Hayhorse.com

What's Available
April and early May 2008

No round bales for sale now, Square bales = 40 to 50 lbs

Delivery
$2.95 per mile - one way charge from 1408 Snowden Road, Delaplane, VA 20144. Use Google Maps or Map Quest for milage. ($50 minimum)
Extra man to unload: $23 per hour
Maximum load: 225 square bales; 11 round bales
$25 per hour surcharge for loads less than 125 square bales or 8 round bales (computed from the time we leave with the load to our return to farm)

Payment: Cash on Delivery or Visa/MC

Pick-up: Best time to pick up at our barn is early in the morning (7AM to 8:30AM) when we might have men at the barn to help you, but you can come most any time if you call or email and make arrangements.
You can pick up anytime on Saturday or Sunday if you make arrangements ahead of time.

Contact: For pick-up or delivery, call Matt Davenport at 540-592-7072 from 7AM to 8AM or from 6PM to 9PM, or on his cell phone during the day 540-379-7105.
Email us at peaches(at)crosslink.net. (Change the (at) to @).

Thoughts on Hay Making
Advice for U-pickers

Hay Pick up Rules
Upon entering Hollin Farms, the customer agrees that Hollin Farms shall not be held responsible for any accident or injury occuring on the premises.

No children allowed on hay stacks or in the barn.

The hay stacks are not stable. Please be careful when on or near them.

Don't let children play in the barn or on the wagons. You pickup at your own risk.

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Some thoughts on hay and hay making...

Most Northern Virginia hay contains fescue. Lots of hay advertised as orchard grass or timothy has fescue in it. Hay that we call "fescue free" has less than 3% fescue, and we avoid areas in fields (usually near the edges or around rock piles) where fescue is dominant. Fescue contains an endophyte fungus that lives in a symbiotic relationship with fescue grass. This fungus can cause abortions in mares in their last trimester of pregnancy. Horses don't like fescue very much, especially in hay made in July and August when the grass is very bitter and tough.

In first cutting hay, the earlier it is cut, the more palatable it is. First cutting hay made in late July and August can be tough and contain a lot of seed stem straw. As a rule, first cutting hay made in May and June in the bloom or boot stage is the best, but often it is difficult to make at this time because of cool and wet weather.

First cutting hay contains seed stems and heads. This is the "straw" that the grass sends up to make a seed. Once the seed is made, matures, and falls to the ground the stem is mostly starch and fiber. Timothy hay is usually only "first cutting" and contains the characteristic timothy "seed head." This seed head is visible in late cut timothy. Timothy develops later than orchard grass, and if you first cut orchard grass at its optimum stage, the timothy seed head is undeveloped but the hay is better.

Second cutting hay has no stems and is mostly grass blades. Second cutting orchard grass is considered prime horse feed. Unless the fields are sprayed with an herbicide, second cutting contains summer weeds like horse nettles and dock, but these do not harm horses. The second cutting crop needs lots of summer rain to develop and during some years there is very little second cutting hay in Virginia. Also late second cutting hay (September and October) is hard to make because of the shorter days and cooler weather and mold can sometimes be a problem.

Advice for U-pickers
Picking up hay from the hay field or the barn saves money, but requires expertise on your part (besides strength and endurance in hot weather!).  Hay quality varies within a field, and moisture content varies depending on a the location of the bales and when they were made. 

1- Be aware that in a field where most of the hay is well made, there may be some bales that are wet. Bales made on the outer edge of a field where there is shade may not be completely dry.  Sometimes we test the baler to see if it is working properly before the hay is completely dry. Bales that have too much moisture are heavy and are sometimes unusually green.  Bales that are too wet will often become hot inside a few hours after being baled.  If you get a hot/moist bale by mistake, open it, spread it out, and allow it to dry. 

2- Some areas in a field may contain more weeds than others. Second cutting hay in Virginia fields that have not been sprayed with herbicides almost always contain horse nettle, foxtail grass, burdock, cocklebur, crownbeard, or thistle. You can usually see these weeds in a bale.  

3- To test hay, reach into a bale and pull some of it out. Look it over for weeds. Notice if the bale is hot on the inside or if it feels dry. Mash the hay between your two hands, cup it in your hands, and exhale big breaths into it to give it a little moisture and warmth, and then smell it. Good hay has a good smell of sun dried grass. If the hay is moldy, it will have a sour, dusty smell. (You can practice this smelling technique with your own good or bad hay to get an idea of what the smell should be.)

4- U- pick up hay is cheaper, but remember to choose good bales - every bale in a good field is not necessarily perfect. Use your eyes and nose.

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Check Virginia Tech's Mare Center in Middleburg for the latest in nutrition for horses.

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