Anyone feeding a horse today knows that hay and grain prices have surged to new heights.

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported the national average price for alfalfa hay increased from $104/ton in 2005 to $148/ton in 2009, while corn increased from $2 to $4/bushel, and oats went from $1.63 to $2.90/bushel over the same time period. Following the release of the USDA’s March 31 Prospective Plantings report, the first official national indicator of farmers’ planting intentions for the year, corn prices immediately spiked to more than $6/bushel, a new record.

As these higher prices filter through the equine industry, striking feed manufacturers, feed retailers and horse owners, they ultimately affect our horse management decisions, whether sourcing reliable, quality hay or foregoing a show or new bridle in order to afford that hay.

I personally have been lucky this winter with a steady price of $ 10.25 a about 90 lbs bale - but the quality at times was horrible. The winter before hay around here went up to $ 14 a bale.

And the consequences were not just a missed show or some delayed tack purchase. Last summer people turned horses out in the AZ desert and drove away - Livestock picking them up and hauling them to auction. At the auction you have to pay in advance, because people checked horses in and left.

I know of a rancher who just lately put 10 horses down. He was out of feed and could not afford the hay. And at the auction he most likely would have not been able to recover his cost for hauling and fees - max $ 100, if you are lucky, for a well working horse.

I am dumping well ground trained youngsters for next to nothing because I cannot afford to keep feeding them.

GC

its the same here in NC. Alfalfa is going for 12 per 50lb bale and lesser quality hay is climbing at a crazy pace. Fortunatly most people arround here are smaller family farms so they can either bite the extra cost or sell a pet. I have heard of vets putting down emaciated horses at rates 2-3 times the rate a couple years ago though.

On the bright side, between psycho grain and hay prices, new PMU advances, and the upheveal with the kill markets, perhaps people will start practicing more selective breeding policies (ie quality over quantity) which will eventually benefit the industry as a whole.