The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

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.

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.

This is a great idea!

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.

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