Is this ok to find in hay?

[SnuggleBuggleBoo]

I'm not a horse expert but I'm looking after a friend's ponies and keep finding this stuff in their hay. It's about 15/20% of the bale! I guess it's some sort of weed, dock maybe? Anyone know if that's ok as part of their diet, if I should pull it out and discard or what? Thanks!

It looks like dock to me. I think it's mildly toxic in quantity, but horses will usually avoid it unless ravenous. Are they actually eating it? Do they have access to any other food, or just the hay?

Yes I think it’s dock too. We had a year when our hay was full of it. They won’t usually eat it. I’d mention it to the hay supplier.

The problem will come next year when you will see docks sprouting all over your field

You just have to pull them out as you fill haynets. Bit of a pain!

I just pull out anything like that as I fill haynets. I have some beautiful hay at the moment but I think the farmer has been cutting/baling too close to his hedges as it is absolutely full of what looks like hawthorn - anything from twigs to actual branches! Can't have done his baler any good. I either pull it out as I go or they leave it.

Thanks everyone!

They’ll eat around it and leave it in the bottom of the net or on the stable floor.