ugghhh .... more advice needed!

[redman135]

Thank you Southernspeed. In my country we call foxtail barley grass. Putting it into silage kills the seed.

It is nasty stuff, gets into animals eyes and blinds them, and in sheep it will go through the wool and into the skin. When the animal is skinned you can feel the sharp points on the inside of the skin.

 

[Southernspeed]

Thank you Southernspeed. In my country we call foxtail barley grass. Putting it into silage kills the seed.

It is nasty stuff, gets into animals eyes and blinds them, and in sheep it will go through the wool and into the skin. When the animal is skinned you can feel the sharp points on the inside of the skin.

For some reason cattle ranchers are ok feeding it to their stock but I sell mainly to horse owners and it gets stuck in their mouths and gut, can get really nasty/deadly.

 

[redman135]

Southernspeed, in silage foxtail/barley grass is good cattle feed,including the seed. The ensiling process kills the seed and softens it ,so no problems.
In hay it is bad news.
Also ,my comment in post 41, the 2nd 1/2 applied to standing grass, not silage .

 

[Hay Dude]

Does foxtail grass appear similar to barley?

I think the seed heads are really defined by the “pins” and those little hard-as-a-pebble seeds that cause pain for teeth/gums on horses.

 

[Hay Dude]

For some reason cattle ranchers are ok feeding it to their stock but I sell mainly to horse owners and it gets stuck in their mouths and gut, can get really nasty/deadly.

“For some reason”……
The reason is no great mystery. Cattle are more tolerant to rougher hay, have several stomachs/rumen to break down rougher feed, and are due to be slaughtered after ~20 months.
Cattle ranchers don’t spend a lot of money on horse grade hay. Its not profitable to raise cattle on high end hay when the animal may only be on this earth for a short period of time.