>>> And as I write this I am wondering why, just seems field mice etc would >>> accidentally get into the hay... but I have never heard of a single case >>> of >>> botulism. In fact, the only bad hay probs I have ever heard of is one case >>> of a young horse dying from black mold in hay, that was in mid alabama, and >>> then the blister beetle disaster in alfalfa brought in from somewhere up >>> north.
It's not JUST botulism that bad hay can cause, Janice. Moldy or decomposing matter can trigger a colic attack. I'm sure many people don't report each and every case of colic since it's so common, and many of the reported cases never get a specific cause assigned. It's usually not fatal, but I still don't want my horses to have it. Karen Thomas, NC
