Yellow rattle hay

[David BWK]

I've been contacted by a friend based in Ashburton who will soon be cutting a field for hay, which he says is rich with yellow rattle. He was wondering if there is a market for such hay and I said I'd ask the question on here.

[thegoodhayguide]

Hello David
I am trying to establish a market for species rich hay for horse owners. Horses are particularly good candidates for demonstrating the health benefits of diverse forages because, being cut later in the year they are:
-higher in non digestible fibre: horses are designed to eat low nutrient, high fibre forage in constant supply.
-often less palatable: too easily digested and overly appealing taste (sugars) creates over consumption (weight problems)
-have diverse forbs which can help to harmonise metabolic function: a problem in many leisure horses

Although yellow rattle seeds are noxious, possibly a bit toxic to horses, there is very little seed left in hay and the other plants which take the place of the ryegrass and yorkshire fog are extremely beneficial. I always buy hay with rattle in it. Since it is quite scarce I use it to supplement a very poor, yellow kind of hay I buy off a much less diverse meadow and it helps to cut down on mineral supplementation. The horses pick through the rattle husks expertly and leave a bit of viable seed behind which I have started mulching my meadow with.
The map works a bit like the meadow maker map but it is very much in its infancy. Do give me a call if you d like to chat more. 07821 495447
https://thregister.co.uk/ scroll down home page for the map.

[Donna Cox]

This is a great idea!

[Sam Skevington]

Hi David,

Would your friend in Ashburton be open to having his hay meadow seed harvested by volunteers before taking the hay cut? We could offer a professional grassland survey in return. We could also investigate buying as green hay, but I suspect that from Ashburton, we would have trouble in transporting it to our receptor sites on the coast and spreading it fast enough.

[David BWK]

Hi there Sam,

I've passed your message on to my friend and will see how he responds, but I thought it worth mentioning that we have around 5 acres of our own, that are rich in yellow rattle, and would be happy if someone was able to find a use for some of it. Our adjacent 10 acre field has patches of yellow rattle colonisation, but (based on our experience from our first field), I'm hopeful for a dramatic increase next year. We're based near Winkleigh. . . .don't know if that's of any use to you?

All the best

David