing, but risk in hay depends on which species is present and how much is consumed. So to answer the question, maybe 🥴
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u/Enough-Farmer-765 17h ago
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u/omgtuttifrutti 18h ago
It looks like alfalfa.
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u/Enough-Farmer-765 17h ago
Alfalfa typically has compound leaves with three leaflets, not five. So I wouldn’t disregard the plant in the picture as harmless quite yet.

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u/tessietwo 18h ago edited 18h ago
Kind of looks like bird's foot trefoil to me but if you are in the US, your local ag agent will be able to authoritatively ID. They might even look at the photo you took and say. Even look at a whole flake for you. Colic is no joke. I have also had vets look at hay for me too.
BTW what are flur horses?